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| "Seriously, have you ever just really looked at the sky? "Dude, I can't feel my hooves!" |
Ann Romney found herself briefly the subject of a lawsuit at whose core, according to court documents, was a heavily-medicated horse.
Romney and her trainers sold the horse, Super Hit, in 2008 for $125,000. And Super Hit had what a prominent veterinarian described as a staggering quantity of drugs in its system at the time of its examination before being sold, according to a toxicology report that's part of the lawsuit over the horse's condition.
The lawsuit, which was mentioned in a New York Times story last month, was filed in 2010 by a woman in San Diego who had bought Super Hit from Romney and her trainers, Jan and Amy Ebeling. The woman, Catherine Norris, sued Romney for fraud after the horse allegedly proved physically incapable of performing as a dressage horse.
The case with Romney was settled last September and she is no longer involved in the lawsuit.
According to a toxicology report provided to the horse's vet and testimony from a veterinarian, Dr. Steven Soule, included in the lawsuit, Super Hit had three sedative pain killers and one narcotic pain killer in her system when the horse was examined to check her condition pre-sale. The drugs were Butorphanol, Delomidine, Romifidine, and Xylatine.
Soule, who has been the United States Equestrian Team veterinarian since 1978, writes, “In my 38 years of practice, I have never come across a drug screen such as this where the horse has been administered so many different medications at the same time.” The horse had a defect in its foot, and Norris's lawyers alleged that the Ebelings had drugged the horse in order to hide its condition.
So the Romneys got this poor animal hopped up on painkillers and sedatives in an attempt to hide its injury from the potential buyers? Oh yes, that kind of thing is just SO presidential.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think I like Mitt Romney very much.
and let's not forget donning his Michigan State trooper uniform and pulling people over!
ReplyDeleteThe rich ARE different and NOT in a good way.
ReplyDeleteAnne wanted to sell it ...
ReplyDeleteMitt wanted to insure it for $500,000 then have it killed.
Mitt Romney is a sociopathic bully and anyone who votes for him is an idiot.
ReplyDeleteHe is a sociopath. He displays no conscience, and no humanity.
DeleteI especially love how Mittens protested IN FAVOR OF THE VIETNAM WAR and then RAN OFF TO FRANCE to be a missionary for two years and then got three more deferments - for a grand total of five deferments because he didn't want to fight in the war he was in favor of.
DeleteThis man makes me sick.
M from MD
If you can't get your conservative family/friends to vote for Obama, at least make them feel bad about voting for Romney with stories like this. That's what I'm doing. Maybe we can get them to stay home instead.
ReplyDeleteThank God, I have no conservative family or friends. I only have liberal Democrats in my life.
DeleteWe are smart people.
Eeeeewwwww . . . . . .
ReplyDeleteThere is just something nasty about the Romneys.
Get the vote out for Obama/Biden! We need a strong Dem turnout this election.
DeleteThe horse was just a business, you know, that's why they call it horse trading. It's not as if it was actual medical therapy to help Ann Romney get rid of stress and help her health improve from her MS. After all, on his tax returns, the horse wasn't listed as a medical expense. He was just another business, like the other ones where Romney only saw in terms of profit and loss, not feelings.
ReplyDeleteSuddenly I feel so sorry for the Romneys' horses...and any other animal under their care.
DeleteM from MD
Well done, Gryphen! I love your choice of images and your great whit. You have shown the Romneys as the horsetraders that they really are.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this kind of doping to hide defect in horse sales before. It is beyond despicable. Not only for the legal aspects of ripping off the buyer. But also because a horse that doped up can't feel its pain so it ends up hurting itself even further. The responsible, humane thing to have done would be to retire the animal to pasture and take the financial loss. But we are talking about the Romney's here. Any "trainer" that attempted to sell the horse in this manner (not to mention questions regarding how it was injured in the first place) should never be allowed near a horse again.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. Thank you.
DeleteThe responsible, humane thing to have done would be to retire the animal to pasture and take the financial loss.But we are talking about the Romney's here.
Delete~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because the Romneys don't. have. enough. money, duh!
;)
I was just going to respond to this article, but you seems to have written everything I was trying to figure out how to word :)
DeleteGreat post.
And the only thing that keeps running through my brain (as with all previous Repub1%can't candidates) is...is this the best they can offer?
ReplyDeleteIt always seems the character flaws of their candidates demonstrate a complete LACK of the family values they are always spouting. They all seem to live in glass houses, too, since they harp upon made up faults of the Democrats while their own pots are the blackest of black.
Poor Mitt. His past has come back to bite him...Sarah, are you taking notes?
ReplyDeletethey want the horse to be comfortable what's wrong with that
ReplyDeleteAre you joking? Mitt is an animal abuser and a gay basher and so is anyone who votes for him.
DeleteIf you don't see what is wrong with what they did, you are as warped as they are.
DeleteNo,this had nothing to do with the well being of the horse. They wanted to sell this horse as a competitive dressage horse, rather than the used up horse flesh that she was. This is common in the horse world and is disgusting. Horses in competition are often over trained and ever stressed, injuries are very common. The exorbitant price tags lend to this sort of fraud. Inject the joint or kill the nerve and the horse can perform in many cases because he does not experience the pain. This does not mean that the problem is resolved and it is often exacerbated by the continued use. When the meds ware off, these horses are in pain. High levels of meds, such as nsads, are awful on a horses gut and cause additional health problems. This is a classic example of cruel and inhumane treatment of these very sensitive and accommodating creatures.
Delete"comfortable" would be NOT forcing the horse to continue to perform DRESSAGE while it had an injured foot - which is probably the reason they were selling it in the first place.
DeleteIf this was an attempt at sarcasm or snark, please go back to the drawing board.
Giving pain meds and especially over medicating a horse like this will cause the animal to injure itself further.
DeleteThis is precisely why I must step back and shake my head and have a chuckle. Eat Up Europeans this is your happy meal when you slice into a steak of horse meat.
ReplyDeleteRomney is nothing more than a user, one of nature and humane lives. What fate awaits for him on the spaceship of fools...time will tell in 2012.
Even if they spin this as something the trainers did and Ann Romney was ignorant of, what kind of trainers does she hire? Surely she can afford the best, the most ethical, the most reliable in the business?
ReplyDeleteIf not -- if cutting corners is her way of living, including with her beloved animals -- then there's really nothing more to think about the Romneys. She can't "humanize" him because it appears she's just as greedy and selfish as he is.
I think the same trainer is preparing the Olympic horse. So in this case apparently the Mrs and Mr Mitt decided not to FIRE the trainer who allegedly had charge of the horse when it was allegedly doped.
DeleteI have read that Ann Romney is a "partner" with the trainers named above in owning some or all of the horses. So she is involved and, just as she did nothing when the poor dog was put in a crate on top of the family car, at the very least she did nothing to prevent the mistreatment of the horse so that a fraudulent sale could be perpetrated. She's as bad as her husband is. Crass and mean.
DeleteShe's as bad as her husband is.
Delete~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yup. Cut from the same magic underwear, those two.
Obviously these people are NOT animal lovers. Romney is very strange, somehow inhuman. There is something about him that gives off uncomfortable vibes. I get the feeling he does not particularly like his wife, either, he looks at her strangely. She just came in handy to produce children, and ward off any "gay" whispers. My late husband always said "Never, ever trust a son-of-a-bitch who does not like animals"
ReplyDeleteFrom your late husbands lips,to Gods' ears.My sentiments exactly:both for your husbands words, to the "ick" vibe you get from Romney.In complete agreement with you.
DeleteI agree too.
DeleteAnonymous11:57 AM
DeleteI couldn't agree more with you.
Note that the Palins don't have pets, or, if they do, the pets run away and hide.
DeleteI've read about dressage, and defenders of it. Nonetheless, it's a very strange "sport," one that involves controlling your horse completely. It's lovely in a way, but also somewhat sadistic.
Dressage isn't one bit sadistic. The methods some people use to train their horses can be. If you want to talk sadistic, take a look at rodeo, especially calf roping.
DeleteI think the Romneys view horses as farm animals . Farm animals are there to provide a service. Many dressage riders view their horses as family. Please don't paint them with the same brush.
don't mind if the romney's destroy the country
ReplyDeletebut when it comes to abusing horses, that's over the line
romney just lost my vote
I'll be voting for gary johnson
That you would even consider voting for this smarmy asshole makes you not much better. And it's OK with you for Romney to destroy the country? Are you fucking sick in in the head? Why don't you just fuck off and not vote at all, because CLEARLY you don't deserve to.
DeleteIf you're trying to be clever, you failed miserably jackass @ 12:03. Is that you Sarah? Must be a Palin. Have fun wasting your vote idiot. Hahahahahaha. Oh yeah and go fuck yourself and your mother.
DeleteAnonymous 12:21 PM
DeleteThank you.
Voting for anyone other than President Obama makes it easier for Romney to win. Don't be a jackass and throw you vote away. Honestly - think!
DeleteAnd, to think that these are same people involved with the horse that just made the Olympic Equestrian team. Sure doesn't speak well for the people making the choices.
ReplyDeleteScorpie
Add pushing his sons' and grandsons' faces into plates of food for a laff.
ReplyDeleteNow that's something that the Palins do. That means that the Romneys are as classless as the Palins!
DeleteMimi-
DeleteWas that one of the incredibly boring tidbits the Rmoney boys shared on Conan?
On tonight's show - ALL of Mitt Romney's sons!
*And CLICK goes the OFF button*
In some states this type of doping is very illegal and will get you time in prison. These so called trainers and partners and the romney's are sorry excuses for human beings. I wonder why someone didn't lose their credentials over this incident and their reputation...
ReplyDeleteRich whites get away with murder. Look how Romney is a tax cheat, has off-shore accounts, and nobody goes after him about it. That is something others would be prosecuted for.
DeleteNot just the doping, but complete FRAUD! They were selling this horse as a FULLY Functioning DRESSAGE horse- yet the poor thing had a Foot injury!
DeleteFRAUD! UNETHICAL! MEAN! UNDER-HANDED!
There should have been sanctions against all three owners for defrauding the buyers. Sanctions are handed down by the governing agency such as the USET, USDS, and the AHSA. They should have been barred from competition for a year or two. I don't know any of the details of the crime; however, it seems odd that Jan Eberling is now able to compete on the USET.
DeleteGiving a horse pain killers so he can perform is abuse and shows a complete lack of compassion on the owner's part. It isn't like the animal-loving Romneys couldn't afford to put retire the horse. It also shows how stupid they all are. Horses sold for that much money are going to be insured and must pass a physical which includes a blood test. Dumb asses.
I KNEW this would come out. Id read that lawsuit and romoneys Clearly settled hoping to avoid this coming out.
ReplyDeleteBUTE on its own is sufficient for Most needs.
Adding all those together should have or could
indeed have Killed that horse.
But romoneys got Specific Doses to get the
fucking sale done.
As a horse owner I Know how much bute it takes
to Sedate a horse; as well injected sedations
which are Indeed set at Specific Amounts.
This bitch gets to send a horse she owns to the
fucking Olympics?....really?
Why not? The Olympics are for sale just like anything else.
DeleteAnd the Romneys know all about that - after the Salt Lake City Olympics.
DeleteBute is like Advill for horses.But a trainer who medicates a horse ,even if it is just Bute,will include the medications and injuries,etc they are needed for in reports to the owner.If Ann Romney did not know,she did not want to know.If she is still using the same trainer who caused her to be named in a lawsuit,she knew.
DeleteI guess it would be a coin toss of who would be the most suitable GOP presidential candidate if it was between Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney seeing that they are both corrupt and money hungry for personal wealth.
ReplyDeleteSarah does have more baggage. Sarah has school bus brake line cutter Track, reality star flop Bristol the Chin, high school drop out Willow, Diva Piper and her pimp husband soon to be reality flop Todd.
listen to these 2 palin bitches trashing levi:
ReplyDeletehttp://ca.eonline.com/news/bristol_palin_lifes_tripp_sneak_peek/325494
Will the lame street media give him a pass on this too? Unbelieveable the shit this weirdo gets away with.
ReplyDeleteThere is something cruel and dark hiding behind the Romneys' fake smiles. It creeps me out.
ReplyDeleteSame thought process that produces this--Rogue Palin: “I always remind people from outside our state that there is plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals — right next to the mashed potatoes.”
DeleteHe isn't a real human being. Anyone who votes for him isn't either and should be sent to planet Kolob.
DeleteMitt and Ann Romney are cruel, greedy, immoral people. It's terrible to treat a horse like they did for any reason but to do it to make a sale? Shameful. In the stories that have come out about the Romney's and the things he says during the campaign, there's also the element of not thinking through things. They think they are so privileged, entitled and above everyone else that they can get away with anything. I'm convinced that if Mitt Romney wins in November, he will prove to be the worst president the country has ever had.
ReplyDeletethe romoneys. read it til the end.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/us/politics/ann-romneys-hobby-spotlights-world-of-dressage.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Mr. Ebeling, she later said, called Super Hit “the soundest horse in the barn.”
Before writing a check, Ms. Norris sought a standard prepurchase exam. The Ebelings recommended a veterinarian they knew, Dr. Doug Herthel, who identified the joint abnormality on an X-ray. He informed Ms. Norris of it but assured her it would not bar him from the upper-level show ring.
Dr. Herthel apparently did not mention that a toxicology test reported four tranquilizers in Super Hit’s blood at the time of the exam. His records showed that he injected two of the drugs — to steady Super Hit during X-rays, he testified — but there was no documentation of the other two tranquilizers.
Dr. Herthel sent an e-mail to Ms. Ebeling asking if the horse had been sedated before the exam; she replied that he had not. How the additional tranquilizers got into the animal was never fully established.
....in April 2009, a new veterinarian reviewed the X-rays Dr. Herthel had taken and diagnosed lameness, and Super Hit subsequently became “a pasture horse” unfit for riding, Ms. Norris said.
When I buy/sell a horse, it's conditional. Because everyone involved wants the vet check.
ReplyDeleteHow is it possible for $125,000 to change hands without an ok from the vet?
Something very weird about this story.
"....Mr. Ebeling, she later said, called Super Hit “the soundest horse in the barn.”
DeleteBefore writing a check, Ms. Norris sought a standard prepurchase exam. The Ebelings recommended a veterinarian they knew,..."
OMG. The purchaser used a vet recommended by the seller. Stupid idiot deserves whatever happened to her.
They used Romneys vet that lied for them.
DeleteWell obviously, he just treats animals like he treats people, duh!
ReplyDeleteI wonder why HuffPo does not report this story. It it were a Dem who did this, it would be headlines on HuffPo and all other news mediums.
ReplyDeleteEven though Arianna was a Republican and married to a GOP Representative Michale Huffington. She was actually a conservative commentator for the National Review) during the 1980s and converted to liberal views in the 90s after her divorce.
DeleteShe did run a fairly balanced policy on HuffPo until she and her partners sold out to AOL. Since then the partisan slant is easy to spot and stories like this have very little chance of getting the press they need.
Note: three different authors have claimed she plagiarized their work, claiming it as her own. She apparently settled all claims, and continues to publish work.
Holy crap! Remember Mitt's answer when someone ask him about his and Ann's cars? He said he owned a pickup and something else, she owned a couple of Cadillacs...nothing special for an extremely wealthy family. I went over the NYT to read the story on the horse lawsuit and found the following comment from a someone named Sachi Mohanty:
ReplyDelete"I am looking forward to learning now about the wonderful collection of vintage, classic cars the Romney household maintains ... 9 Rolls Royces, 8 Corvettes, 7 Porsches, 6 Ferraris, 5 Jaguars, 4 Mustangs, 3 Cadillacs, 2 Alfa Romeos, 1 McLaren MP14. No, that's not a countdown but the numbers of those particular brands of cars he owns."
I don't care if the owns 100 times that many cars - I do care that he not only lies but lies by ommission. Journalists should learn to always ask a follow-up question such as "Is that ALL the cars you own?"
"And a partridge in a pear tree."
DeleteAnyone who isn't as rich as these people and/or as weird as these people, has no business giving him their vote. Seriously. You can't do it.
Good point - journalists are not doing their jobs. They truly need to learn to ask follow-up questions.
DeleteEither reporters are lazy or their editors (print or broadcast) do no want the entire truth known.
"Dude, I can't feel my hooves !"
ReplyDeleteBrilliant !!!
Right away I heard the Cheech & Chong line:
"I've DONE THAAAT, maaaan !!!!!!"
As a horse lover I'm disgusted. As a business person I am appalled that they would try to "get over" on someone by selling them a damaged horse. To these people animals are money makers, not living breathing things. The Romney's get more disgusting by the minute.
ReplyDeleteNow we need a "Horses for Obama"
Yes, we do. I hope people with horses care enough to start one! People who mistreat animals are people who cannot be trusted.
DeleteThis needs to hit Facebook. (Hint, hint)
ReplyDelete"Fuck you, I got mine".
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Mitt and Ann Romney.
To really see the true measure of a person, look at how they treat animals, children and the less fortunate.
ReplyDeleteRomney FAILS on all three counts.
Well, you know if the Rmoney's didn't sell this horse, they'd eating it. Waste not, want not. And probably giggling during dinner, making their guests guess what the entree is.
ReplyDeleteLiars. Cheaters. I can't think of any redeeming quality other than he has a full head of hair. But I don't want a head of hair running our country. I want someone compassionate and sensitive that cares about all of us, not just the 1% who can contribute to his campaign.
Oh, and I read above about that classic car collection. (Would that be the one that goes with the car elevator?) When is that going to hit the media big time?
Dog on roof.
Doping horse to cheat buyer.
Lying about classic car collection.
I want it all to hit the fan. And to see it repeatedly on Letterman. Letterman will not let any of these stories die once they hit the media.
Oh, come on, how was I to know that the vet I recommended would give the horse a clean bill of health? lol
ReplyDeleteActually, it's not funny, it's animal cruelty and bad business practices at the same time. As an animal lover, they lost me at Seamus, and now this?
I can picture Ann laughing her ass off, thinking she pulled the wool over someone's eyes, but hey, laughing is good for the symptoms of MS, right?
Why don't the republicans see what we see? The more I learn of this family, the more I can't stand their entitled egotistical faces.
Another reason to vote Obama/Biden.
They the Rommeny's are different than us. They are odd. Sorry i don't want someone in the whitehouse that at would baptize someone dead into their religion that didn't want to in life. Everything we learn about this odd rich family,makes it clears they have no respect for others or animals. Now do we want that as president? I sure don't how is he going to respect us?
ReplyDelete