Trugon Ranch David Mitchell Trugon Ranch and Fain Farms this place (person) ripped me off and owes me $425.00 Whitewright , Texas

I sent my 2 horses to this so called horse training place on 06-07-10.  I paid $300.00 (30 days) for Magic and $550.00 (30 days) for Nifty. A check was given to David Mitchell for $850.00. The contract was cancelled after 2 weeks, by the owner of the horses, due to proven negligent (unreasonable) care of the horses. The trainer David Mitchell did not provide suitable facilities or provide appropriate care for the horses in an adequate manner.   The horses were only there for 15 days, so a refund of $425.00 is due to me. The horses arrived at 6:15 pm on 06/07/10 and were taken home at 1:02 pm. on 06/23/10.  A certified/notarized letter was sent to David Mitchell on July 1, 2010 requesting a refund of $425.00 by July 31, 2010.  No response or payment was ever received.  

My two year old horse Nifty was kept out in the round pen out by the arena for the first 5-6 days. The horse was left out in the hot sun 100 + temperatures without any shelter, plus adequate feed (hay) and water was not provided. Then Nifty was placed in a stall that was extremely small (maybe 6 X 8 or 8 X 8), the stall was not clean, the horse was never sprayed for flies (I provided David with a bottle of fly spray when I left the horses), there was wire with open ends around the stall, and he was not taken out of the stall for proper daily exercise. I know for a fact that Nifty was only taken out of the stall one time from Thursday June 17^th until Tuesday June 22^nd, he was only taken out to have his feet trimmed on June 18^th. The horse was not provided with adequate feed (hay) or water in this location either. The horse lost weight and was not cared for properly while in the care of the trainer.

Nifty was gelded on 06/09/10 while in the care of Turgon Ranch and proper/adequate care was not provided after the surgery. The horse had to be taken back to the vet on 06/25/10. The horse had granulated flesh (proud flesh) develop at the surgical site.  The vet did advise that Nifty should have surgery again to remove the proud flesh.  When he was back home, I used medicine and doctored him twice daily, finally after 6 weeks of painful treatment, it finally healed properly.  I did file a report at the vet, vet documentations was provided to David in the certified letter that I send him. Nifty was not provided appropriate care after being gelded while in the trainers care. The wound site was not kept clean, the horse was not properly exercised after the surgery, and protection from flies was not provided, this is what caused the proud flesh to develop.

My other horse Magic was kept out in the round pen out by the arena for the first 5-6 days, he was also left out in the hot sun without any shelter, plus adequate feed (hay) and water was not provided. Magic and Nifty was together during this time. Magic was also placed in an extremely small stall (maybe 6 X 8 or 8 X 8), the stall was nasty, it was muddy (due to horse urine/feces) the whole time he was in there. He was standing in wet mud up to his ankles all day and night, the stall was never cleaned and no bedding was ever provided. There was also wire with open ends around the stall, on the left side of the stall, there was about 12 - 18 inches of mesh wire folded up at the bottom of the stall. That is a major danger for the horse, he could have gotten his leg caught in the wire, been severely cut up, or anything could have happened. Magic was also covered in flies, (I provided David with a bottle of fly spray when I left the horses), and he was not taken out of the stall for proper exercise daily. He lost a lot of weight and was very filthy/poor looking while in his care.

On Tuesday June 22^nd when my mother I visited that day, after the young lady worked with Magic, he was limping and appeared sucked-in-at the flanks (which is usually the obvious and first sign of lack of adequate water supply in the body). Magic also had to be under vet care when I brough him home from Trugon Ranch. The horse was lame when he was brought home for over a month, his back legs were extremely swollen and hoof/foot tenderness was shown on his front left foot and both back feet. His back legs from the knee or hock down was filled with fluid, they were swollen about 2-3 times the size they should be, and looked puffy. The vet said this is commonly seen in horses that spend the day in small stalls without adequate exercise and especially horses having to stay in a filthy stall like Magic was in. Dexamethasone injections and Bute was recommended for this horse. Bute was given, I dont like dexamethasone, so the shots were not given.

I visited my horses five or six times when they were at this place. I never once saw any hay provided for either one of my horses, and only a small 3-5 gallon bucket of water was provided. I provided the grain for the horses, which consisted of Equine Junior and rolled oats. I even offered to bring hay for the horses, but David said not to bring it.  I was told by David when I brought the horses on June 7^th, that they would be fed at 7:30 am. and 7:30 pm. My feed was suppose to be given to my horses that evening when I brought them. My friend went to Trugon Ranch the next morning around 11:00 am. on June 8^th, she stated that my feed (Purina Equine Junior) was still in the driveway where my neighbor and I put it there on the evening of the 7^th.

My mother and I was there on 06/22/10 at 11:56 am. and the horses were being fed then. Nifty was given his grain and the whole time he was trying to eat, the mares out in the pasture behind the arena were putting their head through the stock gate and eating my horses feed. We also stayed for about another hour and a half waiting to see if Nifty and Magic were given any hay, and no hay was ever given. I asked the worker where their hay was, she stated that you all did not have any. My horses were there for 15 days and never once I saw any hay for them or any trace of hay in their pen/stalls. I talked with the short man that did the feeding, he never once gave my horses any hay. He always claimed he would do it later, but I am know he never did.

I tried to contact David Mitchell several times, I called and left messages and he never would call back after I left the horses at this place. I also called him to check on my horse after he was gelded, he spoke with me about 5 seconds, and said he would call back, but never did. I finally received another worker's number, I had to call her to get information about how the horses were doing. I also told David that I needed my horses feet trimmed before I brought them to him. The horses were there 11 days before David had their feet done, their feet were not trimmed until 06/18/10. I even emailed the farrier on 06/12/10 to request him to trim my horses feet, I have a copy of the email to prove it.

When I came to get my horses on June 23^rd, I brought 3 adult witnesses with me. They all saw the unsuitable facilities the horses were kept in, neither one of the horses had any hay, and Nifty was completely out of water when we took him out of the stall.  This was when the weather was 100 + degrees.  David Mitchell needs to start keeping up with his business, he basically doesn't know or care what is going on with the care of the horses.

My horse Nifty was not broke to ride while he was there, they only worked him 4 times in 15 days. My other horse was worked with maybe a little, but he was lame for over a month after coming home. This place has no suitable facilities for any horses.  I spent $850.00 for absolutely nothing. I do plan to file charges against him if my money is not sent back. If I have to pursue this issue legally, I will be filing for the $850.00 plus lawyer/court cost. It is really sad how dishonest David Mitchell is, he thinks he can just take a person's money and not provide any services for it, he does not even care. I am not surprised, due to the fact when I took my horse to the vet clinic. The day I took Nifty there, there was a fill in vet, she knew David and said that he also owes her hundreds of dollars and he has never paid her.