Horse neglect Winter Haven, FL (US) Incident Date: Friday, Mar 3, 2006 County: Polk Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: Wini Leilani Holliday

Case ID: 8693 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: horse View more cases in FL (US) Login to Watch this Case

Polk County Sheriff's investigators are expected to file charges against a 36-year-old woman who they say allowed a horse to be in deplorable condition at her ranch. Wini Leilani Holliday, of 4016 Country Club Road, was the owner of the 5-year-old thoroughbred.

Sheriff's Major Francis Hart said the horse was put to sleep March 3 after investigators with the agriculture crimes unit discovered it was foundering severely at the Aloha Equestrian Center. Foundering is a medical condition in which the animal's bones become deformed. "It was to the point where the bones were protruding," Hart said. "The horse was not able to stand. We decided in the best interest of the animal was to put it down so it wouldn't suffer anymore."

The first time investigators visited Holliday's ranch was November. Holliday did not cooperate and they had a hard time finding the horse, Hart said. Investigators said they instructed Holliday to contact Andy Bennett, veterinarian and owner of Polk Equine, P.L. When Bennett didn't hear from her, he contacted the Sheriff's Office, Hart said. Holliday did nothing to take care of the situation, Hart said. "All they were doing was giving the horse pain medication," he said. "It was no point to continue to let the animal suffer." Bennett said the medication Holliday was giving the horse was not the correct medication for the pain it "If the horse did survive, it would've been severely crippled," he said. There was no other choice but to put the horse to sleep, Bennett said.

Hart said he thinks Holliday didn't have the heart to put the horse to death. "There was no practical veterinary solution to solve this," he said.

Sheriff's Lt. Hugh Taylor, of the agricultural crimes unit, said the case with the horse is not an unusual occurrence. "We handle numerous cases a year involving abuse and neglect of horses," he said.

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References

The Ledger Online - March 7, 2006

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