"They have not made a decision yet on whether to take the animals," said public information coordinator Gloria Rybinski.
The three horses are pastured near Henry Drive and Old State Road 8. Their hip and rib bones show clearly through their skins.
However, without a physical examination, it's impossible to tell why they are undernourished, according to Jennifer Carnahan, who operates Promise Acres Equine Rescue on 15 acres east of Avon Park.
"It could be parasites," Carnahan said. "It could be sores in the mouths so they can't eat properly, can't graze properly." One of her 14 rescue horses looked similarly bony because it's 31 years old and had no back teeth for chewing. Through a combination of veterinary care, deworming and diet, Apollo has recovered.
"Once a horse gets in this condition, it is a long road to recovery," Julia Ann Gallimore agreed on Facebook. "First, their teeth need to be checked because they maybe aren't able to process their grass to receive the benefits of nutrition.
"A fecal egg count will tell you what the count is on worms, and offer a plan based on that knowledge for successful de-worm," Gallimore wrote. Spring shots may protect their immune systems.
"We haven't even mentioned their hooves," she wrote. "It can take one year to get them (up) to weight and emotional ability. Just pasture at this point will not help them."
In the photo sent by a reader who also fed hay to the horses, they had short green grass behind them. But grass alone may not be enough, Carnahan said.
"It may not be sufficient to maintain a horse," Carnahan said. "Grass alone is essentially filler; it's not nutritious enough. It's quite possible to have a green pasture like that and have starving horses on it."
Food and health expenses for a horse can cost $200 per month, Carnahan said.
Highlands County is seeing more and more malnutrition cases as individuals cannot take care of their animals, Gallimore said.
"Absolutely," Carnahan agreed. "We've had an increase over the years, dramatically. At this time, we get 10 to 20 calls a week. And we can't bring in that many horses at one time. I can't tell you how many horses I've picked up emaciated to the point of the ones in the pictures."
Sometimes, Carnahan said, the owners are emotionally attached to their animals, but they are starving to death because the owner just can't afford to take care of them.
"The auction yards are full of horses," Carnahan said. "The horse market is so overwhelmed with backyard breeders."
Two weeks ago, three horses roamed the animal control facility pasture in Sebring. Scott said animal control has taken in more abandoned horses during the recession because their owners can't afford to care for them.
Feeding horses costs animal control more than dogs and cats, he said, and the agency has to pay for vet services and a farrier to check their hooves.
Horses can be resold, he said, "but we never get our money back on horses."
Because she takes care of so many horses, Carnahan said she always appreciates volunteers helping with feeding and with improving the property. She can use food, hay and fencing supplies.
(Highlands Today - May 25, 2012)
