HARTFORD – The walls of a barn to protect six horses were going up this week on Gurney Hill Road in Hartford.
The horses, owned by a mother and her daughter who moved there in August, have been kept in small, temporary box stalls covered by tarps, sparking a storm of controversy among horse lovers in town.
Bentley Rathbun, district humane agent for the state Animal Welfare Department, said Friday he is keeping a close eye on the progress of construction. Rathbun took over the case from the local animal control officer shortly after the women moved in.
“A deadline has been agreed upon” for finishing the barn so the horses can be sheltered there, he said. He declined to say what that deadline was. “As of the first of the week, the walls were being erected.”
He planned to revisit the property Friday afternoon to see if the work being done by the contractors, Steve & Son of Hartford, was still progressing. Rathbun said that other than the lack of shelter, the horses are being cared for.
A winter storm warning has been issued for the weekend, with at least a foot of snow expected by Sunday.
State animal welfare laws require horse owners to provide shelter for horses. The women are living on rented property, and initially balked at the idea of having to build a barn on land they don’t own.
Hartford Selectman Lee Holman said Friday that many people in town have offered to help the women since their arrival, but “they’ve been feeling under attack and have become understandably defensive.”
Town Clerk Monica Mailly has received at least a dozen calls from people offering to help erect the barn after an article appeared in the paper. Rathbun said he is not aware of any offers to help the women.
Holman said the town’s hands are tied because the case is being handled by the state.
“We don’t have any local ordinances pertaining to animal control issues,” she said. “We have to stay within our role, and wait for the state.”
Holman noted, however, that the waiting is becoming frustrating for some in town, especially as the weather gets colder. Overnight Thursday, the temperature in Hartford was 3 degrees, she said.
ggeraghty@sunjournal.com
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