The civil rights complaint, filed on behalf of High Vibe Trail Rides, LLC and its owner, Lucille Ptasznik, claims that Oakland County Animal Control unlawfully seized 38 horses from the property on Aug. 12, despite earlier inspections finding the animals to be generally healthy.<\/p>\n
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High Vibe Trail Rides is a horseback riding stable and trail guide located on Meadowood Lane and N Garner Road in Milford. (WDIV)What the lawsuit claims<\/p>\n
The lawsuit filed in Oakland County Circuit Court<\/a> on Wednesday alleges that the seizure of the horses was based on \u201cfalse statements and material omissions, by an officer\u2019s warrantless entry onto the property where their horses were kept.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorneys for Ptasznik say that prior to any search warrants being issued, an animal control officer told her ex-boyfriend that the county was \u201cgoing to take the horses from Lucie.\u201d The lawsuit also claims that the officer admitted to entering the property without permission, and then texted her ex-boyfriend and told him to \u201cstay quiet \u2018or its my job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Further, Ptasznik alleges that a county animal control officer found the horses to be in \u201cgood shape\u201d with \u201caccess to hay, water and shelter\u201d on July 16 \u2014 less than a month before the animals were seized.<\/p>\n Court documents also show that on July 30, a licensed equine veterinarian \u201cwalked every pasture\u201d and determined that 35 of the 37 horses owned by Ptasznik were within a normal weight range. The other two already had established treatment plans with the vet, the suit said, and one horse that was seized belonged to a private owner.<\/p>\n Yet Ptasznik\u2019s attorneys say those findings weren\u2019t included in the warrant affidavits.<\/p>\n The animal control investigation began in July 2026, after the agency received several complaints from former employees and others regarding the alleged neglect and inadequate care of the horses at High Vibe Trails. <\/p>\n Multiple former employees reported seeing evidence of neglect and abuse at High Tribe, alleging that many horses were underweight, failed to receive veterinary care when sick or injured, and regularly had empty water troughs and unsafe pastures \u201cfull of mud manure and broken fencing\/hay feeders.\u201d <\/p>\n One ex-employee also claimed to witness Ptasznik kicking horses \u201cmultiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n Animal control officers say they secured two search warrants for the property after a \u201cweeks-long\u201d investigation into the animal cruelty allegations that involved speaking witnesses and consulting with a local equine expert — Kristine Dvonch, owner of the nonprofit Horses\u2019 Haven in Milford<\/p>\n However, according to the lawsuit, officers never asked High Tribe directly about the health status of the horses or asked for veterinary records prior to the warrants being served.<\/p>\n The complaint also claims that Dvonch\u2019s expert testimony was tainted by her conflict of interest in the case, alleging that when she took custody of the horses after they were seized, she used them to raise funds for Horses\u2019 Haven. <\/p>\n Horses returned, prosecutor\u2019s decline charges<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/JAGSQAOSUBFTHDVREYQYLDZKUU.jpg\"\/)
High Vibe Trail Rides (WDIV)What prompted the search warrants?<\/p>\n