Portland Horse Trainer Faces 20 Counts Animal Cruelty, 'Torture:' PD

PORTLAND, CT —A 30-year-old horse trainer, called a "real vaquero," by the owner of White Birch Farm, was charged by Portland police for the alleged torture of horses in her care.

Alexis Wall, of East Hampton, posted a $100,000 surety bond when she appeared in a Middletown courtroom last week. She's due back in court Sept. 15 for a plea hearing. Patch attempts to reach Wall, and her lawyer Robert Pickering, for comment were unsuccessful.

Of the 20 cruelty to animals charges, nine are allegations of torture, seven for mutilating or cruelly beating an animal, two of failing to provide proper drink and two of overworking, according to the arrest warrant.

Wall, the warrant states, trained horses at the farm from December 2021 to May 2022.

She is facing 20 Class A misdemeanor counts. If convicted, she faces thousands in fines and potentially years in prison.

The crimes she is accused of are spelled out in the five-page Superior Court warrant application provided to Patch by the Portland Police Department.

All the allegations that follow come directly from the Superior Court warrant, which one can read in full at the end of this story:

State animal control agents went to the farm after a complaint was made to the local animal control department. Agents spoke to several people who boarded their horses at White Birch. What they learned was that Wall allegedly routinely, as part of her "training" style, withheld food and water, whipped, struck, excessively used spurs, and once was seen slamming a miniature horse's head into a wall.

Horse owners told state investigators that Wall said, "...pain is an important part of training ...that horses listen to pain and the pain must be great enough to make a lasting impression."

Witnesses provided statements, photos, and videos. A number of the allegations some readers may find distressing. Many of those can be found in the warrant below.

Among the allegations and instances of neglect, abuse, and torture included:

• Horses tied for hours with no water.
• A horse bleeding from the mouth after being ridden and having its head tied too tightly to the saddle.
• Horses whipped excessively.
• "Cruel punishment" such as withholding food /water for extended periods of time.
• Wall inflicted the "prison method," where a horse named Ocho was tied with a chain in a remote, dark single stall with no food or water for 24 hours and no contact with other horses.
• An instance where a horse was bridled with the reins tied back tightly to the saddle, so his nose was almost touching his neck, and it appeared that the horse was having difficulty breathing; his eyes were glassy and rolled back, his tongue blue/purple. In a video referred to in the warrant, someone can be heard saying "Careful, he might pass out."
• A witness said a horse named Goose had "come at" Wall, so she hit him in the head with a metal pipe.
• A witness said throughout training classes, she hit horses in the face with lead ropes and encouraged everyone attending to do the same.

The barn owner at White Birch Farm told investigators that Wall's training style was that of a "true vaquero," or cowboy. And, she admitted to state investigators that horses would be tied up, for up to 10 hours a day. But when pressed about those horses being denied water, the warrant reads, "she changed her statement" to say no, they weren't left that long.

The warrant charging Alexis Wall with 20 counts of animal cruelty:

Portland Animal Cruelty Arr... by Ellyn Santiago

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