A veterinarian called to check on the case of 38 mistreated horses at a farm in Tilley, N.B., admitted Thursday he was just 10 days on the job.
Dr. Thomas Ogilvie was one of two veterinarians called to the stand at the trial of two sisters accused of mistreating dozens of horses.
Ogilvie told the court he had graduated from the vet college last spring and had been working a week and a half when he was asked by the animal protection officer to go out to the farm.
He is the veterinarian that the New Brunswick SPCA first called to the farm of Beverly and Sandra Tomalin, whose 38 horses were seized last summer.
The sisters are charged with failing to provide adequate food, shelter and care.
Ogilvie said he wasn't able to get close to the horses but testified that by looking at them, he could see they were basically in decent shape. He remarked there were a few skinny horses, but no extreme cases.
Ogilvie told the court he'd been concerned about the number of horses — some were about to give birth — and that he told Sandra Tomalin they needed an alternate food and water supply.
But the compliance order he left only mentioned the hooves on a few of the animals needed trimming and that a shelter should be built.
The veterinarian told the sisters he would be back in a month to check up on things. He also said the Tomalin sisters said things were fine and he "didn't know what he was talking about."
When Ogilvie returned to the farm on July 13, he said he was shocked at the emaciated condition of the horses, then ordered the animals to be seized.
Ogilvie testified that the horses were "malnourished, emaciated and there was muscle wasting."
"I felt that if they were left there any longer, they would die. And they would have," he told the court.
Defence lawyer James McCue repeatedly asked why Ogilvie didn't go back and check on the farm again, rather than just waiting for the animal protection officer to go.
McCue questioned why Ogilvie and the New Brunswick SPCA officer arrived ready to take the animals away when Ogilvie hadn't been back to check on them since his first visit.
He also questioned Ogilvie on why he didn't take a fecal sample on his first visit to see if there might be a problem with parasites, rather than assuming later that it was starvation that was causing the weight loss.
Ogilvie admitted under cross-examination he didn't know it was against the law to transport stallions in the same truck with mares and foals, which is what was done.
Dr. Greg McDowell — the second veterinarian to take the stand Thursday — said he was called in to treat a horse for colic, which he described as constipation. He said the mare was in such pain she couldn't stand up.
McDowell, who has 30 years experience, testified that when he got to the barn he was asked if he would do an assessment of all 38 horses.
He said the horses were eating and drinking constantly for about two days and appeared very protective of their food. He said some would almost lunge the volunteers bringing in the hay, and one volunteer was bitten by an aggressive mare.
McDowell also described trying to draw blood and said it was dangerous because the horses had not been handled often. He testified he collected fecal matter, which was tested.
That's when McDowell found that a large number of the horses were heavily infected with parasites and that was probably the main reason for their weight loss. He said horses should be dewormed every three months. If they are not, he said, it can eventually lead to their deaths.
McDowell said he also found lice on three of the horses, so the whole herd had to be treated.
There was a horse with a bacterial skin infection all over its body, which he said is a fairly common condition, but one that was exacerbated by being outside in damp weather.
McDowell testified that one foal had to be put down because it was born with improperly formed knee joints, causing its legs to splay. The problem was too late to correct by the time he noticed it.
When asked to conclude his findings, McDowell said that he didn't think the two sisters intentionally harmed their animals.
"The abuse was not deliberate physical abuse, but neglect," he testified. "Behaviour that is classically found in cases of animal hoarders."
The veterinarian described animal hoarders as people who generally have more animals then they can handle, who don't ask for advice because they are convinced they know what they're doing and have a misguided understanding of what they need to do.
The trial continues Friday.
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