'I like seeing the horses come back'
A Mitchellsville horse lover takes on 16 sanimal cruelty cases
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

In top photo, Terry von Hagn shares some quality time with one of 16 horses seized by the Finger Lakes SPCA and boarding at her Mitchelsville farm. Above, two of the malnourished horses nuzzle each other in von Hagn's stable.

Terry von Hagn grew up liking horses and learned to ride through an equestrian club in the Haverling school district. She owned her first horse when she was a high school senior and two years later bought her second horses.

Von Hagn now is the owner of six horses — and the supervisor of 16 more she suddenly acquired at the end of August, when the Finger Lakes SPCA seized more than 80 horses from a Troupsburg horse breeding farm. The SPCA has placed the horses at numerous foster stables in Steuben and other counties, including von Hagn's horse farm in the Mitchellsville area.

"I like helping," she said last week, speaking from her office at the Finger Lakes Parent Network in Bath. "I like seeing the horses come back."

The horses have a long way to go. When they arrived at von Hagn's farm, they were severely underweight, victims of chronic malnutrition. Their coats were marred by rain rot, a fungus that typically afflicts horses with weakened immune systems. Their hooves were uncared for, overgrown and cracked. Their rib cages showed through their coats, and hip bones protruded sharply.

PHOTOS BY ROB PRICE

"They were in very poor shape," von Hagn said. One horse became so sick, it had to be euthanized.

Moreover, the horses showed signs of an emotional ordeal. They didn't recognize apples or carrots. "They didn't know an apple tastes good, because no one had given them one," von Hagn said.

The horses are still skinny, but their condition has improved over the past five weeks. Originally weighing 600 to 800 pounds, each has gained 150 to 200 pounds, von Hagn estimated. Their improved diet also is having a impact on their skin condition. Von hagn said she has been feeding them lots of hay and a special grain mix supplemented by vitamins and minerals. Her 512 acre farm also provides lots of pasture for grazing.

Von Hagn has her hands full. On top of her regular work hours, she is putting in four to six hours a day on the farm. On weekends, she works all day around the horses.

The work load has delayed her long range plan to open a horse boarding facility. "That's on hold until we figure out what's going to happen with therse guys," she said.

Two weeks ago, Geraldine Trupia, the owner of the Troupsburg farm, pleaded guilty in Troupsburg town court to two counts of animal cruelty. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors will ask she be placed on probation and make her farm available to unannounced visits from the SPCA's animal cruelty officer. She also is not allowed to by employed around animals.

Meanwhile, the SPCA is working to locate legal owners of the horses. The agency is also paying the cost of caring for the animals it seized, but not for the hours of labor rescuers like von Hagn are putting in.

"I'm just in charge of feeding and upkeep and helping them get back on their feet," von Hagn said. "I have no idea how long I'll have them, but I'm willing to keep them for however long it takes."