Saturday, January 9, 2010

Thanks Anonymous

This post from a reader gives an interesting look into Fugs' life:

" Fugly was an only child, and both of her parents are deceased. She is married but not living with her husband, and they have no children. She has never raised any kids other than her married polo player ex boyfriend's kids. In an unofficial capacity of course. That is as close as she has come to parenting and that is as close as she comes to having any family. She knows nothing that I can tell about being around people with substance abuse problems."

101 comments:

  1. None of that explains her lack of compassion or her intolerance for others. I know many people who have had it much worse and are much better people than she is.

    I was married for over 10 years to a drug addicted/alcoholic, the emotional abuse was crippling and yet, I have compassion for those going through it.

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  2. and this has what to do with horses?

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  3. The fact that no one in the real horse world pays any attention to her, and the fact that she would be unable to make it in the real horse world bothers her to no end. She is pretty much a fake and a fraud caught up in drama. Pay no attention to her.

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  4. Anonymous,
    This has to do with Fugs which is what he blog is about.

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  5. having a column in the countries most read horse magazine is "nothing in the horse world"? Obviously SOMEONE wants to hear what she has to say....

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  6. Speaking as someone who did not renew her subscription to the "most read horse magazine" long before Fugly had a column, maybe the mag isn't all that.

    For those of us in the English discipline, Practical Horseman is more pertinent. I am guessing that PH isn't going to ask Fugs, who can barely ride, to write a column.

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  7. Hey, we have a troll. I guess that makes this blog official.

    Anonymous,
    Having a column in HI is great. It's just that I question their choice of writers.

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  8. Guess her blog is "more official" seeing as how she has this blog dedicated to her. Sigh.
    All this is doing is giving her MORE publicilty, you know that, right?
    Best thing to do is just to go about your real life business and ignore her if you hate her so much. Just mho.

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  9. Above Anon,

    There has been another blog "dedicated to her" for about a year now, it is called Fugly Wench of the Day, so this is nothing new.

    There is and never has been anything "Official" about her blog, it was just her opinions about many things. Given that she has no "official" status in the horse world, or any other world for that matter, why don't YOU quit giving her credit for something that she does not have? JMHO!

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  10. Geez, I guess we are suppose to accept everything spewed on the internet with out thinking critically and discussing it. Sounds like "cult think" to me.

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  11. Run GFY back to Fugly where you belong. Have a glass of her koolaid and wait for her to accept your comment so you can say first!!!

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  12. Oh dear, we upset the troll anon/cult member. What ever will I do now that I don't have anyone to poke with a stick.

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  13. Real horsepeople do not read HI.

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. This was said about someone else on another horse message board but it certainly fits Fugs:

    "She is a narcissistic, arrogant purveyor of self-aggrandizement"

    She is mean spirited, heartless and the biggest bullshit artist to hit the net since the internet was created.

    Everything that has been said about her on this blog is spot on and cannot be improved upon.

    Yet, she will post again on her blog and create more opportunities that will be used to expose her for what she is..a phoney and a fraud.

    My biggest pet peeve is that she goes after minors on her blog and refuses to admit when she is wrong and won't apologize for anything. To me, that is the height of self imposed, much distorted, superiority.

    I love this blog. Thank you. Finally, someone has the guts to point out the truth about this charlatan. I hope she withers away in LA never to be heard from again.

    I can dream, can't I?

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  16. Hate the woman or not, she's extremely influential in the horse world and HI has a huge readership (not limited to, as apparently think, newbie idiots, but also reaching out to industry leaders and professionals). In a case like this, who cares if it's a "do as I say, not as I do" approach--if she's educating people about responsible ownership, the horses are benefiting, and that should be the only real goal of all true horse lovers--not some "she said he said she's a ho" kind of bullshit grade school crap.

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  17. Funny, because I am a professional in the horse world (trainer, to be exact), and I do read the magazine. It's cheap, it has pretty pictures, and there is the occasional good article that makes subscription worthwhile. It also gives a good idea about what's happening with other aspects of the industry, which is something that all serious people should keep in mind.

    I also didn't say that Fugs was all that important in the horse world at large; however, she obviously has a huge readership (or you wouldn't feel the need to bitch about her, because no one would care, and she wouldn't rake in the $$$ from ads on her blog). She reaches 100,000 people from her HI articles alone. Her rude snark, personal dramas, and questionable equine integrity aside, she has performed a great service to a number of horses who otherwise wouldn't be alive. She has certainly inspired some of her readers to be better, more responsible horsemen--and that's what it should be about.

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  18. She is a poseur. Do you know the woman?

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  19. I do not know the woman, and I don't care to. What I DO know is that, regardless of her personal knowledge or lack thereof, and regardless of her moral shortcomings, and regardless of whatever lies she tells about her personal life and horses, she has had a positive impact on the lives of a lot of horses and on the education of a lot of horse owners.

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  20. Oh please. Tell me where she has made an impact. Anyone can say anything.

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  21. Hmm. How about the rescue horses who have found homes through the publicity of the fhotd blog? How about the testimonials from previously-uneducated horse owners fawning at Fugs' feet and saying, "I used to by a byb but now I know I was producing bad horses so I won't do it anymore!"?

    I don't read the blog anymore, so I don't know how relevant it currently is. But I do know what when I followed it, there was good information about common conformation flaws, about how to make your horse marketable, about how to report abuse/neglect, etc.

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  22. Know-it-all anon, I thought you said you were leaving? Don't let the door hit ya!

    Obviously we are hitting a nerve, gotta have suck ups and trolls coming over here defending her. I guess that means we're legit now? That we've struck a nerve. Excellent.

    HI is not the be all, end all magazines out there. It's very low end. Well, even more so now that they chose to let fugs write for it.

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  23. First off, just because someone is named Anonymous does not mean that all Anonymi are the same....unless you and I are the same person, which would make this a rather schizophrenic debate. Take a clue from posting style.

    Second off, where exactly have I defended Fugs or stated that Horse Illustrated is the best magazine? I have done neither. The magazine is simple a good reference among many that happens to have a rather large readership. And Fugs, quite simply, is Fugs. Maybe she's a lying-bitchy-slut-ho, but she's a lying-bitchy-slut-ho that's done a lot of good for horses via the Internet. I notice that you failed to supply a comeback for that.

    Also, your definition of troll is vastly different from mine. I guess I'm trolling now simply for stating a differing opinion/viewpoint? Right on! Let's make it even more trolly: YOU SUCK LAME ASS RETARD LOLOLOL. Check out www.bangledashtrading.com for some great deals. I made $1000000 in a month working from home!

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  24. "she has had a positive impact on the lives of a lot of horses and on the education of a lot of horse owners."

    No, she has a lot of the same type of people, all agreeing with each other.
    "They" are selling these low-end horses, not ME.
    How stupid THEY are.
    Superiority does breed contempt.
    Anyone not of the wealthy mind-set must take a flying leap off the plank.

    How has she personally helped any horses, with her snark?
    Give me a list. Auction horses don't count, unless you can prove they ALL went to forever, loving homes.
    She doesn't personally help ANY of them, as far as I can tell.
    I could be wrong. But HSUS has the same kind of mind set.
    BAD people out there!
    Send money HERE.
    The horse-world lives/breathes snark.
    Snarking keeps the uninformed, afraid and uninformed.

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  25. Anon 1:59 pm.

    Someone struck a nerve with you. Go back to the fugly blog if you don't like it here. *Shrugs* You won't change any of our minds with your pro fugs banner waving proudly in the air, nor do you impress any of us. And yes, you are trolling, or you wouldn't be under anonymous. I get to be under anonymous because I am not here to stir up crap and throw psuedo insults around because I don't happen to give one flying rats rear end about your little hero fugs.

    Isn't it time to change the flavor of your koolaid?

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  26. Funny enough, if Fugs hadn't posted that sale ad of Prince, he and Lucy (Cricket) never would have been bailed out of the hell they were in by NCCatnip. Hate Fugs all you want, but there's 2 she did help, if only by posting them.

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  27. Anonymous,
    Note that no one is criticizing her for comments on rescuing horses and responsible breeding. She is being taken to task for espousing misinformed views on other issues. Do you really want Fugs teaching the world about riding and training. Bad riding and training kills horses and this is a very important horse welfare issue. If she wants to write about responsible breeding or the re-rider then all is well, but if she digresses into other topics she could do a great deal of damage. The last thing horses need is more blind leading the blind.

    It's important to expose how Fugs operates so that readers of her blog know not to take her at her word. At this point, readers are in the Fugs-knows-all camp or they are out and a difference of opinion is not allowed. Also, she teaches a method of interaction that will not improve the knowledge of byb's, to coin a phrase, or change the condition of the byb horse. Alienation only promotes more irresponsible breeding and horse welfare issues. What she is doing is very destructive.

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  28. She's not being criticized for posting ads for horses in need. She helped Prince and Lucy and I do acknowledge that.

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  29. And that's fine well and good- I'm not fan of Fugs, but I am a member of HD and feel it's unfair to lump ALL the HD members in the same category as Cat/Fugs. Unfortunetely, we do have to tolerate her there, as she's done nothing that is justifiable to ban her for.

    I don't agree with how some issues are approached on HD, either. Some things can get blown up and get way out of hand, but since it's not my forum, I have no say it how it's run, or how the members behave. I have found some good and useful information on there from time to time, and nothign cracks me up more than to see it bastardized on the FHOTD blog, blown all out if the context in which it was ever written.

    I'm not saying you are wrong in what you are doing, I'm just saying don't cast everyone in the same light- we aren't all guilty by association.

    Hey, CCC, nice to see you over here instead of on HD.

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  30. As I've said before and will say again and again and again, if a blog / person / message board / advertisement / commercial / lecture / etc. saves the life just one horse, then the ends justify the means and good has been accomplished.

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  31. Also, for the millionth time, I'm no fan of Fugly. Not in the slightest. But I think you guys are grasping at straws here. Her personal life, while disgusting, has nothing to do with horses, and her credentials have nothing to do with the horses that her blog has helped. Bitch and moan all you want, but it won't change the facts.

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  32. What was it that fugs called her readers on that other forum? The very readers that are holding her to such high esteem?

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  33. Yes, saving a life is good, but what about those she hurts with bad advice. If a reader takes her too seriously then there can be serious repercussions. Don't you think it's important to know that she often knowingly writes BS. Her credibility and credentials have everything to do with the quality of advice she's giving. What about those who think that she's a good source of information and as a result cause injury to their horse or themselves.

    I'm involve with HD as well. I was referring to certain members of HD, but point taken. I was thinking of changing the title anyway.

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  34. I don't remember exactly, but it was something like she was irritated because her readers are idiots. The exact wording is somewhere back on the 3000 post.

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  35. Wasn't it we where GL's minions?

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  36. Why do you think she disassociated herself with the Free Speech forum? She didn't want to moderate them, and let it turn into a pack mentality that is far worse than I've seen anywhere else. I have read where she's laughingly calling her readers "minions" and such.

    I agree that she needs to be outed for her misinformation, and I think it's a great idea to have the back up information to prove why she's wrong. I just don't think dragging her personal life and personal info into this is a good idea, Just my opinion, of course.

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  37. Well, we've seen her first hand how she treats the people who have actually invested money into the horses she "helps". And to be quite honest...PEOPLE are the ones who are funding fugly and her endevors to "help" the horses. If she cannot make any attempt to have compassion for people or to treat them in a civilized manner, then all the compassion in the world for the animals means nothing.

    A defining statement by fugly, for me, was when she did the post on Diesel, the barrel horse that was stolen from the arena and horribly abused. In fug's original post, she specifically stated that the horse was most likely stolen and abused by a pissed off "ex-boyfriend".

    I think that statement is pretty telling. Cathy had no actual information on that particular case. Did not and does not know the owner of that horse. Nor is she familiar with the rodeo community. But what is the first thing that comes to her mind?

    Something that she probably fears could happen to her?

    All snark aside...WHO implies that the owner is somehow responsible when something as horrible as that happens to their horse?

    And her absolute refusal to correct herself when she is proven wrong or that something she says is one way is proven to be incorrect?

    That's not educating anyone nor does that show others that part of the process of owning and caring for animals means constantly evaluating, re-evaluating and changing how you do things to improve!

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  38. OK, all: Don't assume that the staff or membership of Horsedopiarulz condones Cathy's blog, advice, or personal choices. The board is not responsible for any one member's actions. Cathy is treated (and respected) no differently than any other poster, as it should be.

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  39. Wasn't she getting $250 a month from RESCUES who paid her to have their banners on her blog? Wasn't she getting $1000 a month for those large ads?

    Just like Cber....all she did many times was put the word out that a horse was in need. It was the donors AND the person or people who actually saved the horse and took him/her home to care for him/her who are the true heros. Yet it shows up time and time again that those who had nothing to do with the actual save or the subsequent care of the horse get all the credit. Where's the glory in that? There is none. Heck, any of us can start a blog and mention horses on Craigs List that are in danger, horses that are going to auction in any given area that are in danger. It's not us who advertise it who should be lauded as heroes....it's those who actually do it that should get the credit.

    Stop giving her credit for something she with which she had little to do.

    She is an opportunist who, more than trying to get money out of people, is trying to make a "name" for herself and take credit for rescuing horses not due her (as explained above).

    I was most concerned with her attacks against minors who may or may not be obnoxious, pretentious, superficial and brag a lot, as some teens will do.

    If I'm not mistaken, she has also posted personal info that lead her followers to contact the target of her rage, many times causing problems for said target. While she may not have contacted the target, the fact is that her followers did. They did that

    1) because of her rants on that blog

    2) because of her contribution as well in the comments section that helped to beat everyone into a raging frenzy against the target

    makes her no less culpable. Would she have apologized if one of those minor children had done something horrible to themselves because they were shamefully featured on that destructive blog? I'm reminded of that internet case where the mother of a girl pretended to be a boy and said awful things to her "target" that caused that 13 year old child to commit suicide. NO ADULT should ever engage in back and forth BS with a minor, no matter what the reason. Attacks against and "featuring" minors should always be OFF LIMITS. Fugs just doesn't give a crap. She has to be right. She loves the attention and the back patting and she loves her rabid followers because it makes her feel important. To hell with the target of her rage.

    I've also read this on other message boards and blogs and it seems to fit Fugs too:

    "She's a leach who coasts on the coattails of other people's accomplishments".

    Yes I am shamefully repeating other people's brilliant quips.

    I am posting anonymously because many others are as well. Why subject myself to more abuse by "outing" myself? If it's accepted here to post anon....then so be it.

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  40. For factual info:

    Fugs called us out on a different forum, not on FHOTD, The Manure Pile (Litter Box) to be exact.

    I will agree that Fugs did do some good with her blog, but she has lost her focus, she now wants to be a celebrity. I have first hand info about that big rescue she claimed to be such a big part of, well, she wasn't, she stood around and got in the way more than anything. Fugly is only a hero to the horses in her own mind.


    Anon who mentioned me, I go on HD to read different things and see different perspectives. There is good there as well as bad, just like everywhere else. I do like some folks on there, but HD will never become my main place to be, as I have said to several of the mods, not that it makes any difference to anyone. LOL!

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  41. Same anonymous here who just wrote the post above........

    That blog does much more harm than good. Opinions are offered as fact. So called facts are skewered many times. People she features on her blog, in real life, are actually HURT DEEPLY in many ways that Fugs isn't aware of or doesn't care about by what is posted on that blog (true or not) and I'm sure it's very hard to recover from the destruction.

    If she were to deal in cold hard facts that are verifiable in EVERY case, it would be different. However, her "facts" are not facts most of the time.

    Most adults whom she features can weather the storm and move on with their lives. MINORS many times can not and she should be held accountable for all the destruction she has heaped upon those kids...all because she needed fodder to keep her rabid, hungry readership interested in her blog.

    What a price to pay....and she isn't paying it.

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  42. Then why don't you guys, rather than speculating about Fugs' possible traumatic childhood events and physchological problems, provide a positive alternative blog? Try to gather some readership and impact people and animals in a beneficial way. If it's true that tons of the original fhotd crew are fed up with the BS, then they should gladly switch over to a blog like that. It could actually do good instead of inspiring snarky but pointless debates between a handful of anons.

    The impact of Fugs' blog--and therefore the benefit--was the large readership it reached. Publicity is what found homes for the horses. No, Fugs wasn't directly involved, and she deserves little of the credit. But the truth is that, without fhotd, some of those horses would probably be dead or just festering away in a rescue somewhere.

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  43. Another way to get "back" at her would be to stop reading her damn blog. She makes money based on the number of traffic hits she gets per day. And then you wouldn't raise your blood pressure by reading things that piss you off. It's a win-win situation!

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  44. Because someone has to police her and call her out on her horrid behavior.

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  45. I doubt that the Fugly blog was the only place any horses were advertised as needing help. She had to have heard about any horse she featured as needing help from somewhere, right? Perhaps another blog, another message board, craigs list, an email from someone???? Didn't someone say she spends a lot of her time running from board to board looking for snark material? She does this at WORK? Wow, glad to know her boss(es) don't mind paying her a wage to spend her time looking for stuff to promote herself by way of other people's lives.

    There are plenty of message boards and blogs that focus on helping horses in need and any of us can go to those blogs/boards to help in any way we can.

    I like this blog because it calls into question the drivel that fugs puts out there and it's about time. All "celebrities" know they are subject to public scrutiny and challenge and fugs is no different; albiet she isn't really a celebrity, she's just someone who appeals to a wide group of people who love snark for snark's sake and have no problem chiming in with their own sharky flavors. They love the juicy gossip and grab at the chance to become mini-fugs, even if only for a few moments. That's what made that blog popular; not the so called "education" projected therein.

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  46. Anon,
    If you want to post horses available for adoption or ones on Craig's List there is space here to do that. So get writing.

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  47. But hardly anyone reads here. Unless you would like to adopt a horse?

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  48. If Fugs wrote only about horse rescues she'd loose much of her readership. People are there to watch Fugs rip someone apart and disrupt their lives. Since she can't always find good material she embellishes or lies to create a scandal. It's this and the bad advice that people have a problem with. There are no other forums for people to get together to talk about the problem or find support.

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  49. Hardly anyone reads here? Are you kidding? I get 500 individual hits a day.

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  50. As word gets out that poor wittle fugsy-wugsy is being called out on her BS, people will come and read. I wouldn't be surprised if those who have finally become disgusted with her stuff start showing up here as anons to say what's on their mind.

    I used to read her blog and laugh. Once she started targeting minors, my own sense of right and wrong, ethics and concern for the children being targeted turned me away from her blog...with disgust. Then when the tragedy surrounding her betrayal of a friendship in the worst possible way (and should never happen to any woman) hit, that clinched it for me. I lost all respect for her. Adults have to draw the line somewhere and fugs clearly does not know when and where to draw that line. What's worse is the fact that she clearly doesn't care what she does to or says about people. Karma will reach out to her in ways we can't even fathom (if it hasn't already)...and rightfully so.

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  51. "There are no other forums for people to get together to talk about the problem or find support."

    ...then why not create one?

    "I get 500 individual hits a day."

    Because it's new and novel. It's being sent off rapidly through emails and message boards. Time will tell if it lasts, or if it fizzles out like the Wenchster board (which, incidently, chose to delete the yhi drama post because it was too personal and not about the horses).

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  52. While that tragedy was personal and was not about horses, I can understand why Shelly went public with the problem. I honestly don't blame her for going public. In view of the fact that fugs is widely known and followed, I think it was important that her reading public see the "real" side of her and am glad that Shelly had the courage to "tell it like it is".

    Why is it that people we follow, people we look up to can get away with abhorrant behavior simply because they are popular? Celebrities who commit abhorrant acts are dropped by their sponsors, they lose work or can't get work. Preachers who transgress lose their following, etc. Why shouldn't fugs' readers know what kind of morals she has? If she treats her best friend like that, what makes any of us think she would be "decent and honorable" with regard to a horse transaction or with anything involving horses?

    Our society has evolved into sensationalizing the abhorrant things people do to each other. Juicy tidbits sell magazines, newspapers and "rags". Tv is the same way. There are shows that focus on the absurd, shows that "dish" others and their ratings are high; otherwise, they wouldn't be on tv.

    Why is it alright for fugs to say and do the things she does yet be defended?

    Why can't we just stand up and say, "enough is enough. I'm not reading that stuff anymore and I won't be a part of contributing to it"?

    To what level have we as a society sunk when we defend and otherwise continue to support people like fugs who stomp on others for her own, and everyone else's entertainment, and who commit crimes of passion against her best friend simply because of selfishness?

    We have got to stop applauding people like her and do as others have done to real celebrities...walk away from them.

    Helping horses will always continue because there are way too many good hearted, kind, decent, honorable people out there who will step up to the plate and help them. There's already a ton of venues through which horses are being helped and will continue to be helped. Fugs' blog is not one of them, IMO.

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  53. The Wench's blog didn't "fizzle out". She stopped posting. People came back for months and months until bhm opened this blog. As a matter of fact, the number of people who were still interested in a blog like this one is the exact reason bhm opened this site.

    Bhm is wise enough to have invited several people to help her keep up with posts and has left an open invitation for anyone who wants to participate.

    Now, as far as bashing Cathy's personal life, level of knowledge, etc, etc...I don't see how that should be so "off limits". Not considering the generalizations and harsh criticisms she has about others.

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  54. Wench didn't loose her readership. She just didn't have the time to write any more.

    Why not create a forum for discussion? What do you think everyone is doing here.

    In regards to YHI, how do you know Wench dropped it? The debate was a public on a few forums. If YHI wasn't to post publicly about it its her business.

    Honestly, I don't understand your need to defend her. Where is that coming from and why so upset? Please don't tell me it's about the horses because Fugs isn't about horses. It's about gossip, drama, scandal and bullying. It's a forum where people get together under the pretext of horses to bully others.

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  55. "Now, as far as bashing Cathy's personal life, level of knowledge, etc, etc...I don't see how that should be so "off limits". Not considering the generalizations and harsh criticisms she has about others."

    Bingo. It's called getting a dose of her own medicine.

    "Please don't tell me it's about the horses because Fugs isn't about horses. It's about gossip, drama, scandal and bullying. It's a forum where people get together under the pretext of horses to bully others."

    Couldn't have said it better myself, although I would have added "and denegrate others". Bravo.

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  56. In regards to the personal posts, I'm trying to answer questions that people ask me and reflect the concerns of the comments. If people want to talk about personal issue then that's the direction the blog will go. If the readership is concerned about horse advice then I will try to address that.

    As far as readership, the day this blog was start it averaged 100 individual hits a day. This is many months after Wench stop posting. From this I can deduce that there was quite a substantial group of committed readers of Wench during it's hay day. Since that time, the blog has been consistently growing. I have no idea what it will level off at.

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  57. I had stumbled onto that other blog, I think because someone had posted a link to it on their blog and was disappointed that the blogger stopped posting. I found this blog by accident and have read some of it before deciding to post on this particular subject.

    I will say that it appears that her life must have been very sad for her. At what point did she lose both of her parents? If she was young then, that must have been devastating for her. I feel bad about that. If she was estranged from her parents, I feel bad about that too. If she has a husband with whom she is not involved, that's tragic as they both should just sever ties and get on with their lives...legally. However, I guess that would be their choice, wouldn't it. I'm very sorry that she doesn't have any other family (sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, etc). How lonely is that?

    Of course, this does not excuse nor does it condone how she treats people now and how she treated her best friend who trusted her and believed in their friendship. Such betrayal is extremely hard to overcome for anyone.

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  58. You know what I do not get about all this? Cathy writes a blog. Her opinions. Period.

    You can love her, you can hate her, you can dispute her facts or you can ignore her.

    A person does not have to be an Olympic rider to give basic riding advice. I have seen her give advice that I did not agree with, but NEVER have I seen her so far off the wall that I would consider it dangerous or threatening to the health of her readers horses. None the less, all this BS is totally not hurting her, at all. IF she has posted lies on her blog that hurt people, why dont those people sue her for libel? I bet they could even collect donations for legal fees via paypal.

    Does anyone have any factual evidence that SOS is paying for the ads on her site? If so, please post it. If not, you are just as bad as you say she is, arent you?

    Honestly, she is what she is. Like everyone else. Appears to have some emotional issues. Passionate about the care of horses. Likes the spot like. Has a talent for writing in a way that entertains a lot of people.

    And Deana.. LOL you should really talk to someone about your hate for Cathy.. it cant be good for your health!

    Take her or leave her. Take horsedopia or leave it.

    As for YHI and Cathy... People cheat all the time. It doesnt make it right, but they do it. Do you boycott all the movies that have actors and actresses in them that have cheated? Hell I bet atleast 25% of the people who post on this board have cheated. COME ON.

    I dont mind this blog, because I believe everyone has a right to express themselves. What I do think, however, is that it would have more credibility if it told the ACTUAL stories of the actual people Cathy has wronged, and provided some back up evidence. If she is posting incorrect information and advice, PLEASE point it out. Write about that, not who boinked who.

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  59. People who have been libeled by her and her followers in their comments may not have the funds available to file a lawsuit. I did some research a while back and found out that, in a lot of states, you the complaintant must go to the county in which the offender lives and file there. Since this is the internet, it more often than not, involves interstate travel. Who has the kind of money it would take to sue Fugs or anyone that lives outside of the area in which the victim lives? Not many people and that is what the situation on which Fugs counts.

    The fact that many celebrities have less than stellar morals has little to do with this. They are not running around bludgeoning people with their "opinion" nor are they going after kids, nor do they have rabid followers who are also "going after" victims. Fugs and her followers are and will continue to do so as long as people visit the blog and condone/encourage the behavior.

    Incorrect information should be corrected by Fugs herself since she puts out incorrect info in the first place at times.

    It HAS been pointed out that her info has been wrong by the targets of her rage. They are subsequently sliced and diced, put into the Fugs blender by the followers (and at times Fugs too in the comments section) and the correct info is lost in the devouring. The wolves need to eat so........

    When other people have tried to correct her with factual info, she refuses to budge. The word apology is not in her vocabulary. The words, "I was wrong" are non-existent to her.

    I don't see why we should give credence to someone who is so stubborn as to continue in the same vein in spite of evidence to the contrary. It's all about snark. Snark rules. Snark reigns. I don't know if it's a good thing that Fugs would leave this world being known as the "queen of snark" who devours kids too, all for her own edification/glory.

    I didn't realize there was talent involved in trashing people on a daily basis. It doesn't take much talent to be brutal, vulgar and downright mean. If that's the criteria necessary to consider one to be talented, then Fugs has plenty of talent.

    If she and her followers could offer valued guidance, correction in horse care techniques, etc., her blog would be a lot more palatable but...that doesn't attract readers to newspapers...or blogs, does it?

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  60. Spot on, Anon#2893!

    If you want to make this blog pertinent and useful, why not take inaccurate statements or bad advice of Cathy's and post it here, with corrections? That's what the HD folks did with Horsetopia, and what do you know? They brought the board down.

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  61. "...it would have more credibility if it told the ACTUAL stories of the actual people Cathy has wronged, and provided some back up evidence."

    When we do you get upset that we are discussing personal relationships.

    "If she is posting incorrect information and advice, PLEASE point it out."

    See previous posts on this blog and Wench.

    I still don't see what is motivating this passion defence. If you truly feel that you can take or leave FHOTD then why so upset?

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  62. Anon 9:46,
    I couldn't agree with you more. It amazes me how easily nasty attacks are over looked or put aside in the urgent rush to defend her.

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  63. "That's what the HD folks did with Horsetopia, and what do you know? They brought the board down."

    To HD's level?
    I don't think so.

    HT has many more readers, on a daily basis.

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  64. I am posting as a soon to be re-rider (it has been 20 years). I started reading FHOTD because I felt she was posting information that would help me get back up to speed. Topics I should be researching and looking out for; this was helpful and so I tolerated the snarkyness. Then the personal attacks against people that could be identified followed up by making fun of minors. Also, making fun of newbies, like me. While I rode cross country for several years in my teens, I consider myself a newbie.

    I looked at other boards and was appalled to find that often basic questions that I might ask were touted as stupid and that these people should not own horses; just ante up their $$ to fund a rescue, thank you very much! Goodness, show a picture of mud in a paddock? I grew up in Colorado and yes, we had our struggles with mud.

    The last straw was the posting of the girl who was saving the horse who lost it's ear. Was she a hoarder? I don't know. Was she just trying to scam money? I don't know, I was not there. How dare FHOTD and her readership make fun of that woman and her children? I would think that the most telling sign of something wrong would have been if Animal Services was involved. How dare the readers make fun of how she looked or her education level. If I remember correctly, when I used to ride, I wore my hair in a ponytail, did not wear make up and put on clothes that could get ruined. Has that changed so I now need a mani-pedi before I go see my horse?

    While I would prefer to see more of the horse issues discussed (loved the Pasture info and riding info), I understand why the personal stuff is being aired. I only hope that it does not take over and we see more of the information that would really help newbies and re-riders. BHM and CS, thank you for continuing the Wench's tradition.

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  65. But if you read carefully, the now knowledgeable folks that were once on HT have moved on to better pastures, where they aren't silenced by the masses of bad information and outright stupidity. I'm not talking about hiding in a "By invitation only" forum, either.

    Maybe HT has many more readers, but it's frightening to me the bad information and outright dangerous ideas that are posted there daily, with no tolerance for someone correcting it. As it was said by one of the HT crew "HT isn't for learning or for debate". Then what good is it?

    I do appreciate teh fact that the HD was removed from the title line- we aren't all bad people, and we don't all think like Cathy.

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  66. Follow up question - what does HT and HD stand for?

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  67. Only one thing I really wish to address. With regard to fugly and all she has done for horses.
    For every supposed good thing? For every horse that found a home?
    Several more bad things have been done and several more equines have starved.
    It amazes me how some people only see what they wish to see.
    Pay to advertise on my blog and I will give you a great review.
    You may also contact me privately and I will do my very best to annihilate your competition.
    Give me a fucking break.
    As far back as, Dean Solomon that I am aware of, Fugs could give two shits about who starves.
    Every rescue that she has plucked out of obscurity with no real knowledge of has suffered negative consequences that have the very real ability to negatively affect the horses she claims to be so concerned with.
    I am not going to engage in this slap and tickle over her being a ho.
    But don't ever tell ME or anyone else who has lived through the bitch and still managed to provide for those in our care just how much fugs has done for horses!
    Unbelievable how incredibly ignorant some people truly are...

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  68. HT stands for Horsetopia, HD stands for Horsedopiarulz, a spin off thread that allows open discussion of Ht threads. I do admit that at times it gets too snarky, but never on par like FHOTD. Thigs are discussed, some reasonably, others not, just depends on who's participating.

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  69. Anonymous asked "Does anyone here have factual evidence that SOs is paying for ads on her site" YHI here, and I know for a FACT that SOS has paid Cathy to post rescue horses on her site. In fact Cathy herself was being snotty about the fact that Shawna would not return her phone calls because seh owed Cathy money for advertisments. This is not gossip or heresay it was a conversation with ME. So the answer is YES not only is Cathy charging rescues to post ads on her site she is very pissy if they do not pay in a timely manner.

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  70. You know Cathy used to scream long and loud about the fact that Sam of CBER was paid 150.00 or more for every horse she placed. How is that different than charging rescues to post ads for horses? She is profiting off rescues and rescue horses just the same way Sam did. Only she has less involvement with the actual horses than Sam did...Blogger is free, she has no costs involved. Yet she charges rescue groups who always are struggling with funds to line her own pockets.

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  71. >And Deana.. LOL you should really talk to someone about your hate for Cathy.. it cant be good for your health!<

    Because I would hate to see the trolls go hungry.
    This blog was not created by me. Nor, at my behest.
    Did I hate her? You bet. Do I still? Not since I realized how truly pathetic she is.
    In my world she is a joke.
    In fact, the words, "Here Kitty Kitty", often come to mind with reference to her.
    So, I think I and my health are good. Thanks for your concern though.:)

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  72. WIHAH,
    Good point.

    Snark and censorship of debate originate from the motive to control. "I'm the only person who knows" so I'll attack anyone who questions my view point. The flip side is the "no disagreement allowed" approach to moderating. The later is HD's (HorseDopia) complaint against HT (HorseTopia). The best environment is one were debate is only moderated when it involves inappropriate and nasty comments.

    Not knowing is beginning of the learning process. If you question your understand you will always grow. That's why I took exception to Fugs comment about her readership where she states something along the lines of, "My readers are idiots. Some don't even own horses. So why are they here!" The answer to that is to learn and talk horse. They still love them, need to talk about them, and want to expand their knowledge. I don't see anything wrong with that.

    Case in point, I'm a disabled rider. I've had serious joint problems for approximately ten years and yet I have been riding for forty years and training horse since the late seventy. At this point my riding consists of siting on a horse a walk, or on a good day, a siting trot. In the last year I haven't ridden at all because I've devoted my limited time, cause by disability, to the care and grooming of my horse. Does this mean that I shouldn't be allowed on a horse forum or to give a point of view. Certainly, some of the top Classical trainers and riders don't think so. They've seen nothing wrong with involving me in discussions online and doubt that any of them have an inkling that I haven't ridden in a while. But, by Fugly's standards I shouldn't be allowed on the forum.

    In reality, you probably have more knowledge than you realize and it won't come out until you start sharing your opinion. How many people are on horse forums that don't understand eventing, saddle seat, barrel racing etc. In this regard we are all newbies and re-riders because we are in the process of learning.

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  73. Anon,
    Just to clarify, when I was referring to HDers it was directed at a few individuals who provide the snark. Cathy gets her snarky lines, her view of appropriate targets, and, at times, her views from them. I have very good friends on HD and have no problem with the rest of the members. I took down the comment line because it was misleading. I hope this gives a better understanding of my perspective on HD.

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  74. >Because I would hate to see the trolls go hungry.< snork!

    I don't see anything in Dena's comments that would indicate a hatred for Cathy. She writes in a calm way and expresses her views. It seems that those who are 'hell bent' on criticizing FHOTDR rely too strongly on the ad homonym argument and this represent the basic misunderstanding of FHOTDR members.

    The members here do not have a pathological hatred of Cathy. I, as of yet, have found that the people here view Cathy with detachment. The outrage, rather than anger, is over comments and actions. So people are reacting to the comments and ideas rather like you would react to an misleading, abusive article in the newspaper. Unfortunately, FHOTD has proven to be a good source of misleading and abusive articles.

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  75. Having been personally attacked by one of fug's followers, who was the epitome of the type...an immature greenhorn know it all who could justify her behavior by quoting fhotd, I think that it is important that the real information gets out there. The woman is touting ottb's to amateur riders, for crying out loud! How many people have been hurt or killed?

    And yes, I do boycott movies that have abusive actors in them. If more people took a stand against abuse it wouldn't be tolerated.

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  76. Kes,
    Someone attacked you. Eww. If you write about then people will get an opportunity to learn from your knowledge.

    Fresh OTTB for a beginner rider. Oh my lord!. I know a few OTTBs that would be suitable, but that was after some work.

    I boycott abusive actors intentionally and unintentionally. I can't stand to look at them on the screen.

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  77. Yeah, it was creepy. This woman got all hysterical and yelled at me, and then ran around telling everyone I was just an awful person because I was breeding MY mare to MY stallion to get a colt that I intend to keep, and a couple of other people liked the colt so much they bred their mares to my stallion. The babies are incredible, sound minds and bodies, and every one has a good home because of it. A couple are doing very well showing.

    I have done my time rescuing, retraining and putting up with other breeder's mistakes, and the fad show ring bloodlines have gotten away from the NON-extreme type of horse I want to ride. Horses bred for a specialized class (or to race) usually are not good all around trail horses. I'm sorry for the horses who really don't have a chance, but I'm not the one breeding them.

    I should have bought one from the rescue. Right. The horses in the rescue in this area are usually unsound, but there are some severe cases of crazy as well. And they demand money for the privilege of taking on a horse like that?!

    Fugs was the woman's source of inspiration and her justification for behaving like that.

    It's been very interesting to hear from other small breeders who have been called back yard breeders by fug's followers!

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  78. Would those of you who KNOW that SOS is paying Cathy for ADs please go to the SOS message board and start a thread? SOS is having money problems and 200 dollars a month could be better spent elsewhere, and Im sure the members will be pissed if that is in fact true. I would like to see what those directors have to say about it.

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  79. And I guess I could be called on of those BYB. I have a small closed herd, I do not stand to outside mares, I plan to breed for no more foals than I can comfortably keep in the situation they don't sell. My stallions are proven, they have a show record, their offspring have show records, they are all registered through a known breed association & not some whacked out made up registry. Yet because my horses aren't her chosen "Breed" I get caught in her crossfire all the damn time. One of her "minions" from FiSH or whatever it's called now went after me tooth and nail. Kind of funny to see how fast this person backed up when asked what her experience with my breed was- none at all.

    Heck, I don't hate fugly, I don't hate anyone. I just wish the more harmful info was not as readily available as it is, and not just on her blog, either.

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  80. Kes,
    That's just nuts! I'm not surprised that Fugs is the inspiration of this round of insanity. Yes, there are good backyard breeders as well. I'm sure you are one as I know you are an amazing horse woman.

    Anon,
    What breeds are you involved with? It's not those dreaded GVs or Friesians is it? Darn those hairy horse people(I'm referring to myself here).

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  81. bhm, I have Miniature horses. To her, they aren't "real horses" because they can't be ridden, and are therefore useless. Like you, I can't ride much anymore. I had a head injury that knocked out my depth preception. I can ride some at a walk or trot, but if I canter or try fences, I get a bad case of vertigo. Minis were my way of being involved with horses on a different level. While I can't ride, I can drive and show in hand and still get my horse fix. Apparently, though, horses have to be ridden to be useful.

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  82. Anon,
    You know, I almost got involved with minis for that exact same reason. I really love the breed and a number of other breeds that make the top of the FHOTD's shit list. The FHOTD crowd are mainly made up of people who are involved with TBs, WBs, or QH's. Not that there's anything wrong with those breeds or that activities associated with them, but the horse world is so much bigger than that. Most of her readership is constituted of horse people who believe that their breed is the standard that all breeds should be judged by and are not interested in opening their minds to the thought that they just might not know everything.

    I really hope that you are doing well. That is such an horrible injury.

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  83. Thank you, BHM. It's an old one, and one that doesn't plague me much anymore. It wasn't fun there for awhile while trying to manuever stairs or street curbs, that's for sure! I have a mare that was given to me that I kept as a riding horse and she does her best to take care of me. My daughter has taken over her, though, to keep her fit and shows her at some of our local saddle club shows since her gelding is past retirement age.

    I love all breeds of horses and can appreciate all disciplines involved. I may not like some of the methods of training in some of them, but that has nothing to do with the horse, but rather the people. I admit I don't know everything, but I'm willing to listen and learn.

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  84. Didja ever wonder why if Fugs was such hotshit in the polo community, no one has ever heard of her?
    Or why any of her "students" have even come forward to acknowledge her roll in that capacity, either good or bad?

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  85. Cathy is hotshit in her own world. She isnt working in the legal community anymore either. Her last job in WA was part time at Petco

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  86. Any clues as to why she returned to Ca? Avoiding bill collectors like after her cat "rescue" efforts following Hurricane Katrina?
    No accounting for those funds either.

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  87. The only thing Fugs knows about Polo is how to exercise polo ponies, the rudimentary rules of play, how to tack a polo pony and blow polo players.
    I mean c'mon can you imagine someone with her perched tense seat being able to simultaneously hit a ball and steer a galloping horse?

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  88. Fugly cant even ride a galloping horse. She was paranoid on a trail ride.

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  89. Funny how she popped out a Pony blog after it was mentioned above she doesnt think Ponies are "Real Horses" Seems the hag is paying attention LOL

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  90. Cant remember my user name so being "Anon" not hiding. Whoever created this blog, kudos to you! If you read the article Cathy wrote in HI did you happen to notice how she mentions being a mean teenager and her relentless mocking of an overweight lady for not riding her own horse?? Read the January issue. I did and will never spend another dime on that magazine again. Sad...I've been reading it for over 20 years. It also used to be called the magazine for responsible horse owners. Guess they decided to call it something more worthwhile. BTW, check out her youtube channel. Lovely fencing and crappy video's. Is that a baby horsie I see??
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfje5pqvM3k&NR=1

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  91. It doesn't sound like Fugs out grew her mean teenager phase does it? She eems to be emotionally retarded. I know for a fact Fugs still HATES fat people. HATES.

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  92. That should be seems, not eems.

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  93. Well, the VLC has a colt and philly (hehe) both born in 2008. Wow, he sired them as a 2yr old before being broke to ride . BYB...Wonder why she only has mares? Broodies to be exact. Future mates for the VLC maybe? They aren't old nags either. Unless you consider 12-18 old. I pity Cathy for being so unhappy with her life that she has to pick on others, sleep with someone's man and then try to look like a saviour. It must be nice to have all day to dig around the internet ad's, message boards and blogs just to find something to bash on her site. And calling a horse Fugly is cruel. Did the horse ask to be born? No.. Does it mean its not responsible breeding? Maybe or maybe not...She is no better keeping the VLC aka Big Yellow Caddi intact. Especially with all the mares she owns.He sure better win some big time $$ to be worthy of keeping his jewels.

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  94. re. Fugly and overweight people... she had a weight problem herself and was dieting furiously when she lived in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. If only her livejournal were still posted... she was "catriona_in_la" and wrote all about it.

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  95. At the time of her live journal dieting days, she was also having plastic surgery. She has had veneers on her teeth, a chin implant and lipo for a double chin, and lasick eye surgery to correct her myopia. So even though she could be referred to as plain looking she had to have plastic surgery to get that way.

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  96. Anon, 11:20,
    Holy moly, do you know her personally? Did you know her when she lived in L.A. in the early 2000's? I didn't see any mention of cosmetic surgeries in her live journal, but did see many posts on her dieting efforts.

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  97. Yes I know her personally. We both hung around LAEC.

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  98. Up until two days ago, I had never heard of FHOTD or Cathy. Then a friend of mine sent me a heads up that the farm Shatormar Arabians and I were attacked by name on the FHOTD blog. In the entire post there are maybe two facts; the rest is unsubstantiated accusations and outright lies. I emailed her a cease and desist notice detailing the lies in her blog and her response was rude, childish and she blatantly says she will continue the harrassment, defamation and libel.

    She committed copyright infringement by stealing our images and postin them to her blog.

    Someone committed criminal tresspass on our property to illegally obtain photos in direct violation of our right to privacy and as copyright infringement (we use our horses images for advertising and for sale on products so it is copyright infringement to photograph them with out written permisson), I don't know who yet but the State Police are investigating and we have filed a police report.

    I have filed a complaint with her webhosting provider and the PA State Police and will be filing additional criminal complaints with whom ever I can think of that has jurisdiction.

    All evidence has been submitted to our attorney for future reference and possible civil action (and yes, we do have an attorney for the farm).

    So does anyone know where she is now? My attorney and the PA state police would like to know as soon as possible.

    I am appalled that she gets away with this kind of behavior and nobody has put a stop to it prior to this. We will not be bullied or intimidated as we have the truth and the law on our side!

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  99. Hey there, just found your blog today, and I'm quite taken with the reasonable tone and sensible comments on Fugly. I can't get this to post under anything but anon...my name's Vivian btw.

    Her blog seems to be gone today, could it be that the legal action mentioned by Shatormar arabs has bourne some fruit?

    If it has, about time. Cathy is one of the most sarcastic, nasty, aggressive women I have ever read. I disagreed with one of her posts once, and she attacked me without any reservations! My "sin" was to disagree with her opinion on the efforts of a farm to sell one of it's older broodmares. They had broken her to ride, and were offering her for sale. Now her conformation wasn't great, she probably shouldn't have been a broodmare, but hey, they were making an attempt to sell her as a riding horse, not dumping her on C.L., or at an auction. I said that I thought that there were other far worse targets that she could have found, and she skinned me, saying that she wasn't going to spare them because they "weren't bad enough". ( I thought they were doing pretty well, myself!)

    At that point I lost whatever interest I had in her opinions, I only read her for the gossip (which I take with a whole block of salt!) I mean sheesh, I've been in horses for 30 years! I was a CEF coach until it got too expensive. You'd think I knew *something* about horses, training them, buying them, selling them, something.

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  100. BEC, bravo to your post. Very well said. I couldn't agree more. Ahhh but the saving of the horse accomplishes several things:

    The saviors get all the kudos and praise and pats on the back by other emotionally charged but lacking common sense people. The saviors thrive off that emotionally and they get a "wonderful" reputation for "saving" the horse.

    The saviors then rake in the money and 99% of the time do NOT show proof the money they collected was actually spent on that horse. They lie about how much they take in many times. So, they get praise and extra cash which may or may not (in several cases in the past) spend the money on that horse.

    They then "farm" the horse out as you say, walking away from any responsibility for that horse except to have the right to re-home the horse if the foster family can not or will not keep the horse any longer. They then get kudos for "doing the right thing" by the horse by finding him a new sucker to pay all his bills, just like the original foster family did. Oh yes, they can adopt out the horse for a fee, keeping the money while the foster family has already eaten all of the bills of said horse. The foster pays for the care/upkeep while the "rescue" gets the cash when the horse is adopted out.

    Quite a little racket if you ask me. I won't donate one red cent to any rescue, knowing what I know about how MOST of them operate. They can kiss my behind.

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