Video Story
Watch Video31 horses removed from property in tiny town of Branson
Story By: Ryan Wilson
Source: KOAA
"Remember me?" Judy Carlson said, while holding her horse's head close to her chest. "You should, I was momma for a while."
It's a heartbreaking reunion for Carlson. She raised the horse by hand since it was five weeks old because its mother was killed by lightning. Now Roxie is skin and bones.
"She's really thin. She really is the worst of all of them," Carlson exclaimed to her husband John. He agreed, "Look, she's holding all her hair."
Roxie is covered in tufts of her winter hair still. The Carlson's are taking their horses home on this day. 6 months ago, they took them to Fernando Santana's property, so he could train them.
Since then, they say the horses have lost their energy, their personalities, and their body mass..
"We had offered hay and he didn't take it, and then to find out that the horses are in this kind of condition, that's inexcusable," John Carlson said.
Earl Dercole was one of the deputies that first found the horses. He says some were tied down, and some were standing in their own manure, with little or no food or water. He called the conditions deplorable and knew action had to be taken.
"It's time to do something rather than sit there and wait for the inevitable, which would have probably been death," Deputy Dercole said.
For one horse, the inevitable did come. The cause of death is being investigated. The other horses are eating and recovering and expected to make it, although the state veterinarian rated most of them as unhealthy. But the Carlson's horses are going home. "They're going to know when they get home. They'll know," Judy said.
The Las Animas County Sheriff's Office is still looking for the owners of the other horses. If you have any information, you are asked to call 719-846-2211. They are also looking for donations in money and hay to feed the animals.
