Nine Horses Removed from Cruelty Situation by Alaqua Animal Refuge and Assisting Enforcement Agencies
Alaqua Animal Refuge, in conjunction with the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), removed a total of nine horses from a residence in Holt, Florida on Thursday and Friday of this past week resulting in an open investigation for abuse and neglect. One horse that was in the most critical condition was removed by officers on Thursday and brought to Alaqua for urgent medical assessment. The horse was too weak to stand and was in grave condition. On the Henneke horse body condition scoring system, the horse’s score was a “1” or poor—the lowest score possible. The system is used by law enforcement agencies as an objective method of scoring a horse’s body condition in horse cruelty cases. The horse was extremely emaciated with bones protruding from his hips and ribs. He was also completely covered in dozens of open wounds, bite marks, and lacerations—both old and new. In a state of panic from going down, he had thrashed and created additional injuries, including biting part of his own tongue off in the process. Sadly, after hours of efforts of intensive care by our medical team, the horse was humanely euthanized to end the intense suffering he was experiencing. “I have been doing this work a long time and when the initial horse arrived, my heart sank. It was heartbreaking how he had suffered and our efforts to get him out of the trailer took hours because he could not stand up. He had such a will to survive, but his...
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