"There is no excuse. It's my own fault. I should have stayed there. I should have spent more time there" a po-faced John Byrialsen told Danish local TV station TV Midt-Vest when the scandalized breeder finally commented on the case today.
John Byrialsen cryptically explained that the situation in Posadowo was down to his having had too much work, sometimes sitting up late into the night to work on ways to make ends meet.
"I've had a lot of work to make ends meet."
"Times have been hard for the past four years."
"I've always felt as if I had all the answers when it came to horses, but after watching that video the other night, I no longer feel as if I anything is working out anymore."
Asked whether John Byrialsen was upset with the groom who took the video footage and uploaded it to YouTube, he did not answer directly. Instead, he said that it would be impossible for any person - animal lover or not - to watch the video without feeling bad.
"I guarantee you I am an animal lover" he added and was not challenged further by the journalist.
According to TV Midt-Vest, John Byrialsen had not been to the Posadowo farm in about three months, and it was in this time that staff failed to properly care for his horses, leading to the neglect. But the shocking footage of starving and dying horses was taken in May and April this year - that would be three months ago.Also, John Byrialsen's attempt to wipe off the mess on his Polish staff is undermined by the fact that there were also starved horses at his home in Skals, Denmark.
