County Gets 48 'Cruelly Treated' Horses

Owners Didn't Feed, Care For Animals, Judge Rules

A Loudoun County judge ruled yesterday that 48 horses seized by county officials last week were "cruelly treated," and he awarded custody of the thoroughbreds to the county.

General District Court Judge J. Frank Buttery Jr. signed an order giving custody of the horses to Loudoun County Animal Care and Control and ordered their owners to reimburse the county for food and medical costs incurred since the seizure, almost $8,000 so far. Dennis Danley, Donald Cutshaw and Pablo Cosme were named as owners.

"Clearly the commonwealth has proved in this case that the animals . . . were cruelly treated," Buttery said, after reviewing photos of the horses and conditions on the Middleburg-area farm where they were seized. "Certainly not enough food or even water was provided for them."

Under Buttery's order, Danley is prohibited from owning agricultural animals in Virginia because of a prior conviction. Cosme and Cutshaw cannot own agricultural animals in the state for two years.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jason Faw said criminal charges are pending.

Cosme told Buttery he owned five of the horses. After the hearing, he said he did not want them back because recent surgery had left him unable to care for the animals. Cutshaw has said he leased the Middleburg land and owned one horse.

Danley, who pleaded no contest to one count of animal cruelty in a similar case in West Virginia last year, did not attend yesterday's hearing. He had requested a postponement, which Buttery denied. Reached by phone after the hearing, Danley repeated his assertion that he did not own any horses.

Additional owners, apparently unconnected to the animals' neglect, have begun surfacing to claim their horses. Front Royal breeder Richard Rutherford, who was in court yesterday, said that he owns a share of former racehorse Sandlot Star, sired by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, and that the stallion was among the seized horses.

The horses were seized Jan. 22 after an anonymous tip about poor conditions at the farm. County officials said they made regular visits to the property after receiving the tip in November and decided to seize the animals after their condition deteriorated.

One photo in evidence yesterday showed water frozen solid in a trough with a round depression in the ice, probably made by a thirsty horse pounding it with its hoof to break through, Faw said. Another image showed a foaling mare eating feces off the ground; no hay was available, he said.

Most of the horses have been kept at the county's Waterford animal shelter; three foaling mares have been sent to a nearby facility to receive special attention, animal control officials said.

Karen Iovino, a veterinarian enlisted by the county to treat the animals, said most of them are on the mend. "They still have a long way to go," Iovino said, adding that many have put on more than 100 pounds in the past week.

With a small staff accustomed to tending to dogs, rabbits and chickens, the shelter has been hard-pressed to keep up with the demands of the large animals, which produce a total of one ton of manure daily, said Laura Rizer, a department spokeswoman.

Volunteers with horse experience have been working in shifts, and prisoners in the county's work release program have been brought in to help, officials said.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.