Spencer Mains appeared in Bristol General Sessions Court. He was originally charged with three counts of cruelty to animals after three horses were seized from a property in Blountville last summer.
Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Julie Canter said that Mains will serve 11 months, 29 days of probation, and he is prohibited from owning horses for 18 months. Mains must also make restitution to Horse Haven in Knoxville, which cared for the horses after they were seized.
Canter noted that the case does not meet the requirements for Tennessee's new animal abuse registry, which only applies to companion animals, such as cats and dogs, and specifically excludes livestock.
Last summer, the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office received a call about three underweight horses along Fairview School Road in Blountville. A Sheriff's Office detective, along with a local extension agent and veterinarian, went to the property to assess the condition of the horses.
They determined their scores on the Henneke body condition scale, which ranks them from poor, 1, to extremely fat, 9.
One horse was in extremely poor condition and had a body score of 1, another had a body score of 2 and the third was ranked at 2.5, according to SCSO spokeswoman Leslie Earhart.
“The horses were kept in deplorable conditions on Mains’ property,” Canter said.
Nina Margetson, operations director at the Horse Haven, said Friday that one of the horses is still alive. The filly, a baby horse, is doing well, she said.
“Her mom gave her everything she had to keep her alive until she was old enough to be weaned,” Margetson said.
Once the mare was weaned, Horse Haven staff continued to care for the two mares. But because of long-term neglect along with some physical issues brought on by being bred in such a poor body condition, staff made the call to have the two horses euthanized, she said.
“When horses get to the condition these two mares were in sometimes the internal damage is already done, which is irreversible and greatly lessens their quality of life,” Margetson said.
The Horse Haven director thanked the Sheriff’s Office and district attorney’s office for their dedication.
(Herald Courier - Jan 30, 2016)
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