Mentally challenged TWH stable hand is severely beaten

Mike, victim of attack, clings to life as TWH enthusiasts show true showmanship

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Stable hand clings to life as TWH community clings together

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Judith Yates

Crime & Courts Examiner

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In the last few months, some people in the Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) community have brought horrible publicity upon the breed: abusers, torturers, uncaring owners, trainers, and show people. But as a mentally challenged man who worked as a stable hand clings to life in a hospital, this community has shown a horse of a different color. Mike worked for a Tennessee Walking Horse farm. Because he is mentally challenged, his duties were limited to cleaning, brushing horses, and odd jobs, but he did them with pride and he did them well. He smiled the entire time he was at work. He rode his prized possession, a used bicycle, to work and back, and waved to everyone. He would talk to the horses; he had a special way with animals, despite what some call a ‘handicap.’ “Although they may not have the mental capacity to think and react like most of us,” Mike’s employer says, “they have a heart larger than normal and a willingness to work and be helpful to others that many of us ‘normal minded’ people would do well to pattern ourselves after.” Mike is one of those gentle souls on earth who does not know how to harm anyone with words or actions. Unfortunately, he also does not understand fear.
Several days ago, a man allegedly pulled a knife on him with the intention to rob him. This was near his home in the city area. Mike did not know he was supposed to be afraid. Child-like, he did not understand he was being robbed. He called the police. On Saturday, he answered a late-night knock at his door. Three men attacked him at his home in retaliation. The men, according to reports, were related to the robber. At this writing, Mike is on a respirator and in an induced coma. Every bone in his body has been broken, and today he spent 12 hours in surgery to repair his face. “The Mike we know was not the Mike in the hospital room,” says his employer. He was unrecognizable, so badly beaten and broken. Now the TWH community, led by the family who owned the farm where Mike worked, their friends, and family, are coming together to help Mike recover. The perpetrators stole everything Mike owned, so people – friends and strangers - are going to assist him in replacing it all. Because Mike was mentally challenged, he always bought incorrect sized clothing, too large for his thin frame. Mike has no insurance, so a fund solely for hospital expenses has been created. A Facebook page for prayers and messages has been created. Philanthropy for Mike is not limited to the Tennessee Walking Horse community or horse lovers. Unfortunately, at times it takes a tragedy to bring people together. Horse lovers, TWH enthusiasts, folks who work with the mentally challenged, and people who feel it is the right thing to do – across the nation, slowly, are coming together in prayers, in thought, and in donations, cards, and gifts for a special man.

. A movement started by TWH enthusiasts has brought a lot of people together. It is about time real showmen have revealed the other end of the horse. Cards (think “horse!”) can be sent to:


Mike G. c/o
950 Rodeo Dr., Walterboro, SC
29488

 

A special account has been set up for Mike. 
Bank of Walterboro
PO Box 1707
Walterboro, SC 29488

Attn: Mike G. account

Mentally challenged TWH stable hand is severely beaten

Mike loved the horses, like this one, at the farm he worked. Now it is questionable if he will care for them again.

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Mike had a job at a Tennessee Walking Horse farm in the heart of TWH country. He brushed, fed, and watered the horses; he cleaned stables and did odd jobs. It might not sound like much, but Mike is a grown man, mentally challenged, with the mind of a child. As you read this, Mike is undergoing emergency surgery as he was attacked last week and beaten to death for reasons still not clear. Mike was raised by his loving grandmother, and when she died he went to live with a brother, “who had grown intolerable of his childlike ways and kicked him out of his house months ago,” according to a close friend. Mike had his own place, of which he became extremely proud. But his prized possession: a used bicycle. It offered mobility, independence, and to him it was the world. Because of Mike’s tiny size (he has a size 0 waist), his mental challenges, and the neighborhood where he resided, his employer “begged him to come live on the farm with us.” But Mike was proud to be self-sufficient. He told his employers he looked forward to work every day. He waved to everyone. He talked to the horses in loving, soothing tones. He did his job with pride. “He is a sweet, child-like man,” says his employer. “He was nice to everyone and wanted to be helpful to people as an eager- to- please child would. He was always smiling. More often than not, too many people would take advantage of him.” Evidently, someone did just that. According to law enforcement, Mike was beaten in the area where he resided. Swollen and unrecognizable, Mike had to be care-flighted to the trauma center at MUSC in Charleston and is currently undergoing surgery with no one allowed to visit, including family members. Mike is so swollen from the beating the surgeons cannot determine the full extent of the internal damages at this writing. Most of his bones are broken and one eye was knocked out of its socket. His family has come to be with him, and in his mind he is very frightened, as he does not understand what is happening. “Let my sister in,” he told the surgeons at one point. “She’s the smart one and she’ll know what to do.” His face is being reconstructed due to all of the facial bones being shattered; they are hoping they can make him look the same. Facial surgery alone will take over 10 hours. Mike has a long recovery ahead and his family “is trying to stay strong.”Initially it was believed there were six perpetrators; now it is known there were three. The motive is unknown at this time. The Chief of Police explained he was working the case carefully; the police know Mike is “kind, gentle, and a nice person;” they are outraged. Law enforcement officials are proceeding with care, as they want to ensure the perpetrators are caught and punished accordingly. As the medical experts are working on Mike, law enforcement work on the case. Family, friends, and loved ones wait in anguish on Mike’s prognosis. Those who know Mike sit in shock and disbelief that anyone would harm this child-like man who would never say an unkind word against anyone. At this time, a friend is working to set up a Medical Expenses Fund to assist Mike. In lieu of the negative publicity so many people have brought to the Tennessee Walking Horse, it is time to see the positive so many others bring to this wonderful breed – those that do not harm one another. “Mike loves the horses,” says his employer, and even if he can only brush them upon his discharge from the hospital, or just talk to the horses, they have his job, and a new home, waiting for him. You cannot get better than that.

Keep watching this column for updates and how you can assist Mike and his family. As information comes in, I will keep you posted.

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