Washington Township stable owner charged with animal cruelty
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A Washington Township stable owner has been charged with animal cruelty and neglect, after animal control officers said she was filmed using a riding crop and two dogs to abuse a horse during a purported training session.
A Humane Society officer began investigating Sandra Hobbs, owner of Victory Stables on Camp Nancy Road, after receiving multiple calls and notifications about a Facebook video posted Feb. 2.
The video showed a horse “being pulled with a lead rope by two Airedale terrier dogs as (Hobbs) instructed the dogs,” humane officer Erin Cassidy wrote in a criminal complaint.
At one point in the video, Cassidy wrote that the dogs advanced toward the front of the horse, causing it to rear up and fall onto its back.
“As the horse wobbles on the ground, the dogs continue to pull on her, and Hobbs continues to swing the crop and yell for the dogs to ‘Bring her, boys, bring her,’” according to the complaint.
Hobbs could not be reached for comment.
During the video, Cassidy said Hobbs struck the horse multiple times with the crop, including two times when it reared up and fell over again.
Cassidy spoke with a witness who posted the video, which was originally recorded in May 2021.
Hobbs told investigators in February that the video was of her “teaching the horse to move forward,” according to court documents. During that same interview Victory Stables, investigators discovered other animals in stalls that were “thick in feces and urine.”
The horse in the video, named Rachelle, was still at the stables, and Cassidy said she appeared to have since gained weight and was not in distress.
Hobbs was charged with cruelty to animals and neglect of animals. A June 12 preliminary hearing is set.