‘I have never neglected my horses’
A renowned breeder of endangered and rare Choctaw horses was found guilty by a judge last Tuesday of inadequate care of several of her horses after the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office discovered “skinny” and “malnourished” ones on a Woodville property.
Mary Carter McConnell, 71, of Flint Hill, was found guilty by General District Court Judge Jessica L. Foster of five counts of inadequate care of agricultural animals despite McConnell’s assurances that she deeply cares for her horse herd.
McConnell was fined $250 for each count, and over $900 in restitution for veterinary bills accrued by the Sheriff’s Office. The horses will not be seized, according to court proceedings.
“This is my herd, I know these horses,” McConnell told the judge during her trial. “I know them, I care for them, I know their body conditions … I don’t think anyone who knows me, knows my horses … would understand this accusation.”
In November 2024, a complaint was made to the sheriff’s office about the welfare of some of the horses at Millwood, a historic, 154-acre estate on Route 522 in Woodville. Deputy Crystal Jenkins was dispatched to the property and said during her testimony that she discovered about 15 horses, and “observed multiple” that were “malnourished” and “skinny… you could see ribs, hip bones.”
She said after a search warrant was obtained, she saw a herd of about 50 horses on the property. Jenkins said no round bales of hay were found when the property was searched. She said some square bales were found in an outbuilding, but “very little.” Drought conditions last fall also left the fields without grass for the horses to graze, she said.
Jenkins said she tried to contact McConnell multiple times, but McConnell “completely dismissed” her. “She just would not listen to me,” Jenkins said.
McConnell said she pre-purchases hay for the year and visits the Rappahannock Farm and Home co-op in Washington almost daily to purchase food. She suggested the judge could go to the co-op and ask the workers about how frequently she buys food.
In 2019 when McConnell came to Rappahannock with her herd — at that time numbering around 40 — it was one of the largest remaining Choctaw and Cherokee horse populations in America, according to a 2019 Rappahannock News front page feature article on McConnell. The Choctaw, a small riding horse, is listed as threatened on the Conservation Priority List, and McConnell is one of few breeders in the country. She referred to her herd as “genetic treasures” during her testimony.
Horses at Millwood Farm in 2021. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
Photos of the five horses that were the subjects of the charges were shown in court, and Flint Hill veterinarian Amy Hostedler — who was called by the Sheriff’s Office to examine 32 of the horses in November — testified as an expert witness that the five in question were malnourished.
She said it would take “at least months to get into that condition.” A one-month-old foal’s condition was particularly troubling to Hostedler, and she said she was “concerned that he could have died.
“He was nothing but bones and hair,” she added.
McConnell argued that all horse breeds are not the same and have different body types. She asked how could a few be starving while a large number of the horses were not.
“How could I starve one horse,” McConnell asked. “How can the dominant horse in the field be starving if all of the others are fine?”
Hostedler explained in large herds, dominant horses may hoard food and keep others from being able to eat. She said a rule of thumb with horses is to feed them 10% of their body weight each day — so a 1,000-pound horse should eat 100 pounds of food a day. McConnell said her vet advised that for this breed, she should feed 2.5% of their body weight.
“I have never neglected my horses,” McConnell said. “I feed them myself, I know their hay requirements.”
Multiple times during the trial, McConnell — who was representing herself — spoke out of turn or said she could not understand what the prosecution was presenting. McConnell said she brought letters to court from her veterinarian, Thomas Massie, and others but the judge told her they could not be admitted into evidence because they were hearsay.
The judge explained the order of proceedings multiple times, and said she empathized that McConnell is not an attorney, but “the rules apply to everyone.”
“I guess the judge doesn’t want my evidence,” McConnell said.
“It has to be presented by following the rules,” Foster replied.
After she was found guilty, McConnell announced that she planned to appeal the case to Circuit Court. As she left the room, she said, “For shame on all of you. For shame.”
