Horse Abuse Discovered in Edmonson County
Posted: 7:14 PM Sep 23, 2008
Kentucky is known as horse country.
It's the home of the Kentucky Derby, where some of the most beautiful horses in the world race every year.
But some say horse abuse in the state is becoming more common everyday.
One Caneyville woman says many horse owners simply don't want their animals anymore, and now they're going mistreated.
And she should know, she's caring for one.
Keila Edwards got a call a little more than a month ago about a horse named Copy, who she rescued after learning he had been neglected and abused by his owner in Edmonson County.
"He was a horse standing there with four bullet holes in his neck, skin stretched over his neck, and she said, 'You can't leave him, you've got to help him,'" Edwards explained. "This isn't her first rescue.
Edwards has done it with three horses before.
"I can't see them suffer or be mistreated, or being done this way."
But she says Copy's case is a crime that isn't getting justice.
"I've sent photos and contacted the sheriff's office, but no one's ever called me back and until this day no one's called me back," Edwards said.
One veterinarian says horse abuse is a problem that just keeps growing, especially in rural areas.
"Some of them and a lot of of them are young horses that people bought because they wanted to have a horse, but don't know what to do with it," explained Manuela Mattingly, owner of Twin Lakes Animal Hospital in Leitchfield.
"They can't afford to feed them because hay and fertilizer has went up," Edwards added. "Proper hay is $40 to $50 a roll and the horses aren't worth anything, so people think, 'Why should I feed this when I could be feeding cattle?'"
Edwards says Copy's life didn't start like this.
He's a Saddlebred that's taken awards.
"This horse used to be in a show ring. He's got saddlepoints. I was told an eight-year-old girl used to show him," Edwards said.
Now, Copy's just trying to regain strength to maybe one day return to his old self.
"The infection's going down. He's getting his energy back. He's actually feeling like a horse again."
Sheriff Mike Vincent, with the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office, says the investigation regarding the previous owner of Copy, has been turned over to the Kentucky State Police.
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