Police on Dec 1 were investigating the discovery of dead and abused horses on a southern Indiana farm. Seven horses were found dead, and many others were in poor condition according to veterinarian Dr. Ron Henley.
"We originally found seven dead horses," Henley said. "Some were skeletal remains and others that had died more recently were just laying on the property. Some of the others were in good health, but others were in poor and very poor condition. They were not fed well, were sick and not moving around well."
However, family members said the horses' owners, Phil and Betty Henry, weren�t abusing their horses.
�People bring them here if they can't take care of them and my grandma takes them in,� Chad Henry said. �It�s the same thing with dogs. She is just an animal lover.�
Henry added that authorities didn�t have all the necessary information to claim his grandparents abused the animals.
�It wasn't seven fresh dead horses,� Henry said. �It's been over 10 years of remains that have been dug up by the dogs and coyotes.�
Henley disagreed with Henry�s assessment.
�A vet should have been there months or even years ago,� Henley said. �The horses were studs and mares, and they would breed constantly, so I think it�s was a combination of being overwhelmed and not sure what avenues to take to get the horses treated.�
Henry said his grandparents simply had a soft heart for animals.
�She's always opened her home to abandoned animals,� Henry said. �I�m not going to say they don't have too many, but she has never turned anyone down when it comes to caring for an animal. My grandma is completely lost right now. She hasn't had an expression on her face for days.� Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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