We have contacted Angels former owner, and while she disputes that she is the person that took Angel to the auction, she is willing to take accountability for the outcome.  All adopters sign a contract with Norcal Equine that they will not give or sell the horse to a known horse trader, livestock auction or slaughter buyer and we have decided that even if it was a mistake there must still be consequences to this action.  Angel has lost weight, and hasn’t had hoof care and could have been bought by someone that would have taken her to slaughter.  We are attempting to come to an amicable agreement regarding the restitution that Angels former owner will be paying.  The staff of NER takes very seriously not only placement of our horses, but also their long term health and safety.  We would like to make it very clear that while NER is being very understanding in this case, our adoption forms do state a penalty and if this tragic scenario ever plays out again, we will not hesitate to prosecute to the full extent of the law.  We are asking that any person that has adopted from us in the past, that may have questions regarding their contracts to please contact us and we will go over it again if you have any concerns.
 
        We will be having a board meeting on Thursday and will be addressing issues regarding the future of our horses.  We have been talking for about a year about micro chipping our horses with our information and also for the adopter’s information.  Had Angel been micro chipped we could have scanned her and received all her vital information right at the auction.  This chipping process will also help adopters prevent theft or to allow them to positively ID the animal if it is lost.  The other idea that we have decided to vote on is to develop a NER freeze brand and register it with the branding inspector so that if any of our horses go to auction in the future, the auction house will be unable to run them through the sale.  We have pledged to do all we can to give our horses a voice, and you, our supporters are counting on us to stand up for what we are all fighting for.  We will do everything in our power to make Angel our last boomerang auction horse.  The micro chipping program will be put into place as soon as possible.  The machine to do the chip scanning and the micro chips is very expensive ($700 to get started for the scanner and micro chip loaded syringes) and we would appreciate any donations that are sent in for that specific item.  We do not wish to use this as a plea for donations, but we cannot do what we are faced with, without your support.