MILFORD, Mich. \u2013 A Milford trail-riding business is at the center of a heated dispute after Oakland County Animal Control officers seized 38 horses Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Former employees allege widespread neglect and abuse, while the owner insists the animals were healthy and well cared for.<\/p>\n
Officers served two search warrants at approximately 10 a.m. at High Vibe Trail Rides and a residence on West Commerce Road, both in Milford. <\/p>\n
The 38 horses are now housed at a horse rescue in Howell, where veterinary staff is conducting thorough exams. <\/p>\n
How it started<\/p>\n
The investigation began roughly four weeks ago when multiple complaints came into animal control alleging inappropriate treatment and inadequate care of the horses. Officers corroborated that information and obtained two search warrants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the result of a weeks-long ongoing investigation regarding allegations of animal cruelty, abuse and\/or neglect,\u201d said Oakland County Animal Control Supervisor Patrick Fanning.<\/p>\n
Oakland County Animal Control is the lead agency on the investigation. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Police, Oakland County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Milford Police assisted with the seizures.<\/p>\n
Former employees: \u2018There was abuse, there was neglect\u2019<\/p>\n
Former employees of High Vibe Trail Rides say what was happening to the horses was far from the scenic, carefree experience the business advertised.<\/p>\n
Hailey Hayes said she began working at the business in 2025 and almost immediately noticed horses that were malnourished and injured. She said she stayed, hoping to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of food, lack of water, the lack of just simple basic necessities was just ridiculous,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n
Hayes said she never saw a veterinarian on the property during the nine months she worked there. <\/p>\n
She alleged the horses were never vaccinated, never had Coggins pulled, and that injured animals were hidden from public view.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf one of them had an injury, they were thrown in the back field or brought to her house where no one could see it,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n
She also described overcrowded pastures, persistent saddle sores, and recounted one particularly alarming case in which a horse developed a severe neck wound \u2014 and was sold without ever receiving veterinary care.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never called a vet out. She sold the horse like that,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n
Meghan MacDonald worked at High Vibe Trail Rides in 2024 for just over two months. <\/p>\n
She started as a customer leasing horses before being offered a job.<\/p>\n
She said what she witnessed on the inside was a stark contrast to the business\u2019s public image.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was painting this beautiful scenic route, but really behind it there was abuse, there was neglect, and she was selling horses to buyers who didn\u2019t know any better,\u201d MacDonald said.<\/p>\n
She also alleged the owner failed to properly pay employees fairly. She claims her employment ended after she refused to ride with a guide she believed to be intoxicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could not be more happy that everybody was able to come together and we were able to get these horses saved,\u201d MacDonald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very fortunate to have created the team that we have to get our voices out and be heard, because one person would not have been able to make this happen. We all had to come together and put our feet down and stand up for the animals who can\u2019t stand up for themselves,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n
The owner\u2019s side: \u2018A disgusting witch hunt\u2019<\/p>\n
The owner of High Vibe Trail Rides, Lucie Ptasznik, did not speak on camera. <\/p>\n
Her boyfriend, Jason Roberts, spoke on her behalf. He offered a forceful rebuttal to every allegation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known Lucie and her farm for a long time, and what\u2019s happening to her right now is wrong and the facts back that up,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n
Roberts said an independent veterinarian evaluated every horse on the property less than two weeks before the seizure, scoring virtually all of them with a perfect body condition score. <\/p>\n
All fields were also tested for strangles, which came back negative, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe records show exactly what anyone who spent any time at the farm already knows. Animal control was also out to the property less than a month ago and gave a completely clear report,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n
Roberts argued the campaign against Ptasznik was driven not by genuine concern for the animals, but by former employees with personal grievances who had spent months attempting to damage her reputation online.<\/p>\n
He also pushed back on photos circulating on social media that purportedly show horses in poor condition \u2014 saying many of the animals pictured do not belong to Ptasznik.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the horses circulated online are horses she doesn\u2019t even own. There are pictures of injuries and wounds that never took place at her property. This is a disgusting witch hunt, and it\u2019s gone way too far, and it needs to stop,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n
Roberts said Ptasznik has legal counsel working on the matter and urged the public to review the facts before drawing conclusions.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next<\/p>\n
Animal control says the investigation remains active, with officers still conducting follow-up interviews and completing examinations of all 38 horses. <\/p>\n
Once finished, the case will go to the Oakland County Prosecutor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen our case investigation is complete, we will forward our case file to the Oakland County Prosecutor\u2019s Office for review on any and all possible charges,\u201d Fanning said.<\/p>\n
Ptasznik\u2019s attorney is awaiting additional information from animal control. <\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, no charges have been filed.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILFORD, Mich. \u2013 A Milford trail-riding business is at the center of a heated dispute after Oakland County…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2481,143,904,145,144],"class_list":["post-432347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-milford","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-county","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}