Outlaw Equine Lawsuit: 28 Violations, Suspension, Assault Charge

The Outlaw Equine lawsuit history now centers on a July 2025 emergency action by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, which temporarily suspended founder Dr. Joshua Harvey’s veterinary license over 28 violations tied to a fatal disease outbreak at the Decatur, Texas clinic, fraudulent controlled-substance practices, and allowing an unlicensed veterinarian to perform surgeries. Harvey also faces a pending misdemeanor assault charge in Wise County, an Arkansas Board of Animal Health complaint set for hearing in 2026, and separately defended an earlier veterinary malpractice suit that went to trial in 2016.¹²

The EIA Outbreak That Triggered the Investigation

Between May 2024 and March 2025, 22 horses contracted equine infectious anemia after receiving treatment at Outlaw Equine’s intensive care unit. Twenty-one were euthanized. The infected animals were scattered across four states.³⁴

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service traced the spread to needle and syringe reuse in the ICU. Staff drew up and flushed IV catheters with heparinized saline using the same equipment across patients, contaminating shared saline bottles with blood from infected horses. A former ICU employee told investigators it was “routine practice for veterinary assistants at OE to double dip and reuse syringes,” and that the practice only stopped once the outbreak was identified.⁵³

The 28 Violations and License Suspension

On July 1, 2025, the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners ordered an immediate temporary suspension of Harvey’s license, citing gross malpractice, negligence, and dishonest practices across 28 documented violations. The day before, Harvey voluntarily surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration registration, ending his authority to prescribe controlled substances.¹²

Beyond the EIA outbreak, the board found three additional categories of misconduct. Harvey allowed Dr. Danielle Araujo Barbosa, who was not licensed in Texas, to perform surgeries and other procedures at the clinic, and he signed official records as the attending veterinarian for work Barbosa performed. The clinic posted a photo on Facebook showing Barbosa in surgery.³

His controlled-substance logs contained large variances. The board found he had fraudulently obtained the anabolic steroid Stanozolol by writing prescriptions in the names of patients for whom the drug was not intended, then dispensed it for performance enhancement and shipped it to veterinarians in Florida and Louisiana.³ Separately, in February 2025, clinic instructions to administer procaine penicillin G intramuscularly resulted in intravenous administration instead, causing a 21-year-old mare to suffer violent seizures and head injuries.¹

Under the suspension, Harvey is barred from practicing or supervising veterinary medicine and is limited to administrative duties at the clinic.⁵

Criminal Assault Charge and Related Allegations

On May 13, 2025, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office arrested Harvey on a class A misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury. The board’s account describes the underlying allegation as grabbing and choking a former employee. Harvey posted a $1,500 bond and was released, and the criminal case remained pending as of mid-2025.¹

The day after the arrest, the board received a further complaint alleging that Harvey practiced veterinary medicine under the influence of alcohol and had sexually assaulted an employee. A separate investigation into a reported sexual assault dating to July 2024 was also underway when the suspension took effect. No formal findings or legal resolutions on the sexual-assault allegations have been publicly reported.²

Prior Discipline and the Arkansas Complaint

The 2025 suspension is not Harvey’s first regulatory action. The Texas board had issued four disciplinary orders against him between 2009 and 2019 addressing unlicensed practice, poor record-keeping, and mishandling of controlled substances. He also has a history of record-keeping violations in Kansas and Arkansas.²³

The Arkansas Board of Animal Health has opened Complaint No. 2025-37 to determine whether Harvey violated the state’s Veterinary Medical Practice Act. A hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2026, at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture in Little Rock.⁶

The Earlier Busby Malpractice Lawsuit

The only prior civil suit against the clinic was filed in 2013. Jeffrey Busby, Andrea Busby, and Busby Quarter Horse, L.L.C. sued Harvey and Outlaw Equine, alleging that his treatment of a barrel-racing horse named Daisy caused leg injuries that ended her racing career and reduced her breeding value. The complaint pleaded negligence, gross negligence, veterinary malpractice, and breach of contract.⁷

The Busbys dropped the breach-of-contract and gross-negligence claims before trial. On the remaining negligence and malpractice claims, the jury found that Harvey’s negligence did not proximately cause Daisy’s injuries, and the trial court entered a take-nothing judgment for Harvey and Outlaw Equine.⁸ The Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed in July 2017, rejecting the Busbys’ argument that Harvey’s trial attorney should have been disqualified over an earlier pre-suit contact with Jeffrey Busby about an expert witness.⁷

Where Things Stand

Harvey’s Texas veterinary license remains suspended and he has stepped away from clinical work. The clinic continues to operate under its remaining staff, and in a July 3, 2025 statement, Outlaw Equine said it would pursue legal and professional avenues to seek his reinstatement.¹ The Wise County misdemeanor case is still pending, and the Arkansas board proceeding is set for hearing in early 2026.⁶

1
Wise County Messenger. Decatur Vet’s License Suspended Following Board Investigation
2
AG Daily. Texas Vet Suspended After Outbreak and Misconduct Allegations
3
Paulick Report. Texas Vet’s License Temporarily Suspended; 21 Horses Euthanized After Contracting EIA
4
Sports Illustrated FanNation. Texas Board Suspends Josh Harvey License Over Repeated Violations
5
Mid-South Horse Review. Investigation Reveals Concerns at Outlaw Equine Hospital Following EIA Outbreak
6
Arkansas.gov. Arkansas Board of Animal Health Hearing, Complaint No. 2025-37
7
FindLaw. Busby v. Harvey, No. 02-16-00311-CV
8
vLex. Busby v. Harvey, 551 S.W.3d 184