This is what happened to Maggie, and the reasons behind her euthanasia. FAQ can be found near the bottom of this page.
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Maggie was approx. 4 years old when she was rescued by Days End in 2004. In 2006, Maggie was adopted by Taylor and Jillian. While with her new adopters, Maggie learned to jump courses, and became a very nice pony. One day as Maggie and Taylor were jumping, Taylor fell off and Maggie accidentally stepped on her ankle. Taylor's ankle was broken, and this later triggered her to have a genetic back disorder. It was not Maggie's fault. Taylor was not able to keep Maggie because they had Maggie at a self-care facility, and Taylor was not able to muck Maggie's stall and visit her everyday. Taylor did not want to give Maggie up because she and Jillian really loved their pony. They boarded Maggie at a different farm, which did not work out. The owner at the boarding facility, was very, very inexperienced with horses. Maggie did not like how the owner treated her. Taylor found this out and immediately emailed Days End. Taylor knew that Days End would be able to find Maggie a better, suitable home. It was also in Taylor's adoption contract- she had to return Maggie if she was no longer able to care for her. So Maggie was returned to Days End. 2-3 weeks later, they euthanized Maggie. Maggie never received training, she was never properly evaluated, and she was never put up for adoption. Taylor and Jillian were not even notified their pony was dead. They found out about a week later from the online protest.
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If you have questions, and they are not answered in the FAQ (below), please feel free to email us, or leave a message in the guestbook (be sure to leave your email address!).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why did Maggie get her "dangerous" reputation?
A: Maggie received her dangerous reputation because of her breaking her adopter's ankle, and from the inexperienced owner at the boarding facility. The owner at the boarding facility did not handle Maggie correctly, and Maggie did not like it.
Q: How old was Maggie when she died?
A: Maggie was around 8 years old.
Q: Was Maggie REALLY dangerous?
A: Well, an 11 year old, and a 13 year old girl were able to handle her just fine. An 11 year old girl even rode her. Every horse in this world is dangerous. It does not mean every horse should be euthanized.
Q: Why did Days End euthanize Maggie?
A: They euthanized Maggie for space, for being "too big of a liability" and for being "too dangerous". Even though every horse is a liability and dangerous.
Q: Could Maggie have been returned to Chincoteague?
A: Yes. The committee at Chincoteague said that they would have accepted Maggie back. Unfortunately, Days End did not even realize that instead of euthanizing Maggie, she could have returned to Chincoteague.
Q: Why didn't YOU adopt Maggie?
A: We are often criticized because we did not adopt Maggie ourselves. Here are the reasons why we did not adopt Maggie:
1) Days End never even put Maggie back up for adoption. So we wouldn't have been able to adopt her anyway because of Days End.
2) Maggie was at Days End for 2 and a half weeks. That did not give us much time to adopt her. We only got to see her once, then Days End killed her.
3) Days End did not tell anyone Maggie died. We found out from Facebook Maggie had died. Maggie's adopters found out from our protest Maggie had died. Days End did not give us any time to find her a home, unless you think 2 1/2 weeks is enough time to properly evaluate an 8 year old Chincoteague pony.
Q: Did Maggie break someone's back?
A: NO. This is probably the most common and FALSE rumor that is spreading around. Maggie broke no one's back. More rumors that were corrected can be found here.
Q: Why did you create this website?
A: This website was to remember Maggie, as well as the other horses that were not given a chance (Mountain and Gatsby). It was also created to share the truth behind Maggie's story. Most people still think Maggie was a psychotic killer, and are still spreading the many rumors about her.
Q: Why don't you get Days End's side of this story?
A: We have gotten Days End's side of the story. Days End gave us little information regarding Maggie's death. They never even told us exactly what happened, except that Maggie's adopters were having "back problems". They did not answer our questions and ignored us. We received the factual information from various individuals who knew Maggie and spent many months/years with her, (this includes Maggie's adopters who had her for 2 years).
Q: Would Maggie really have been living on a dirt paddock for the rest of her life?
A: Another frequent question. Maggie had foundered in the past, therefore Days End assumed Maggie would have to live on a "dirt paddock" for the remainder of her life. This is entirely not true. Maggie's adopters donated Maggie's muzzle to Days End, to ensure that Maggie did not founder again. Maggie had been living on very green, grassy pastures for 2 years with her adopters and had not foundered at all within that time.
Q: Did you even know Maggie?
A: Yes we did. Caitlin trained Maggie when she was at Days End a couple years ago. I also groomed Maggie and caught her in the field many times, when I was 10 years old. She was a very sweet mare.
Q: Is Days End a kill rescue?
A: Yes they are. How many rescues have you heard of that have euthanized 5 horses in one week? 14 horses in 6 months? They changed their euthanasia policy (Days End told us they did). Before horses could live out the rest of their lives at Days End (Fibi, Legacy, Whisper, Yessy, etc.). Now horses are euthanized when they are just 3 years old (YaYa). There are such things as kill-rescues. You can look it up.
Q: Is Days End pro-slaughter?
A: Yes they are. And YES it is possible for a horse rescue to be pro-slaughter. Please contact some anti-slaughter organizations and they will tell you Days End is a pro-slaughter horse rescue. Many pro-slaughter individuals have used Days End as an example, in order to keep horse slaughter around in the USA. Feel free to look it up. There is a reason Days End doesn't take in horses from auctions.
Q: Did you even work with Days End?
A: We volunteered there for 8 years, adopted one of their horses, and fostered one of their horses until she died in September of 2007.
Q: Is it true that Maggie needed a trainer, but Days End couldn't afford one for her?
A: Maggie did need a trainer, and Days End could afford one. In fact, they have a paid trainer at their facility right now.
Q: When was Maggie supposed to get training?
A: Maggie was supposed to get training in the fall. Unfortunately, Days End did not allow Maggie to live long enough in order to get that training. Maggie was also going to be put up for adoption in the fall, but that didn't happen either.
Q: Is it true that Days End could not afford to take care of Maggie?
A: Days End is one of the wealthiest rescues in the state of Maryland. They were able to care for 80 horses at their old (smaller) farm, so they were more than capable of caring for Maggie and the other 60 horses at their new (larger) farm.
Q: Was Maggie sick or suffering?
A: No, Maggie was not. She did not have any illnesses whatsoever. There is no evidence or vet records to support that Maggie had any kind of medical issues. She was not euthanized for any medical reasons.
Q: How long was Maggie at Days End before she was euthanized?
A: Maggie was euthanized just 2-3 weeks after being returned to Days End. 2-3 weeks is not long enough to properly evaluate a pony, or even to get a pony adopted.
Q: Can you give me even more information about Maggie's death?
A: Yes. Please email us and we can answer any more questions you may have.
