Abused Standardbred to ring in New Year at Walnut Hall Ltd.
December 29, 2010,by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications
Freehold, NJ — Give Chrome, a 12-year-old Standardbred seized from his owner because of abuse on November 11, spent Christmas Eve tucked in at his new home at Walnut Hall Ltd. in Lexington, Kentucky.
Meg and Alan Leavitt welcome Give Chrome to Walnut Hall Ltd.
The pacer has been adopted by Meg and Alan Leavitt of Walnut Hall Ltd. in Lexington. The Leavitts made the decision when they learned of the horse’s abuse at the hands of his owner and subsequent seizure by the Adams County (Pennsylvania) SPCA on November 11.
Albert Adams, proprietor of Winterwood Farm in Ohio, with his son Mark, transported Give Chrome from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Walnut Hall Ltd. as a gift. They delivered the horse late on the evening of December 23.
Give Chrome is the 23rd horse helped by the USTA’s “Support Our Standardbreds” (SOS) program, which provides financial assistance for horses seized, surrendered or abandoned to legal authorities.
The horse, nicknamed “Roger” by SPCA authorities, was seized in Littlestown, Pennsylvania after multiple calls were made to 911 complaining of a man repeatedly whipping a horse on local roads. The horse was found to have 10-15 large abrasions where his hide rubbed off from an ill fitting harness, as well as a laceration on his leg. He was also underweight.
Dr. Joseph Lyman photos
Give Chrome (dark horse) makes friends over the fence with a fellow resident of Walnut Hall Ltd.
The person driving the horse, Wilbur Frost, has no permanent address and told officers he intended to drive the horse to Oklahoma. He was jailed and is also facing charges related to three guns in the makeshift cart being pulled by the horse. Frost has a prior conviction for abuse of horses in Kansas earlier in 2010.
“He is in better shape than one would have expected,” says Alan Leavitt. “All of his wounds have healed and he’s in pretty good flesh. He hasn’t stopped eating hay since he arrived. He loves to be out and he loves rolling, whether it’s in the stall or out in the snow.
“He immediately made friends over the fence with three other rescues (horses) who are in the field adjoining his paddock. Considering his ordeal, he is not bad at all to work around, a little edgy but no meanness whatsoever. He’ll soon be a real pet with the affection and Mrs. Pasture’s Cookies he’ll be getting from Meg.”
- Abused pacer enroute to Oklahoma is 23rd SOS horse (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)
The 12-year-old pacer Give Chrome, with 56 starts in two countries, undoubtedly had tough trips around a racetrack in his life, but none was quite so tough as that taken recently in south central Pennsylvania.
- Horse abuser convicted on weapons charges (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)
Wilbur Frost, arrested in Adams County, Pennsylvania on weapons and animal abuse charges, has been convicted on the weapons charges, it has been reported in the Hanover (PA) Evening Sun on February 28.