FLOYD COUNTY, KY.– A post of a dead horse on social media that allegedly froze to death in Frasure’s Creek got a lot of attention yesterday. It also got the attention of the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department.
“Upon arrival I located a dead horse, but I also located a live horse that was malnourished. You could see its hip bones, its ribs and it looked like it was caked and covered in mud and feces. The home owner stated to me that the horse that had died had been taken to the vet and was 15-years old with pre-existing health conditions. I talked with him and he has somebody who is going to come out and help him bury the dead horse and we took possession of the horse that was still alive and Dumas Rescue picked him up and is going to nurse him back to health and find him a good home.”
Deputy Szymchack went on to say that no criminal charges have been filed at this time.
If you suspect animal abuse you can call the Floyd County sheriff Departments anonymous tip line at 606-949-2020.
Two women face animal neglect charges in Lexington. Investigators say they were not properly caring for five horses. Lexington-Fayette Animal Care & Control took the horses from two different farms in the city.
"You know what, it's time to say enough is enough now let us take over," Officer Timothy Brown, with Lexington-Fayette Animal Care & Control, said.
At two horse farms across town he says they've seen enough.
"When we feel like we have to step in it's something that is pretty severe, you know?"
Brown says a number of calls came in, all with the same tone. A handful of horses were pulled from the farms.
"They seen everything from skin issues, under weight," he said.
WKYT asked and we're not able to show any pictures right now because the investigation isn't over.
"Owners were given chances to correct it, however they did not."
The owners he's talking about are Agnes Krug and Tres Delaforce. Each faces animal neglect charges.
"Investigators got called out to two different addresses, one on South Yarnallton and Athens Walnut Hill."
WKYT stopped by both places and asked they give us their side of the story. Krug told us she didn't want us on her property. We left Delaforce a voicemail and haven't heard back.
Officials say Delaforce isn't unfamiliar to animal neglect, that she was a complainant just last year when Mercer County investigated the neglect of 43 horses.
As for this investigation, it's ongoing. We're told the cross-town cases may somehow be linked.
Brown said, "We are safe to say that they are somewhat connected. We just don't know the relationship between the two."
As the investigation continues Animal Care & Control is taking care of the thoroughbreds. It's not clear if the horses will go back to their owners. That'll be decided in court.
Earlier this year, we received multiple complaints regarding thin horses residing on South Yarnallton Pike.
During this investigation, several horses were seized for care and treatment issues. Lizzy (pictured below) is one of the horses from this case. Lizzy was found to be extremely underweight, covered in lice, with a wound on her neck as a result of a cribbing collar.
On Friday, a jury handed down a guilty verdict on the criminal case against the owner, Agnes Krug. She was convicted of all three counts of animal cruelty.
KY man charged after 40 horses taken from Richland Co. property
Friday, April 7th 2017, 10:28 am EDT
RICHLAND COUNTY, SC (WIS) -
A Kentucky man has been charged with two counts of felony ill treatment of animals after two horses he owned died.
After a year-long investigation, Gordon "Cappy" Wheeler, 46, was arrested in Arizona and transported to Richland County this week to face the charges. Bond was set at $20,000, which was posted Thursday.
Investigators with the Richland County Sheriff's Department were called to a property Wheeler was leasing on Community Pond Road in Eastover in March 2016 after a one-year-old horse was found dead.
"The animal had been dead for several hours or more," reads the incident report. "It appeared to be extremely malnourished and underweight."
As a result of the investigation, about 40 horses were taken from the property and put into the care of South Carolina Awareness and Rescue for Equines. Two of the horses, a Saddlebred filly named Lilly, and a Thoroughbred mare who had just foaled named Patti, died.
"Several of the horses were at death's door," said Jan Carter with SCARE. "They just weren't getting any care."
One foal, a Hackney pony named Hercules, was in such poor shape he couldn't stand.
Carter said the horses and ponies seized were Thoroughbreds, Saddlebreds and Hackney ponies. Since they were recovered from the farm, SCARE has found homes for all of them.
Some have recovered and are doing well at Dream Equine Therapy Center in York, SC.
While caring for the horses, SCARE went through 1,000 pounds of hay per day.
15 dead horses found on abandoned farm in Trimble County
Posted:
Feb 01, 2017 5:56 PM EST
TRIMBLE COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- Several dead horses were found Wednesday on a farm in Trimble County.
Henry County Animal Control arrived to the home on Perkinson Lane and saw three horse carcasses from the driveway.
A search warrant was issued, and animal control found the skeletal remains of 12 other horses and many rabbits on the property.
“It’s a mess. We found more than what we thought we would find,” said Dan Flinkfelt with Henry County Animal Control. “You hear about it, and you don’t think it is going to happen in your area. Then once it comes across, it is a huge shock.”
Officials tell WDRB they initially arrived to the rented home for a probation check.
Twelve other horses on the property were clearly malnourished. The sheriff’s office brought in several large hay bales for the horses, since there was no food in their large pasture.
Investigators are not sure how long the animals were without food or water.
A rescue group with Windy Meadows Equine Center arrived on scene shortly before 5 p.m. and started rounding up the remaining horses to take to their 300-acre farm in Oldham County. All the horses were immediately check by a veterinarian.
“We’ll do a slow feed-back, which is grass hay, plain ‘ole hay and water, and you will see a huge change,” said Ellie Troutman, one of the rescue workers.
The owner of property could face more than 35 counts of animal cruelty and improperly disposing of a carcass and could face a year in jail for each count.
BEDFORD, KY (WAVE) – At least 19 horses, 15 rabbits and three goats
were confirmed dead on a Trimble County property owned by a Bedford
woman.
Animal Control authorities acted on a search warrant on
Wednesday night, rescuing 14 horses and five rabbits with the help of
Ellie Troutman and her team at Windy Meadows Equestrian Centers.
"I
mean there are dead horses lying within eye shot of the road. It's
tragic really. And it never gets easy people ask ‘is this another day in
the life of the horse farm,’" Troutman said. "It's not."
Troutman rescued at least 12 horses who will go to her farm to get veterinary care and begin to heal.
"That's what makes my heart feel good that we rescued those horses and that's what will make me tear up," Troutman said.
Wednesday
was not the first time Henry-Trimble County Animal Control director
Russell Spaulding had shown up to a pasture in Trimble County for calls
about dead animals.
“Couple
years back, some fell through some ice and in the lake on another
property, basically we informed her that they needed to be disposed of
and she did,” Spaulding said.
It was the same woman, similar call.
With dead horses found on her property again, Spaulding said it makes
him worry that there are more dead horses.
With a search warrant, county officials will investigate what exactly led to the deaths of the animals.
At
this point, Animal Control officials said they are focused on the
animals themselves. Finding which ones need help and which ones need
removal. Once they take in all the information about how many animals
remain alive on the pasture, they will take them to a place they can be
taken care of.
“It doesn’t mean that is guilty of anything, these
animals could have been sick, she could have not just been able to get
them,” Spaulding said.
Neighbors who know the owner of the
property and the animals said she has never had malicious intent. Matt
Sandusky said the woman brings in neglected horses that are no longer
wanted and are often times sick.
“She picks up animals that people
just don’t want and it’s going to make her look bad but the reality is
people don’t take their responsibility and she tries to - I think, takes
on too much,” Sandusky said.
Spaulding added whatever the circumstances may be, he said he wishes the owner had reached out for help if she needed any.
“We
have never got a call about needing hay, she’s in touch with a lot of
horse people in the area, and they’ve tried to help, I feel like she
just got in over her head,” Spaulding said.
Woman charged with animal cruelty after horses found dead
Feb 03, 2017 3:34 PM EST
BEDFORD, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Trimble County woman is facing nearly 100 animal cruelty charges after dozens of dead animals were found on her property.
Marlena Robinson, 33, was arrested late Thursday night by the Trimble County Sheriff's Office. She is charged with 54 counts of animal cruelty and 43 counts of improper disposal of a dead animal. After the property in Bedford was searched, investigators found 21 dead horses, along with dead alpacas, goats, cats, and rabbits. Twelve other horses on the property were clearly malnourished. The sheriff’s office brought in several large hay bales for the horses, since there was no food in their large pasture.
Robinson is to have no contact with any animals and is expected in court Feb. 14.
Horse rescued in Trimble County abuse case in labor, others recover
BEDFORD, KY (WAVE) – 72 days after one of the worst horse abuse cases in Kentucky, the suspect in the crime pled guilty to animal cruelty.
Marlena Robinson won't spend any time in jail but will be forced to pay at least $19 thousand dollars in restitution and will no longer be able to own animals for at least two years.
The surviving horses are at Windy Meadows farm in La Grange. Back in February, many horses were skin and bones; 15 rabbits, 3 goats 19 horses dead.
13 other horses were rescued out in Trimble County
"This is a big change from what you saw on February 1," Ellie Troutman of Windy Meadows Farm said. It has taken Months of round the clock care.
"It really was hour by hour for some of these horses," Troutman said.
The horses required specialized treatment as they fought starvation.
"You know one of the problems was them eating the bedding, the pine shavings," said Troutman.
"This horse we didn't think would survive,"
These horses were once starving, infected with parasites and even feeding off each other, now they are thriving beyond anyone's expectations.
At least three of these horses pregnant when rescued. One foal now joins the ranks and two others are on the way.
"This is what we do..this is why we do it. You can't put a price on it. Really you can't The fact that they're thriving and survived. February 1-not sure that was going to happen," Troutman said.
Now that the court case is final, some of these horses will be adopted. A couple are heading as far as Chicago. These homes have been vetted to the extreme to make sure they're protected as best as possible.
Abandoned horses rescued from Nelson Co. boarding farm; owner missing
Tuesday, September 13th 2016, 6:43 pm EDT
MT. WASHINGTON, KY (WAVE) - He snorts loudly. Often. Mugs for the camera. The perfect thoroughbred to train as a barrel racer and as a companion to her prime mount, Bozo.
But Meaghan Metzmeier hadn't counted on worms, or that the 9-year-old she renamed Chance would be so malnourished that his ribs showed.
"His niece was calling and pretty much begging me to take him," Metzmeier told WAVE 3 News on Tuesday.
Metzmeier, and fellow competitor Christy DeWitt Summitt, first encountered Chance and 15-year-old thoroughbred Winston among fourteen mares, stallions and foals boarded in stables off of Nelsonville Road near Boston the Wednesday before Labor Day. Their owner, Donnie Hairns Bentley Jr., was nowhere to be found.
"Each mare sat there and drank four buckets of water," Metzmeier said.
"Their stalls were built up, like two feet high of mud and manure," Summitt said. "They were almost hitting their heads on the (barn) ceilings."
She believes that's to blame for the abscess to Winston's left front hoof; its bandage was held in place with duct tape. He's kept mostly to himself among the eight horses and ponies Summitt is rehabilitating at Little Haven, her farm in Bloomfield.
"(Winston) took two hours to load, because everybody out there was scaring the crap out of him," Summitt said.
Racing as Western Kind, Winston earned $101,947 in a two-year racing career with six wins, Summitt told us. Standing at 17 hands, he's about 400 pounds below racing weight.
She'd been told he was aggressive, bucking his riders and chasing other mounts on the track. "He acts like he's been hit, but clearly he's not been taken care of either."
Summitt and Metzmeier know less of what to make of Donnie Bentley.
"He used to take good care of his horses," Summitt said. "They had racehorses and everything's gone downhill, so I'd say he needs some help."
"He should be put in jail and shouldn't own animals," Metzmeier added.
Bentley's run-ins with the law go back twenty years, according to the Bullitt County Circuit Court. They include a State Police arrest in 2014 for driving under the influence with an open container of alcohol, a guilty plea in 2008 to receiving stolen property and theft, and a conviction for public intoxication in 2007.
"He'd been here more than a year and hadn't paid any rent," said James Girdley, owner of the farm where Bentley had boarded Chance, Winston and at least ten more thoroughbreds or saddlebreds. WAVE 3 News found only a mare and her foal there Tuesday. Girdley said both belonged to his brother.
"(Bentley) was supposed to take care of them. He didn't," Girdley explained. "That's another reason he's gone."
Where Bentley is now isn't clear. Girdley, Metzmeier and Summitt all say Bentley left no forwarding address or cell phone number.
Prior to Tuesday, nobody had reported concerns about Bentley's horses to the Kentucky Equine Health & Welfare Council, a Division of the Department of Agriculture created in 2010 to promote research and the development Certified Rescue & Retirement Centers for former racers and horses rescued from suspected abuse and neglect.
"We very much want to know about this," state veterinarian Dr. Bradley Keough told WAVE 3 News last week. "We'd like some answers too." WAVE3
Harness Horse Electrocuted by Trainer
June 30th, 2016
Harrison County, Kentucky – Prosecutors are charging Michael Neafus (Mikey) with level 6 felony animal abuse after witness’ saw him abusing a horse. Mikey, who trains and drives harness racing horses, allegedly took 3-year-old Shares Desires out of her stall, tied her up, and repeatedly shocked her for up to 10 minutes at a time. Shares Desires “went nuts” according to the witness. Mikey would also shock Shares Desires in her stall.
Owner, Ronald Conrad, is particularly upset at Mikey’s behavior. “I’ve known Mikey since he was a baby. His father and I, when Louisville Downs was racing, we had horses together,” Conrad told reporters. “It’s puzzling to me, because I thought he was a real friend.” Shares Desires has a special place in Conrad’s heart, she was with him the day his brother died. “He had had a massive heart attack and died that day. So, that’s why she’s special to me.”
Harrison County District Attorney is pressing for the fullest punishment allowed by law. “Every time you have allegations of animal abuse it makes you want to cringe,” Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk told reporters. “In Harrison County we take animal cruelty very seriously, whether you’re a dog owner or in this case a horse trainer, if you torturing or abusing a defenseless animal, we are coming after you.” Mikey is free on a $2,000 bond and is expected in court today. He faces 2 1/2 years in prison if convicted.
Shares Desires seems to be ok, despite being quite skittish for a few days.
SPEAK UP offers a TRAINING PROGRAM on recognizing horse abuse and neglect. If your local (Kentucky) animal control officers, horse clubs, lawyers, judges, magistrates, prosecutors, or uniformed officials are interested in our training program, please contact us.
