Dispersal of College Herd Put on Hold : Horses: Officials question the legality of planned sales arranged by director of the equine program, which is being discontinued.

Moorpark College has to get rid of 40 horses.

But the director of the college’s equine program wants to make sure that the animals go to good homes--not the horseflesh dealers who turn up at auctions to buy horses for their meat.

“Between 75% and 80% of the horses at those (public) sales go to the killers,” Don Anderson told the Ventura County Community College District governing board Tuesday night.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let that happen,” said Anderson, who has cared for, washed and fed the animals for decades. “You’re going to have to put me away and throw away the key before I let that happen.”

But district officials are afraid that Anderson might have violated state surplus property laws by negotiating privately to sell the horses. Others wonder whether Anderson has ignored higher offers from equestrians.

Trustees Tuesday delayed the pending sales until district lawyers can determine whether the animals must be auctioned off to the highest bidders--even if some are purchased strictly for their flesh.

A decision is expected at the July 5 board meeting.

The Moorpark College Equine Program will be shut down after Saturday’s graduation due to Anderson’s retirement and an enrollment that has dwindled to 14 students.

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Typically, such surplus property as computers, desks and cars is stored until enough material is gathered to warrant an auction, where the goods are sold to the highest bidder, said Gil Putnam, facilities director for the district.

“But you can’t store horses for two years,” Putnam said. “That’s the problem.”

Anderson said he decided the fair-market value of the horses--a diverse herd of Arabians, quarter horses and at least one thoroughbred--based on his 26 years of experience in the business.

But trustees worry that because the animals are owned by the college, the public should be given a chance to bid on the horses, all of which have been donated or bred at the Newbury Park training center.

“These horses are public property, whether they’ve been born there or donated,” Trustee Gregory P. Cole said. “Accordingly, they must be disposed of according to the laws of the state.”

Tuesday night, Cole and other board members directed district officials to obtain an independent appraisal of each of the horses, which must be declared surplus property before being disposed of.

They also asked administrators to find out whether the deals negotiated by Anderson are legal.

“These may be valid contracts,” said Trustee Timothy D. Hirschberg, who works as an insurance company attorney. “We may be hard-pressed to prove that Dr. Anderson didn’t have apparent authority (to sell the horses).”

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For his part, Anderson doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.

He said Wednesday that he has sold scores of horses over the 26 years he has run the equine program, then put the proceeds back into the center.

“How else am I supposed to overcome the 50% budget cutbacks we’ve had the past few years?” Anderson asked.

He said he has received more than 100 calls over the past several months from people interested in buying horses from his program. But he had already promised to sell them to a series of buyers he said will provide good homes for the animals.

“These horses have to fit a certain niche,” Anderson told trustees Tuesday night. “We found homes for these horses so they fit into the world and not into a dog food can.”

The sale prices range from free for one retired Arabian stallion to $1,000 for another Arabian stallion. But more than 30 horses were offered for $300 apiece, with the total sale price for the 40 horses amounting to $13,000.

One Moorpark College official said she approves of Anderson’s methods.

“By the time you try to sell 40-some horses, it would have taken them 400-some hours of time” to interview individual buyers, Vice President Darlene Pacheco said. “That was not at all a reasonable way to go.”

But college President James Walker said he never gave Anderson permission to sell the horses. He said the pending sales have forced him to ask trustees to bend the board’s policy by avoiding a public auction.

“The issue is the horses and what’s fair to them,” Walker said. “We’re concerned about people getting these horses . . . to kill them.”

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Michelle Erich, a Port Hueneme attorney whose daughter spent a week in the equine program last summer, said that last year she wanted to buy Royal, a gelded quarter horse, for $1,000.

But under Anderson’s agreement, Royal and 14 other horses would be sold to the Foxfield Riding School in Thousand Oaks for $300 each.

“I would have paid $1,000 for that horse and not batted an eye,” said Erich, who was told last summer that all of the college’s horses were already spoken for.

“I’ve been looking at horses with the intent of purchasing for about a year,” Erich said. “I haven’t looked at anything for under $1,000 that is in any way near the quality of those horses.”

A spokeswoman at Foxfield said Wednesday that the horses would be added to the riding program. But she acknowledged that $4,500 for 15 animals is a “very good deal.”

Other horse trainers in Ventura County said the $300 average price for the Moorpark College animals appears to be low.

“I just sold the cheapest horse I had on the farm for $1,500,” said Raul Puentes, manager of Courtesy Stables in Somis. “Most buyers are willing to spend $1,000 on a horse, so you could certainly get more money for them.”

Erich, whose daughter Shyla, 14, fell in love with Royal and an Arabian gelding named Bask Ki during her week at the ranch last year, wants only a chance to buy a good horse at a fair price.

“Nobody is suggesting they slaughter the horses,” she said. “I’m saying the taxpayers, who own the horses, should be given an opportunity to bid on them.”