Jun 1, 2007 10:21 am US/Central
21 Neglected Horses In State Care After Raid
(CBS 11 News)
Nearly two dozen horses are in the state's care after accusations of severe neglect and all will undergo medical evaluations this morning.
"Horses are like people, they are like dogs, and they don't deserve this, it's really sad to watch this," said Angela Sotela who reported the neglect.
That call led the Johnson County Sheriff's Office and Humane Society of North Texas to raid the property on Thursday.
"It just rips your heart out ... these are magnificent animals," Sotela said.
Some of the animals were so malnourished that their ribs were visible enough to count.
"They haven't been fed properly. They appear from their coats that they're wormy," explained Steve Shaw, a Johnson County detective.
Recent rains created a messy situation for the animal rescuers.
"There's muck and mud everywhere and yet with the weather you expect some, but they were having to lift their bodies through it because it was such a muddy mess," explained Tammy Hawley of the Humane Society of North Texas
Other concerned neighbors said they rarely saw anybody feeding the horses. Their pasture is lean leaving them not much to eat.
After attempts to reach the homeowner, CBS 11 crews found the gate padlocked.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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