PALMETTO, FL (USA TODAY) -- A show horse imported into the United States from Germany last week was found butchered just yards from his new home, authorities said Monday.
Debbie Stephens, one of the owners of Imperial Farms Equestrian Center and a champion rider, noticed that her new French chestnut jumper, a 12-year-old gelding named Phedras de Blondel, was missing Sunday from his stall. A search led to a broken fence, and then came the horrific discovery.
"(They) just dismembered him right there and just left his rib cage and his neck and head," said Stephen's husband, Steve Stephens. "All four legs were cut off of him. I don't mean at the knee, I mean from his shoulder.
Investigators believe that the horse was slaughtered sometime between 8 p.m. Saturday and 6:45 a.m. Sunday for its meat.
"What they did to this horse had nothing to do with his value," Debbie Stephens said. She would not disclose the price she paid for the horse, but show horses can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. "It's one of the cruelest things that could happen to any horse. This just turned my life around."
Horse meat is illegal in Florida, but a black market for it exists, said Nick Atwood, a spokesman for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. During the 2010 Florida Legislative Session, he said a bill passed that strengthened the state's restrictions on the sale of horse meat for human consumption.
It is now illegal in Florida to sell, purchase, distribute, transport or possess horse meat unless "it is clearly stamped, marked, or described as horse meat for human consumption." However, no U.S. slaughterhouses now process horse meat, making it difficult to obtain legally.
Debbie Stephens is a veteran show jumper and holds the women's high jump record of 7 feet, 8 inches. Her husband was a co-designer of the show jumping courses for the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
"This was a murder," Steve Stephens told Dressage-News. "If I had to make a guess, it was someone who knows how to hunt, like hunt deer, and knew how to take a large animal's life quickly. We have no enemies. We have no idea who did this."
The couple and others have raised more than $18,000 toward a reward they hope will lead to an arrest. Manatee County Sheriff's deputies say that's what it will take to crack the case.
"It's a horrible crime scene, and obviously for the owner to have to go through this is just absolutely terrible," said Dave Bristow, spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
While eating horse meat is generally taboo in the U.S., it is common in dishes in some Caribbean and European countries. Atwood said some people living in the U.S. are willing to pay top dollar.
It's not the first time horses have been targeted for meat in Florida.
In July, animal rescue officials said a competitive show horse named Smart Amanda Whiz was slaughtered for its meat in Hialeah. And earlier this month, officials in Palm Beach County raided three slaughterhouses accused of illegally selling horse meat.
"The horses are slaughtered horribly," Atwood said. "There's no illusion of humane slaughter."
That's the case with Phedras, said Debbie Stephens, who said the 1,300-pound horse was friendly and probably went with his killers willingly.
He likely was still alive when they began to butcher him, she said. And more than one person probably was involved in the slaughter because Phedras de Blondel was so big.
"It could be the suspects scoped out this ranch" because they saw the large horse, Bristow said. The ranch is not far from the interstate.
Suspects will be charged with burglary, grand theft and animal cruelty, he said.
Debbie Stephens said she's reinforcing the ranch to protect the other 50 horses that live on the property. A security camera was in the stall area but it was not immediately known whether it captured any images of the horse being led out.
She's also planning to raise more money for the reward and speak out about the problem of illegal horse slaughter. Florida is a popular state for show horses, and she wants to protect other animals and owners.
"This can happen to anyone's horse," she said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
