RANDOLPH COUNTY — Animal control officers in Randolph County on Tuesday seized six neglected and malnourished horses from a home in the county following an investigation into the condition of the horses.
It all began in mid-November when a Randolph County Sheriff's Office deputy was called on report of a horse laying in a neighbor's pasture. On Monday, Animal Control Officer Joe Sheets went back to the house and conducted an investigation and found that six horses — four adults, a pony and a mini pony — were all in poor health.
Sheets said the pasture was loaded with metal and wood in poor condition. There was no foliage, no food or hay for the horses. A search warrant was signed on Monday and on Tuesday officials went back to execute the search warrant.
Sheets said a woman at the house refused to allow them to read the warrant to her so officers gave her the warrant and loaded the horses into trailers and took them to a veterinarian. The vet said the animals were emaciated, put them in a barn and Sheets called the State Board of Animal Health to conduct an additional investigation.
Investigators from the State Board of Animal Health said four of the horses were given a 1 on a 1-9 scale and two others scored 2 and 2.5. The average is 4-6, Sheets said.
The report from the State Board of Animal Health was turned over to the Randolph County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of animal abuse charges, Sheets said.
The Winchester-Randolph County Animal Shelter put out a call on its Facebook page for hay and other help to rehabilitate the horses.
A gofundme account has raised more than $11,800 of a $20,000 goal to help rehabilitate the horses.
