The 15 horses were removed from a property in South Bexar, Texas on Sunday after a warrant was served. The owner is facing 19 counts of animal cruelty amid fears that he may have hidden other injured animals elsewhere.
Three dead horses, believed to have died of dehydration, were also discovered on the property.
Pictures of the animals revealed how horrifyingly underweight they are, with ribs protruding through their coats and painful sores covering their bodies.
The horses were taken to the Meadow Haven Horse Rescue in Nixon.
Director of the charity Darla Cherry told MailOnline today that the horses were suffering from the worst case of sand burns that she had seen.
Sand burn is caused by horses eating a type of milkweed which grows in the South Texas scrub.
The plant makes horses hyper-sensitive to sunlight, burning them from the inside out and leaving bald patches on their coat and painful open sores.
Ms Cherry said that the sheriff's office had called her organization, which is funded entirely by donations, for help.
The animals were so dehydrated that when Meadow Haven rescuers first got to the farm, the creatures gulped seven tall barrels of water that the owner had to be forced to provide.
The charity director said that she believed the ranch owner was collecting the horses and castrating them in order to transport the animals to Mexico for slaughter.
Ms Cherry said that all 15 horses are still alive and slowly improving. Meadow Haven, which has 150 horses in its care, will ask the court for custody of the animals on Thursday.
It is hoped that many of the horses can be rehomed with loving owners.
The ranch owner has not been identified but will appear in court on Thursday.
(Daily Mail - Sept 4 2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment