According to court documents, humane officers acting on a tip in April responded to the pasture located on a property at 35 Silvermine Rd. in Conestoga. The pasture is leased from the property owner by Crystal Davis of "A Life saved is a life saved," a Facebook-based equine rescue group. The group is not a registered non-profit, Davis said.
Officials with the Lancaster County SPCA said the group and location were the subject of an earlier investigation in January which also uncovered undernourished and unkempt horses with too little shelter available. There were reportedly only two small structures big enough for three horses available to seven.
Officials also said the animals lacked medical records, that some appeared lethargic, and that the little food present was insufficient for the number of horses, 10 at last check.
In the months since, humane officials say at least one of the horses appeared to have lost "significant weight," leading, in part, to Monday's seizure. Humane officials declined to comment further on an open investigation.
They seized the animals for alleged violations of a state law which requires veterinary records be kept for animals and that clean and adequate shelter be provided.
But the woman at the center of it all, Crystal Davis, is challenging those grounds and vowing to fight the case.
Davis said the animals were thin when they came to her and that many had actually gained weight since arriving. She pointed to a stream running through the property as proof of a fresh water source, and said the animals were regularly let out of the fenced-in pasture to graze in nearby fields.
She said the horses, which were destined for northern slaughterhouses and human consumption when rescued, were living at the Silvermine Road property until more permanent homes could be arranged.
In the case of four, new homes had been found and pick-ups were expected by the weekend.
Instead, Davis and members of her family watched from afar as the animals were quickly removed by authorities using a horse trailer on Monday.
Also looking on was Greg Heesen who rents a home on the property but says he has no involvement in the rescue operation and only a fleeting knowledge of Davis.
Heesen was deeply critical of the investigation and seizure, though, saying the horses appeared well cared for and that many had cycled through on their way to more permanent homes in the last year.
Heesen also said the horses had adequate cover, with "a three-sided shelter that holds four horses, the underside of the barn that holds two and a makeshift shelter with a tarp that can protect a few more."
He criticized humane officers whose investigation he called hasty and "overblown" and one whom he referred to personally as an "activist with a badge."
The horse pasture is directly behind the home Heesen rents.
Officials returned to the property last month, after receiving a tip from a woman who said she had obtained a horse from Davis and was concerned about the condition of the others in her care.
The tipster who initiated the latest investigation into Davis and her group said Davis told her she couldn't afford to feed the horses more because she was living "paycheck to paycheck."
In response, Davis said the woman was bitter after not getting the animal or equipment she wanted.
It all stems, Davis claims, from a falling out she had with another Facebook-based horse rescue group that she used to be a part of before forming her own.
The horses seized from her on Monday have been taken to an SPCA holding pasture and will be awarded to the SPCA and adopted out to the public if a court finds Davis did neglect them, Lancaster County SPCA director Sue Martin tells PennLive.
Martin added of the horses, "They were vetted today and we are awaiting test results but at least one (the foal) has severe pneumonia."
If the foal's fever does not come down by Wednesday, Martin said, humane officials may need to take her to the New Bolton Center Hospital for animals in Kennett Square.
Martin said at least five of the horses seized have the obvious symptoms of strangles, a contagious upper respiratory tract infection in horses.
(PennLive - May 3, 2016)
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