Elderly woman insists her horse's overgrown hooves "are fine"

IOWA -- It’s a case of accused animal neglect that some say they’ve never seen before. A pony has grown  hooves to about a foot long because of a lack of care.

 

Authorities say it’s one of the worst cases of horse neglect they’ve ever seen.  It appears these two horses haven’t been cared for properly in years. 

 

   

 

A viewer tipped us off to this pony in Eldora.  Her hooves have gone uncared for for so long, they’ve begun to curl over and are rubbing against her legs.  That makes it hard for her to walk. The horse now has to lift her legs extra high to avoid having the hooves hit the ground.

So Ch. 13 asked the owner why the pony apparently wasn’t being cared for.

The owner explained, “It’s just getting real old, old.  It’s just surviving.” She later added, “they should have been put down but we don’t have the heart to do it.”

When pressed about the horse’s current condition and whether the hooves ought to be trimmed, she said, “Yeah, we have a friend at Gifford that does that,” adding, “yeah, she’s fine.”

But we didn’t think so.  So we took our video to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department where Deputy William Raum told us these are the worst looking hooves he’s seen in his 18-years on the job.

“As far as hooves go yes, I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen hooves that bad,” said Raum.

Raum added that there is no excuse for the hooves to be this long. The pony and another horse have been seized and evaluated to determine whether there is long term damage and whether they should be returned to the owner.

The owner will be required to pay the cost of boarding and care for the pony and the horse while authorities determine whether to file any criminal charges.

(WHOTV - April 13, 2013)