ridecamp@endurance.net: Cleary Bldg.design kills Arab filly

Cleary Bldg.design kills Arab filly

ETRAIL@aol.com
Fri, 30 May 1997 13:36:44 -0400 (EDT)

I am here to make a desperate plea for your help.
You've all seen me post here before..some of you even know of my mare, Bey
Buloo (she's in all the EnduroTrail catalogs).
On Monday, I lost Buloo's one and only foal; her 7 year old filly Bey
Lajka. Lajka was my hand-raised baby; a baby bred to become an endurance
horse; she was a light chestnut, almost cremello, with flaxen mane and tail
and a sweet and gentle temperment different from any horse I've ever known.
I had to destroy Lajka on Monday because of a design flaw in Cleary
Building Corp.'s Horse Barns that is so deadly it cost the life of my horse.
To make it short, Lajka's right rear cannon was stripped of the flesh down to
the bone, and the leg virtually severed at the fetlock when her hoof got
caught between the bottom girt along the stall floor and the outer sheet
metal wall. When she attempted to extricate herself, the sheet metal
literally tore her leg to shreds. A conference between my wonderful vet, Dr.
Joel Stahlecker, and CSU's Equine Research Dept. (this was on Memorial Day,
mind you) revealed that nothing could be done for Lajie.
Cleary Building Corp., headquartered in Wisconsin, continues to advertise
this as a building safe for horses...that it was specifically designed for
the safety of horses. They, after numerous discussions with me over the past
few days (with them initially and verbally admitting liability), have
recanted their responsibility and say they will now accept none.
My plea to the group is not to grieve with me..I would instead ask that you
tell everyone you know who may be looking for a new barn or outbuilding, that
Cleary already knows of this design flaw, yet they have chosen to do nothing
about it. What happened to Lajka could potentially happen to any of your
horses if you have a Cleary Building Corp. Horse Barn.
I would also ask you to let me know if you have a Cleary Building and have
had any problems with injuries, or more importantly, if you know of ANYONE
who has had a similar serious, or fatal, injury to one of their horses
because of a Cleary Building. Please e-mail me privately if you know of any
instances like this, or if you have any questions, at ETRAIL@aol.com.
I will admit to you that I am planning to bring at least 2 lawsuits against
Cleary Building Corp. One will be filed here in Colorado; the other will be a
Federal lawsuit. I will also tell you that this company claims to sell 3500
horse barns throughout the midwest every year! No one will ever convince me
that Lajka is the only one who has been a victim of this negligence. (In
fact, I am investigating the report of an alleged recent collapse of a Cleary
building in Steamboat Springs.) I will not allow my little horse's memory to
fade into oblivion now. I feel that her purpose was much more important in
the scheme of life, and because of what happened to her, perhaps I can help
to prevent this from happening to anyone else's beloved friend.
What I'm begging you to do is take just one minute to call Cleary Building
Corp. on their 800 number (no charge for your call) and express your outrage.
Their number is (800)373-5550. Please ask for Lisa Tollesson to voice your
comments.
Cleary Building Corp. needs to know that we horseowners will not tolerate
this willful behavior on the part of a huge corporation that appears to be
taking risks with the lives of our horses. Perhaps, if enough of us stand
firm on this, we will collectively be able to force Cleary Building Corp. to
make design changes, thereby saving the lives of many other horses in the
future.
Please pick up your phone and call right now. Let's flood their
switchboard.
Deeply felt thanks in advance for your help.
Laura MacCallum
EnduroTrail Inc.

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