"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

4-h leader,
Candida Barbara
Anderson-Kachnik,
involved in a horse death! Neglect? Read and judge for yourself!

Shall we condone this behavior through silence and apathy?

Is this the kind of person you could trust to board or haul or breed or train your horse, to teach your child?

Would you buy tack or feed or equipment or animals from her?  Would you trust that her items for sale are not stolen?

Would you trust her to purchase or sell (broker) a horse on your behalf?

Would you let her advertise your business or your consignment items?

To make up your own informed mind, please
read the forums
and open your eyes to her other schemes (including alleged plagiarism of an article for publication).

"I knew chico when he was owned by a neighbor of a close friend of mine. I had taken *many* trail rides with Chico in years past when things were better for him. Even back then, he needed a cribbing collar, and *good* groceries to maintain weight, despite his smallish size.

"At the time I was informed about Chico at Candi's, I was actively involved with Horse Connection (HC), which I helped found (it has since dissolved). Our approach was different than AER, taking a more "tell us what you need, and we'll help you with hay, grain, vet, etc." slant. In short, we tried to be more proactive in helping folks out-we gave away a lot of hay, grain, and paid tons of vet and farrier bills over [the group's] short lifespan. Our theory was: we do not want your horse(s), we want you to take care of it, how can we help you do that? (See the difference?) We worked with [Mat-Su Borough Animal Care & Regulation], AER, and answered every call that came in, without fail. (Lofty goals, eh? lolol) Anyhow, I got a call from another member who had phone duty that week, and I was asked to go out to Candi's, that we had gotten a call about or from her, that she needed help. In truth, nobody wanted to go out-too busy, too cold, etc. ... but, since I was going to be pretty much next door picking up hay, I volunteered.

"It was pushing twenty below zero [F] that morning. I got a cool greeting from Candi and her mother, but they both seemed very willing, wanting any help they could get (at least, that's the first impression I got). Candi recited what the horse was already being fed. It seemed like a lot to me, considering the horses' size, and I was puzzled why he wasn't getting better-in my mind. She said he was getting upwards of 9, 10 pounds a day of grain and all the hay he could eat (bear in mind, Chico was about 14 hands [tall]). So when it got light enough, [Candi] walked me down the OSB shed row to this 8x6 "shelter" called a barn. The fencing was a mix of nylon rope and hot wire, saggy and she had to untie the rope to get through the "gate". The *entire* surface of the pen was covered in loose manure....frozen balls....at least four inches deep. It was obvious it had not been even raked, all winter. It was hard for me to walk on, anyhow. I went around the corner, and saw this poor thing literally leaning up against the "barn" wall, desperately trying to eat some brown hay. The water trough was a bathtub, partially frozen, with manure in it-it had settled into the packed snow/ice and was basically below muzzle level-very difficult to drink from. He had a blanket on, not super heavy. Chico had a nasty sore at the base of his neck from wearing blankets so much, it was awful. Sad. I put my hand under the blanket and about started bawling....there was no body fat at all. Just bones under a lousy medium length coat...and cold, cold, cold. No warmth, nothing. Given his weakness (leaning) and the look in his eyes, I knew this horse was going to die if immediate intervention was not provided.....I quickly gave him a [Henneke Condition Score], and [performed some] basic tests. I was shocked at the state he was in....a far cry from the plump, spunky gelding I had known in the past.

"We went back in the house, after taking a look at the rest of the horses (which were fine, [by the way]) and I said....well, you *are* feeding him a lot, but it doesn't seem to be the right recipe for *him* (every horses' metabolism is different, right?) So how about trying something different, to see if it works? Nods all around. So I spent about a half hour, or longer, writing out very detailed instructions on what I knew to be a sound recovery diet, using warm mashes of soaked alfalfa cubes or pellets, senior feed, vitamins, oil-the works. During this time I heard how Candi bought the horse and the saddle for four or five hundred bucks, and how she planned to turn him around and resell him later on. Also that she had Dr. Brown prescribe some sort of medication for a "kidney" disorder of some sort-but that no, no vet had actually seen him so far.

"Finally I just felt that Candi was *not* getting just how critical the horse really was, you know? She wouldn't look me in the eyes, was obviously annoyed at what I was saying, etc. I was trying really hard to not come unglued about the horse dying and soon. But she just didn't seem to "get it" that she had an emergency on her hands.

"Candi and Wally were in a hurry to go somewhere, but she *assured* me she would mash him "right away", and don't worry.....when I left, I looked her very straight in the eye, and told her very plainly that the horse would die if she did not feed him correctly, and get another blanket on him. Like now. She assured me she would do so....and we parted, on what was fairly good terms, I thought.

"Wally and Candi jumped in their truck and left.

"No blanket, No mash.

"I was crying when I drove away, sure he would die, maybe that night. Chico was in the worst condition I had ever seen, still standing. All others had been down and dead.

"When I touched bases with others in HC, I told them candi did not want our help, that she had "plenty" of feed according to her, that she had "lots" of blankets and would blanket him, that she said she would start a mash that day. But I also told them I felt he was dying. She did not want HC to provide anything-senior feed, or cubes, or vet, nothing.

"A day or so later I got a call from Sally [Clampitt] at AER. she had been called out too. She asked me what I [Henneke Scale] CS['d] him at, and I told her a 2, only if he was hydrated (which he was not when I was there) and that I thought he was dying. The rest you can get from Sally if you like.

"I checked his hydration, I checked his pulse, I checked his respirations, I condition scored him, I checked capillary refill and gum color, etc....all things any competent horse owner should know about, and can do easily. The only thing I did not do was take a temp-too cold, I am sure his core temperature was down. Every thing I checked pointed to a horse in critical condition.

"Candi now blames me personally for the horse dying, and AER too, for Sally *insisting* he get another blanket on, period-she even brought one out and put it on!

"But keep this in mind: Candi had had Chico for three weeks. He was obviously not near death when she got him.

"She had not called a vet out to see the horse.

"She had not begun a feeding regimen that works for recovery.

"She did not adequately blanket, feed, or water him.

"Yes, when you take in starving horses, they sometimes die. But even the day I was there, he could have been saved if taken to a heated facility and carefully fed, six to eight times a day.

"Recovery is *difficult*, even in good weather conditions, and very hard when its cold. it takes a lot of effort to turn around a horse when its -20, -25 below [F], but it can be done, I have done it myself, with excellent results.

"I have come to the conclusion, after all these years, that Candi must not have cared one way or the other whether the horse survived...she made her money back on the saddle, after all. If that was truly the case, then why didn't she turn the horse over to AER or HC at the start?? Why make him suffer for three long, cold weeks? Is that humane?? No, it is not. If she did care, why no vet? [Why N]o mashes? Why not do what was right and save the horse?

"I have no answers for these questions.

"One thing that really puzzles me over this whole Chico thing is this: why did Candi call HC in the first place?

"I can't imagine what possible motivation there was in having a knowledgeable person come out to see that poor horse...to what end? For a pat on the back? For sympathy? Or??

"She said that the veterinary approved feeding regimen I had taken great pains to lay out and explain (increasing quantities by quarter pounds, etc, it was laid out by day, for two plus weeks) wasn't what "her vet" had told her to do.

"Which is odd, because no vet had actually seen the horse.

"HC did not just hand out diets without review, quantities were based on body weight and condition score. It's not like we didn't know what we were doing, or that we didn't have experience recovering horses either. I didn't drive up and pull this out of my "butt", I specified what I *knew* worked, from previous experience. Period. And by what vets had told HC to feed, in writing.

"I have a lot of regrets over that event, mostly that I did not just write her a check that day, and get him out of there. When Candi went off in public on her group, all over myself and AER too....well, she must know, somewhere down deep inside, that she is guilty of inhumane treatment. *If* [Mat-Su Animal Care & Regulation] had visited, the horse would have been impounded, no question. The day I saw him, he was indeed, in imminent danger."

For more information, read AER's side of the story.

However you feel about Mrs. Candida Barbara Anderson-Kachnik, please become informed about those to whom you entrust your child's or horse's care.  Please join the forums and read the archived messages, including a number of posts made by "Wally" (who we believe originated from Candi posing as her husband, Walter), and make your own informed decision.

A little education (here).  A brief word about slander and libel - slander is spoken, libel is written.  In accordance with the law, "truth is an absolute defense".  In other words, if the information is true, it is neither slander nor libel and is completely legal and unactionable.  Furthermore, repeating truths with citations is not defamation and one would need to enjoin the originating party. A self-proclaimed paralegal (more on that on the next page) should understand these simple concepts.  As a result, the publisher of this page has not slandered Mrs. Anderson-Kachnik.