Horse owner hurt by criticism after death
Monday 17th January 2011, 2:29PM GMT.
Julianna Chapellier holds Jezabelle, Jean-Claude Chapellier is at the reins. (1010688)
HEARTBROKEN Julianna Chapellier has spoken out after sustained criticism over the death of her working horse and its foal.
Mare Jezabelle was put down on Wednesday night by Alderney’s States vet, Helen Dickinson, just hours after giving birth to a foal which failed to take its first breath.
Jezabelle was destroyed after developing a serious bladder complication during the birth.
The horse was the subject of much debate in the island last August after people became concerned that the mare was being worked too hard during pregnancy.
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The mare WAS NOT put down hours after giving birth but at least some 13 hours after and that was only upon the insistence of others who could not see Jezebel suffer anymore. Apparently the owners and Alderney vet were going to leave her go all night. No mention in article of mare being out in all the bad weather without a rug on and no shelter despite offers to donate rugs for her so any food she was given would have been used to keep her warm rather than feed her foal and keep the condition she needed to give birth. Can’t believe States of Alderney are not going to have an enquiry into what went wrong when feeling is running so high – are they trying to protect themselves or someone else from being blamed for neglect?
Knowledgable equestrians throughout the Channel Islands had concerns since last August when GSPCA visited but that was ignored by those who thought they knew best. This must never happen again so come on Alderney, sort this out and come clean about where the blame lies.
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According to the Chappeliers this horse was 9 months pregnant last August and pregnancy usually lasts 11 months approx. Its well known that horses retain their foals if the conditions are not right to deliver them and this is what happpened here. The States Vet was monitoring the situation – when?
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Meanwhile we still eat factory farmed chickens and torture cows with electric pumps and hormones for their milk.
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I dont eat factory farmed chickens or eggs! As for cows being tortured with milking machines – they dont seem to dislike it and its quicker for them to be milked like that. Anyway this has absolutely nothing to do with Jezabelle and her foal, the States Vet in Alderney or the Chapelliers and their behaviour!!!!!!
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Horse lover – you seem to have a lot of information on the subject, or are you, like everyone else, just working on speculation and rumour??
It seems to me that the article clearly states that the mare had a complication involving her bladder – I am not sure how that could be related to whether she was worked or rugged?
As to how long it took to put the mare down – what was the vet supposed to do – put the animal down without the owner’s consent? And then the whole world would have been up in arms about that too. And if the owner had just put her to sleep straight away, then everyone would be criticising them for not trying hard enough to save the horse!!!
Seems to me that both the vet and the owner were in a no-win situation.
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This is such a sad sad situation but it does seem that both sides are commenting on Press reports which are never the full story!
To put an end to all this, some sort of enquiry is called for? It does seem strange that the concerns voiced by people last year have tragically come to fruition?
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No, both horse lover and I know the full real story about this – not working on speculation or rumour. Its not just a question of how long it took the vet to put the horse down.
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How unfortunate that the States Vet referred to the loss of the foal as a “Cot Death”. A cot death is “the sudden and unexpected death of a baby” not the failure of a foal to take a breath!!
As a qualified professional Vet, I would have thought she would have been able to express herself a lot better than that! I feel very sorry for any one who has experienced a Cot death having to read that statement and believe that the Vet should apologize for her poor choice of words.
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Statistics tell no lies nor are they open to emotive language. If you are interested in facts rather than speculation the National foaling Bank shows statistics and reasons for the mare and foal deaths, associated with fostermother being avaiable and foals needing fostering fostering.http://www.nationalfoalingbank.com/statsintro.html
These figures are the tip of the iceberg as many are not referred to the above.
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I know that a proper enquiry has been called for, so far no notification has been received that one is to take place.
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The mare had no shelter as none had been provided – it was also way past its delivery date as I have said before Juliana Chapellier said last August she was into her 9th month which gives the date of October as the birth time. She held onto that foal until 12 months + it would seem. No wonder she had a prolapse.
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Horse lover seems to have changed their story considerably since standing up for the owners of this horse last year. And at that time gave the impression that they lived in Alderney – so why the sudden change in story!!??
As I understood it, the owners didn’t know that the mare was in foal, so how could they have said “for sure” when the foal was due??
Anne – I agree, an unfortunate choice of words, but when I read it I interpreted it as someone trying to explain the event to a non-horsey person?
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What a load of drivel Donkey Derby – owners and vet should have been working together to save the mare and foal or end the suffering never mind what anyone else thought – they didn’t seem to mind what others thought way back last August when welfare organisation were involved – one doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to work that one out. If the owners would not give consent for the mare to be put out of her misery and the vet could not operate, the only one in no win situation was Jezebel. Well said Animal Lover – mare should have been cosseted and kept warm in her pregnancy – perhaps you could give lessons to Donkey Derby on stable management as we all think they really need to be better educated on the meaning of ignorance and blatant neglect.
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I am fully aware of all of the details of this case and have been involved with it since August when concerns were first raised. As stated by previous posts the mare was not provided with shelter of any means and was seen (also by myself on several occasions) in a bare field without any roughage or water. In my opinion, whether the animal was pregnant or not that is neglect.
In response to Donkey Derby’s question – “As to how long it took to put the mare down – what was the vet supposed to do – put the animal down without the owner’s consent”?
Any respectable vet has a duty to to provide the best possible care to an animal. The owners of the horse was present at the time of foaling and if they cared for the animal they would have asked the vet to euthanise the mare to end her suffering and would not have let her endure over 13 hours of immense pain.
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I can not believe people when it comes to the care and needs of this poor mare and her foal.
I am sicken to think that nothing is to be done via the states of alderney.
The horse should have been watched 24 / 7 when knowing she was due to foal and to be left after is just discusting.
I hope with all my heart they get punished for this one way or the other the way the mare suffered and are never allowed animals again in the Islands
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This is just the start of the case and justice will be done for this poor horse – sounds like a knowledgable vet needed not someone who can stand and watch an animal suffer and then ref to the foal as COT DEATH – never heard anything so stupid !!!!! a human has a baby with cot death not a horse!!!
the thought of what the mare must have been thinking and feeling again does not bare thinking about and that mare deserved some dignity after what she gave to them
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Donkey Derby, The person posting above as “Horse Lover” is not the one who posted back in August, that was me. I DO live in Alderney and I have not changed my views since August.
Animal Lover, Jezebelle was ESTIMATED to be 8-9 months pregnant in August. The date of conception was unknown and the estimate was based on the size of the mare. Mares have a gestation period of approximately 11 months but it can be longer; in rare cases up to nearly 13 months. Gestation periods for winter foals are commonly longer than for foals born in Spring or Summer. An already very large foal, carried for a longer time than average poses a danger to itself and to the mare. Mares DO NOT retain their foals, that is an equine myth. The foal dictates the date of delivery, the mare controls the time of day.
The person now calling themselves “Horse Lover”, If you count yourself among the “knowledgable equestrians” that you mention in your post, you would know that it is dangerous to rug a mare that is believed to be close to term.
I suggest that the so-called animal lovers who are looking for someone to blame for the sad loss of Jezebelle and her foal, look instead at the link provided by Mighty Mare. Mares and foals die for a variety of reasons. Among domestic animals, the horse is among the most likely to suffer mortality of the mother or offspring. Mares and foals frequently die, despite owners and vets best efforts, FACT!
It would be nice, but probably unlikely, if you spared some of the compassion, that you obviously have for animals, for the Chapelliers, who are devastated at the loss of their beloved horse and her foal.
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As an animal lover one always has to decide when enough is enough for your animal. Its a hard decision but its part of having an animal. Mind you my animals are fed regularly, kept warm and get exercise. How poor Jezebel got any of that in the fields she was put in I dont know! The field/s she was in since end of October were barely as big as a suburban garden. The only activity I ever saw near these fields were that horse manure was being bagged up – presumably to sell? The States Vet monitoring the horses condition!!!!! If she was then it was pretty poor monitoring.
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I think that the Chapelliers are devastated at their loss of income !!!
I wonder who would ever use their horse and cart again – not many takers living on the island of Alderney I would think.
Regarding the rugging of a pregnant horse,this was only offered to them as they did not stable the horse. Mind you if they had a stable or barn on the piece of land that Jezabelle was on it probably would have halved the size of the field!
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I am so angry and annoyed that these people are declaring their loss of a loved animal, this poor horse should not have been working in its condtion, on that hot beach for peoples pleasure, The owners deliberately ignored peoples comments, hence the greed for money was far richer, than the love, of their horse, maybe the poor mare and her foal have finally found some loving peace now in gods hands, I am afraid my sypathy is with the horse and foal, not the owners,
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I would like to express my heart felt sadness for the very sad loss of Jezebelle and her foal.
Animal lover states in the above post “no both horse lover and I know the full real story – not working on speculation or rumour” This I find quite concerning as surely the only people to know the “real story” are the Chapelliers and their vet. Outside of these people, then surely this must be considered speculation? It is human nature to want someone to blame, but as Mighty Mares link states very clearly there are numerous reasons that both mare and foal may have died. I would not like to speculate on why they both died, as this just causes misery and bad feelings. Negativity may also deter people from seeking advise on their animals, thus, delaying treatment causing their animal to suffer. Please stop the blaming as we may be putting animal lives at risk.
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Has it not occurred to the so-called proponents of “Animal Welfare”, that it is possible that the hate campaign begun by them in August and perpetuated by some of the posters above, may well have contributed to the death of Jezebelle and her foal?
The Chapelliers withdrew Jezebelle from all work in August following anonimous, abusive, threatening phone calls because they feared for their safety. Sudden cessation of work will undoubtedly have affected Jezebelle’s fitness and may well have led to nutrition being diverted to an already oversize foal, despite the owners having, under veterinary advice, reduced her levels of feed. Stabling would have reduced her exercise levels even further.
Norman Cobs are a rustic breed. In Normandy, where they originate from, it is rare that they are stabled and unheard of for them to wear a rug. They grow, as Jezebelle did, a good winter coat and are perfectly capable of living out all year round, pregnant or not.
Jezebelle was very unfortunate to have concieved at a time that would produce a winter foal. That is not the fault of the Chapelliers, who bought her from a breeder who had assured them that she was not pregnant. They would not have knowingly purchased a pregnant mare to put to work in the carriage business that they intended to start because to do so would mean having to stop working for several months; at least a month before delivery and around 6 months after, until the foal was weaned. Jezebelle’s pregnancy came as a surprise to them and they have had to try to do their best for her in a situation that was not created by them. They have taken veterinary advice and followed it. Despite this, Jezebelle died, not through their fault or that of the vet attending her. Nature can be cruel at times. Unfortunately, so can ill-informed, nasty minded humans.
Please, take a step back and look at yourselves before demonizing Jezebelle’s unfotunate owners.
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