The horses, 23 in all, are on a barren ranch off of Auberry Road. There is no hay in sight. The horses, instead, eat on dirt. Some of the horses are so skinny that their ribs stick out and their hip bones protrude.
Residents, like Tara Imbrie, say they are concerned that the animals are being neglected.
"They're past the point of starvation," said Imbrie, who first saw the horses in June. "Most of them have babies by their side, they are not producing milk, and the babies are very thin. The horses are wormy."
Imbrie said she and a group of other concerned people notified the California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as well as Liberty Animal Control.
"They had said that they are getting an average of 20 calls a day on these horses and that they are monitoring the situation," Imbrie said.
[In the video clip, they say the horses aren't in bad enough shape to seize so they're 'monitoring' them. They don't need to wait until they start dying. The authorities should take a vet with them and examine all the horses. Put the owner on a plan of improvement and a deadline to see improvement in the health of the animals. If she doesn't comply, you seize them.]
Imbrie and others sneak apples and carrots as they wait for officials to take action. She even called the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. When deputies arrived, Imbrie said, they just spoke to the owner of the horses.
KMPH attempted to contact the owner of the horses as well as the SPCA, but neither could be reached for comment.
With the days getting hotter and nothing being done, Imbrie doesn't think the horses will survive much longer.
[In the video clip, the reporter says neighbors have confronted the owner who tells them she's raised horses all her life, she knows what she's doing, they belong to her and she can do with them what she wants.]
(KMPH - Jul 30, 2013)
