Spencer Mains charged with animal cruelty; continued to breed starving horses in Tennessee

TENNESSEE -- The man who faced three charges of animal cruelty on Monday returned on Tuesday for a mugshot.

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office charged Spencer Mains after getting a report that horses on his property appeared underweight. An investigation by detectives, and assistance from the Hawkins County University of Tennessee Extension Office and a local veterinarian, found the horses were malnourished.

 

Experts use a grading scale to determine how healthy horses are that ranks horses from one to nine.

The three horses taken from Mains measured at one, two, and two-and-a-half. That’s considered poor to thin.

This horse had a body score of 1. That is the lowest number possible.

Sullivan County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Leslie Earhart said, "We know that the horse that had a body score of one had been in his possession for a year. We also know he bred both of the mares that were seized. They were not in good condition at the time they were bred."

The seized horses are recovering at Horse Haven of Tennessee in Knoxville. An employee there said they are doing well.

(WYCB - Aug 11, 2015)