I was so hoping that with the publicity of the “Many 60” incident I would not hear about another farm with those conditions for a while, but I was wrong.  The Many horses were seized on January 7, 2012 and by January 22, 2012, I was already hearing about another farm in the same vicinity, Natchitoches, LA.   My mistake was trusting that something was being done to protect these horses, after personally speaking to and reporting the incident to Animal Control, Humane Society, Sheriff’s Department and Police Department along with speaking to LHRA, and knowing that the Louisiana Horse Racing Association was aware of what was happening at this farm.

A little over two weeks after the seizure of the 60 horses in Many, LA, I was contacted regarding a Thoroughbred Horse Farm in Natchitoches, LA.  For those of you unfamiliar with Louisiana, Natchitoches is maybe a 40 minute drive from Many, Louisiana.  This first call was from a Natchitoches residence that had read my article about the Many 60 and was wondering if the horses from Natchitoches had gone to Remember Me Rescue in Texas.  Being told, by the resident that five of the horses had gone to Texas, I believed that the Natchitoches horses were being monitored and arrangements had been made for those horses safety and not knowing the severity of the situation I concentrated on the Many 60 incident.  Boy was I surprised when I received another request, on January 31, 2012,  to look into the Natchitoches horses by yet another concerned horse lover and was provided pictures of a couple of the horses.

The farm in question was the Ryder River Ridge Farm, located on William Road in Natchitoches, LA.  This farm is owned by Fiaral L Ryder who has been a part of the Thoroughbred Association for at least 17 years.  The Farm Subsidy report shows that F. Clay Ryder owns 25% of the farm and Ashley Ryder owns 75% of the farm.  Ryder River Ridge Farm in the past has had a very reputable reputation.  Mr. Fiaral Ryder was very involved with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Association and Thoroughbred Charities of America (http://www.tca.org/test.html). Ryder River Ridge Farm is listed in Thoroughbred Times, Stallion Directory and owned two of the Top Sellers 2011 Louisiana Annual Yearling Sales.  It is reported that this farm is home to over 100+ horses.

At the time this matter had been originally brought to my attention, I was informed that Mr. Fiaral Ryder is an elderly gentleman, in ill health, and whose son Clay Ryder along with his business partner Adam Janick were taking over the farm operations and there were rumors that he, Clay Ryder, was attempting to sell the farm.  Clay Ryder has been reported to have told individuals that he was sending five horses to Texas and donating the remainder of the horses.  In reality it appears that Clay Ryder is following Mr. Ford’s example and placing healthy horses where people can see them and has refused assistance with placing the horses.  He is forcing authorities to work on gathering information and proof in order to obtain a search warrant and ultimately seize the horses who survive this ordeal.

In late February or early March of 2012, I was informed that Mr. Ryder had agreed to deliver some of the horses to LHRA and that there were to be follow-up visits to his farm to inspect the conditions of the remaining horses.  I was ensured that there were now procedures in place to monitor these horses so I agreed to not proceed with posting a blog regarding this matter, that was my mistake.

With the condition of the horses being in question and the pictures that I received, a year ago, there is no telling how many horses have perished during the past year.

It is now January 15, 2013 and this farm is still operating and from what I am hearing there are still horses dead and dying.  I am personally aware that the Natchitoches Parish Humane Society, the Natchitoches Animal Control, the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department along with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Association and the LHRA  have been made aware of the conditions of the horses.   I know that there have been joint meetings with all of these groups discussing this matter.

All I can say is shame, Shame, SHAME, on all of those individuals and organizations who have been aware of this matter for over a year and promised to follow-up but did not.  I will not make the same mistake again, I will not trust when someone says there are actions in place and to please not post a blog.