UPDATE: The $12,000 Kubota rough terrain vehicle, RTV, stolen from the Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawaii has been returned.
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Thieves have stolen a valuable piece of equipment from a non-profit that uses horses as therapy for those with special needs.
It's not the first time the equipment has been stolen -- thieves have been relentless over the last couple of months.Mick and nine other horses owned by therapeutic horsemanship hawai'i in waimanalo, along with three goats, two pigs and instructors
work to improve mind and body, serving about 100 people a week, most with special needs, including soldiers back from overseas, and mostly children."A child can tell a thousand pound animal what to do and the horse will listen and that's really empowering," said Executive Director Dana Vennen.
But now therapeutic horsemanship needs help. Its workhorse Kubota rough terrain vehicle, purchased through a grant three years ago for $12,000, was hotwired and stolen Saturday night.
"We had someone who was staying here at night just for security. He went one night to house sit for one of our instructors and (the thieves) came and they stole the kubota," said Vennen.
Its tracks run through the polo field, and being decked out for the holidays, its garland was found strewn across a back road into a stream. It was used for hay rides, but more so for the every day upkeep and hauling, plus safety, like smoothing out puddles where standing water is a hazard for riders and horses hooves.
"The arena not being able to be dragged is gonna be a main issue through the rainy season when the water builds up in there and we don't have any way to disperse it. It's just gonna build up so that could affect our ability to have riding sessions."
This is the third time the RTV has been stolen, the last two times it was found abandoned, out of gas and crashed into a construction area. But Vennen says thieves have been especially relentless the last two months, from weedwackers to goats.
"It's been pretty much every night, someone comes through here and takes anything that isn't bolted down, literally- they cut the lock on my office and came in and stole a really nice camera that we borrowed from one of our instructors to take cChristmas pictures of our kids."
"Maybe someone will just bring it back realizing what we do for kids and how important that piece of machinery is to us."
"You work so hard for things and people just come and take 'em and it's just infuriating and it's gut wrenching."
If you'd like to help Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawai'i, go to its website, http://thhwaimanalo.org/
