Complaints

This profile includes complaints for South Mountain Equine LLC's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  South Mountain Equine LLC

  7728 Marker Rd Middletown, MD 21769-8231

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  South Mountain Equine LLC

  PO Box 1081 Middletown, MD 21769-1081

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/23/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We used this veterinary service for our horse. When contacted for a swollen leg in January, the vet, ****** Alnwick, ordered x-rays to check for an abscess in his leg. The x-rays showed no abscess, yet she treated him for an abscess stating that "sometimes the x-rays don't show a deeper abscess." This went on for weeks without a clear diagnosis - even to this day she never formally diagnosed him with anything definitive - she never came in to check on him until we insisted that she do so - how do you leave a horse with a painful swollen leg with no pain medication and no follow up? We told this vet he suffers from cellulitis. Yet she put him on antibiotics for an abscess that he never had and never checked in with the horse to see if the antibiotics had been working. She never provided any other instructions such as hand walking him, icing his leg, cold hosing...nothing. In addition, we made it very clear to the vet that she should speak directly to my adult daughter or my husband/me directly since she was pals with the barn owner who was also negligent and overcharged us. ****** did not return my phone calls, and she only contacted my daughter at times when she knew she was unavailable, to leave a message. When I called the office, I never got a call back. Our horse also developed an eye ulcer, for which ****** prescribed drops 6 times per day for 6 weeks. We then contacted an equine opthalmologist who treated his eye and informed us that ****** had seriously over-prescribed eye medication for him. Suspicious since ****** and the barn owner are pals and the barn owner charged us $15 for each instance of dispensing this eye medication. When I called the office and insisted on speaking to ******, because once again no one could get in touch with her, she was defensive and rude. We then received a letter from South Mountain stating that they would no longer answer our calls or treat our horse, leaving him without care or pain medication. This is negligent and cruel.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/27/2025

  I am trying to upload documents and it's not letting me do it.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/27/2025

  more invoices

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/28/2025

   
  Complaint: 23103295
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  If I accept the response, it closes the case and I do not want the case closed. I sent Ms. ****** the invoices via email, thank you for allowing them to be submitted that way.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 04/07/2025

  Requesting more time to respond to this complaint. I will submit a full response by the end of this week. 

   

  Business Response

  Date: 04/11/2025

  To whom it may concern,
  
  This letter is in response to the complaint made by ***** ****** regarding her experience with South Mountain Equine and the care provided.
  
  Aries, the horse we saw for the ****** family, was initially seen on January 23, 2025 for a swollen eye where a corneal ulcer was diagnosed. A discussion was had with **** ****** as to the diagnosis and recommended treatment plan. As an older horse with PPID (********* disease) that is newly being treated, these tend to have delayed or incomplete healing. Horses are very susceptible to infections when they have a break in the integrity of the cornea so the horse was started on medications to prevent infection that increased in frequency when the horse continued to not heal properly despite increased treatment. At that time, it was recommended that the horse be seen by an ophthalmologist for an expert opinion due to the fact that the cornea was not healing appropriately, which the ******** agreed to. At the rechecks, conversations were had with either ***** ****** in person or over the phone with **** ****** to answer any questions and relay treatment instructions that were always given verbally and written down and put in the barn feed room where all medications are kept. During this, the horse was seen for a swollen leg where cellulitis was diagnosed. Radiographs were taken at this appointment to rule out a subsolar abscess. At that time ruled out a subsolar abscess within the hoof, which is different from a cellulitis and cellulitis associated subcutaneous abscesses. Due to the horse's chronic history of cellulitis, he was not responding to treatment as normal and due to lack of response to treatment recheck examinations were requested by the ********. It was discussed that he could have deeper subcutaneous abscesses associated with chronic cellulitis. Multiple veterinarians were consulted on this case over the phone for both his eye and his leg to determine adequate treatment. The ****** family has the medical records that detail these findings and differential diagnoses.
  
  The ****** family never communicated that we were not to discuss Aries treatment with the barn manager/owner. It was not until 2/28/25 that they even brought to our attention that the barn manager was not allowed to schedule rechecks for ***** or add him to the standing appointment list. Dr. ******* has a professional relationship with the barn owner of that stable as she has a standing appointment for horses in that barn every 2-4 weeks. The barn owner was the one providing most of the medications and care so keeping her in the loop for treatment was important to ensure she knew what care she had to provide.
  
  At each appointment, it was discussed when rechecks were recommended for the horse. Anytime a member of the ****** family called, Dr. ******* called them back and either left a message for them to return the call, or tried one of the other members of the family. As a team, it was decided that the ****** family did not fit our professional values after ***** called and yelled at Dr. ******* over the phone. She stated that Dr. ******* had not communicated, when Dr. ******* had just called her husband **** before, during, and after her exam on Aries and discussed a plan. ***** was aggressive and rude toward Dr. ******* on the phone despite her trying to clarify her confusion of what was going on with the horse. A balanced VCPR (Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship) is the cornerstone of good medicine, it fosters positive communication and trust between the veterinarian and the owner. It was decided that the **** was not a successful one as those require trust and respect, however medications were prescribed at that appointment for continued care for the horse.
  Thank you,
  South Mountain Equine
  Dr. ****** ******
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/11/2025

   
  Complaint: 23103295
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  My horse does not have ********* disease - he's never had ********* disease. Our horse was simultaneously misdiagnosed and/or not diagnosed at all for weeks. There was absolutely no treatment prescribed for our horse for cellulitis, an abscess, or any other condition for his leg - other than antibiotics that were not given to him by the barn owner. There were no recommendations for the reduction of pain, banamine was withheld from him, and the vet's office refused to continue to treat him or offer him any pain medication because we complained about the lack of treatment or concern for his leg which was not healing. Dr. ****** did not return A SINGLE PHONE CALL to me for the duration of his time under this vet's "care." Our request to have direct communication with Dr. ****** was a result of Dr. ****** and the barn owner not informing us about the status of his swollen leg on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, Dr. ****** did not come back to check on our horse to see if the swelling had subsided - it was only until we begged that someone from the vet's office visit him through the main office that Dr. ****** arrived two days later and spent most of her time chatting about her college days and riding experience. No mention of what to do about the swelling or his eye.

  The medication for his eye was overprescribed, as verified by the equine ophthalmologist that we had visit our horse.

  Incidentally, our horse has been in ** for just a couple of weeks and his eye is almost completely healed, as is his leg. 

  Dr. ****** completely neglected our horse, misdiagnosed him, and we never heard from any other vet from South Mountain regarding his condition - this is backpedaling by a negligent veterinary office trying to cover for their lack of care and attention.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 04/23/2025

  Response to ***** ******:
  I have uploaded the entire medical history we have for Aries ******, this will show details of diagnoses, treatments, medications and communications.
  As a veterinary practice we provide recommendations but cannot force compliance with directions given to owners or barn managers.
  An abbreviated timeline is as follows:
  8/29/24 Aries was seen for a Wellness visit, Vaccination and it was noted that he has chronic lymphangitis of the right hind limb and bilateral pastern dermatitis on both hind legs with the left being worse than the right.  $108.96
  9/9/24 Aries was seen for Vaccinations, an ultrasound of the Left Hind limb and evaluation of his lameness status.  $450.91
  11/5/24 Aries was seen for a recheck of the Left Hind limb which included an ultrasound to compare measurements to the ultrasound done by the previous vet. No lameness was noted at the walk, but at the straight line trot on hard footing he was grade 3/5 lame. PPID (Cushings disease) was discussed with ***** ****** and it was agreed to start treatment for PPID due to his symptoms.  $424.29
  Medication for PPID (Prascend) was dispensed on 11/25/24 ($32.99), 12/16/24 ($32.99) and 1/15/25 ($32.99)
  01/18/25 Aries was seen for a swollen eye. $572.36
  1/23/25 Aries was seen for a recheck of his eye. $724.18
  2/3/25 Aries was seen for a recheck of his eye and his hind leg. $478.33
  2/11/25 Medication was shipped for treatment of his eye $41.89
  2/13/25 Banamine was dispensed for pain management $30.74
  2/17/25 Aries was seen for a recheck of his eye and he was Non weight bearing on his Right Hind limb. $813.91
  2/23/25 Aries was seen for lameness and pitting edema on his Right Hind Leg. $624.79
  3/3/25 Aries was seen for a recheck exam for cellulitis.  $382.50
  We are a payment at time of service practice. Payments from the ****** family were not made for approximately ***** days from date of service.
  Payments:
  9/9/24 $108.96
  9/26/24 $450.91
  12/9/24 $424.42
  12/27/24 $65.98
  01/28/25 $32.99
  01/31/25 $1329.53
  03/10/25 $1956.67
  03/10/25 $382.5
  Dr. Alnwick spoke with **** ****** or ***** ****** during or after all appointments. We do not call multiple people per appointment unless it has been previously arranged. None of our doctors would have time to properly take care of their patients if they had to call 3 contacts per horse they see. The ****** family never told us that we needed to speak to ***** after every appointment.
  I have also uploaded screen shots of text messages with ***** ******, Phone log for ***** ****** and **** ******.
  ***** ****** stated that there were no recommendations for the reduction of pain, banamine was withheld from him. Banamine was prescribed on 1/18/25, 1/23/25, 2/3/25, 2/5/25, 2/13/25, 2/17/25, 2/23/25, 3/3/25. ******* was prescribed 2/23/25. Banamine and ******* are medications used to treat pain and inflammation.
  ***** ****** stated that There was absolutely no treatment prescribed for our horse for cellulitis, an abscess, or any other condition for his leg- other than antibiotics.  The treatment for cellulitis is *************** (Banamine, ******* were prescribed)and Antibiotics- Excede Injectable antibiotic was given on 2/17/25, the horse had a reaction to the medication so he was switched to *********** antibiotic.
  ***** ****** stated that The medication for his eye was overprescribed. On 2/17/25 He hwas prescribed Oflocxacin, ************ and serum (Processed from his blood) all to be applied 6 times a day to treat an indolent ulcer in his eye. These medications were prescribed to be applied until he had been seen by an Equine Ophthalmologist .
  We do not have any record of the ****** family or the barn management being denied a visit to examine or recheck Aries. There was a request for more medication for ***** after we discontinued the relationship,we agreed to send medications but we needed payment before we could ship the medications. No payment method was offered by the ****** family.
  We are glad to hear that Aries is doing better in ******** and wish him and the ****** family well.
  Sincerely,
  South Mountain Equine
  ****** Sobota 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/28/2025

   
  Complaint: 23103295
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  - The agreement we made with South Mountain was that we would pay our vet bills upon receipt of an emailed invoice. We live out of state and our daughter is a college student, it is not possible for us to pay in person. This was understood and accepted by South Mountain prior to us shipping Aries to ********. The fact that they are making it seem as if we don't pay our bills is disingenuous.

  - We did not receive medical diagnoses for Aries - this is why I had to intervene beginning in January - no one was telling us what was going on with our horse. The medical history information they just submitted was not received by us, we have never seen this info. We have only ever gotten inconsistent and vague phone calls after we've reached out repeatedly. The only information we have received from South Mountain in writing were invoices with no diagnoses or treatment plan indicated at all.

  - Aries does not have ********* disease, he never has.

  - The vet states that there was a corneal ulcer diagnosis that was discussed with **** on 1/23, yet there is no record of a phone call made to, or from, **** on 1/23 - not even in the call list the vet provided. 

  - The equine ophthalmologist was the one who said the eye medication had been significantly overprescribed.

  - We did not have adequate Banamine for Aries - why else would we have to contact another vet to get Banamine because he had none? And the barn owner was contacted by ***** because South Mountain abruptly ended our relationship, refused to answer any of our calls or emails (as indicated in the letter they sent us), and ***** had to pay an exorbitant amount of money to the barn owner for Banamine for Aries until the shipment arrived. This behavior is not indicative of an equine veterinary practice that cares about the horses.

  - We did not state that I, *****, had to be contacted instead of the barn owner, or instead of **** or *****. What we said was that Aries has a history of lymphangitis and that ***** or **** be contacted with medical information about Aries directly, not solely through the barn owner. When Dr. ****** continued not to call ***** back (or called her at times when she was in class despite having her class schedule), I reached out to find out what was going on with Aries.  

  - Dr. ****** continued to tell us that she didn't know what was going on with Aries' leg and it continued to swell and there were no recommendations for treatment. On 1/29/2025, Dr. ****** returned my phone call and acknowledged that she hadn't really seen him recently for his eye, and she wasn't really looking very closely at his legs. She wanted to do more testing, more exams. The transcript of this voice mail message is attached. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/28/2025

  Email sent with the letter we received from South Mountain refusing service to Aries, knowing that we lived out of state, and they refused to accept any phone calls, email messages, any contact whatsoever. They abruptly ended their contact with us because I expressed frustration with Dr. ******** lack of ability to diagnose Aries' leg issue - all she did was continue to order more tests to search for abscesses, which had already been ruled out.

  This letter states that Aries' medical records were attached. They were not. We did not receive medical records or any type of diagnosis for him - only invoices. We did NOT have Banamine for Aries - we were told to purchase *******, and then ***** had to purchase Banamine from the barn owner at an excessively high price because she knew we were stuck and he needed pain medication. 

  Thank you.

  *****

   

  Business Response

  Date: 04/30/2025

  The attached letter was sent to the ****** family including a print out of every document we had on file for Aries, which is everything that was uploaded here last week. This letter and all of his records were sent via *** with signature required. It was delivered by *** and signed for by **** ******. I have attached proof of this as well. From **** Friday, March 14 at 4:00 P.M. at Residential (See documents) 

  We did not deny any services until the letter and all of the medical records had been received and signed for by the ****** family. As a business we have the right to deny services at any time according to federal law. 

  Thank you,

  South Mountain Equine

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/30/2025

   
  Complaint: 23103295
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The business' response doesn't address our complaint - in fact, it proves our complaint is legitimate. We had not received a diagnosis for Aries until after our relationship with South Mountain was terminated (and the diagnosis after the fact was inaccurate). We were never given anything in writing other than invoices, which did not list services rendered, a diagnosis, a treatment plan, nothing. Dr. ****** acknowledges in her voice mail message transcript to me that she hadn't checked Aries' legs/skin or eye, that she hadn't looked at him closely. Dr. ****** claims that my husband **** was contacted to discuss Aries' eye on 1/23, and simultaneously provides a call log for calls to **** and *****, yet there is no call to or from **** on 1/23, or any date close to that date.  Dr. ****** is proving our point - there was little to no communication, there was no diagnosis, there was no treatment plan, no information was shared with us but yet this information seemed to miraculously appear after we filed this complaint, and the letter we received and signed for doesn't prove anything other than we received the letter terminating our relationship. This letter also states that South Mountain was refusing any contact with us, so the fact that Dr. ****** states that they provided anything to us after they terminated our relationship is a lie - they wouldn't pick up the phone when we asked them for pain medication, they did not call back. We had to get pain medication for Aries elsewhere, they did not treat Aries, they simply kept ordering more and more unnecessary tests, as indicated in the voice mail transcript from Dr. ***************************************** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 05/14/2025

  Information was provided at every visit regarding treatment, recommendations and options. As with all forms of medicine, a concrete diagnosis is not always possible. South Mountain Equine provided treatment, recommendations, options for the owners to decide and offered referral for further diagnostics for the ******** horse. There was a call requesting medication before the relationship was terminated. The ******** were told we would provide medication but we needed payment before the medication would be dispensed, as every single business in the country would request and they did not provide payment information so medication was not sent. 

  At this time, the medical record is the documentation that shows what was done for the horse, what was recommended and what was declined. 

  South Mountain Equine does not have anything further to state in regards to this matter. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/14/2025

   
  Complaint: 23103295
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  South Mountain has consistently misrepresented the facts with regard to communication and with regard to the care (or lack thereof) of our horse. We will be pursuing legal action.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******