Starving Horses Seized at Va. Farm
Eight Rescued, One Found Dead, Authorities Say

By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 24, 2007

They were once competitors, racehorses that might have known victory. But that seemed a distant reality for the emaciated horses that authorities recently seized from a Clarke County farm.

When rescuers arrived at the farm last week, one mare was dead, the ground burrowed where she had tried repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, to stand. Eight other horses showed signs of starvation, their skin stretched taut over rib cages and hip bones.

"There was no doubt in my mind that these people were not taking care of these horses. There was no grazing. There was no sign of hay. No sign of anything," Holly Tomlinson, a field investigator with the United States Equine Rescue League, said yesterday. "You could touch along their rib cages and your fingers would fall in between their ribs."

The league, a national nonprofit organization, became involved after receiving a tip through its Web site. Last Saturday, Tomlinson, a local veterinarian and officials from the Clarke County Sheriff's Office and animal control removed the horses, three males and five females.

While the case is still being investigated, Tomlinson and other authorities said they fear such abuse and neglect will become more prevalent because of the drought, which has meant limited hay production. The climbing hay prices are hitting horse owners hard and have created a precarious situation in an area with strong ties to horse racing. All of the rescued horses appeared to be thoroughbreds, and several have tattoos indicating they raced, officials said. One was still wearing horseshoes for racing.

"This has far-reaching implications into the racing community, and people need to know coming off this drought that there are going to be horses right down the street from them that are going to be starving," Tomlinson said, adding that abuse and neglect cases should be referred to her group. "People know who to call when they are talking about a dog or a cat, but who do you call when you're talking about a horse?"

Veterinarian Mitchell Rode, who runs Equine Medical Services in Berryville and helped with the rescue, said the problem is that there are few options for bottom-tier racehorses that are not winners. They are often left someplace and forgotten, he said. He believes that is what happened in this case. Clarke County, which is about 64 miles from Washington, is west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley.

"I would just remind people to be aware how close this was to our back yard," he said. "In the midst of this horse environment, you can have something like this happen. If you can't feed a horse, you shouldn't have a horse."

When rescuers arrived at the farm in the 3500 block of Wickliffe Road, after the Clarke County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant, the horses were confined to areas with no grass and brackish water, Rode said. Some had abrasions and bite marks on their skin, indicating they had fought for what scraps were available, he added.

"It may be pure ignorance as opposed to be pure evil. I can't comment on that. I just knew that these horses needed to be removed," Rode said.

Mike McWilliams, chief deputy of the sheriff's office, said criminal charges may be filed against those responsible for the animals' care. In addition to the horses, a number of dogs and cats were also seized, he said.

William Cross, who owns the farm where the horses were found, said he couldn't talk about the case because a hearing is scheduled for Thursday. But he did said that only one of the horses belonged to him and that he was leasing the property to a few people who were responsible for taking care of the horses.

All eight horses are being housed at an undisclosed Clarke County farm, eating hay and slowly progressing to grain. Authorities estimate it will take between six months and a year for them to recover.

When they were found, Rode rated the horses on a weight scale of one to nine, nine being obese and one being skeletal. Most of the horses received a one or two, with only two of the eight rated a three, the highest score given.

Rode likened it to a 5-foot-11-inch man weighing 125 pounds. He said, it's like "taking a person from an average build and turning them into a prisoner-of-war skeleton."