Two draft horses neglected
Mount Pleasant, PA (US)Incident Date: Friday, Mar 31, 2006
County: Westmoreland
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Harvey Chris Taylor
The Belgian draft horse is a lovely creature, her coat a golden brown that horse people describe as chestnut, and her mane and tail a pale shade of yellow called flaxen.
But as she is led out of the barn, her head bobs with each step, which is what horses do when they are in pain. The cause is untrimmed hooves, especially the left front one, which has grown long and is grotesquely curled up like an elf's shoe.
A second horse, her longtime companion who is thought to be her sister, also has untrimmed feet as well as a front knee that is twice the normal size because of two injuries that apparently went untreated.
Both are lame, and it's not known whether either will ever be fully sound, even with the best of care and treatment.
Each is 400 to 500 pounds underweight, though both have gained weight in the nearly one month they have been in the protective custody of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.
Their owner, Harvey Taylor of Mount Pleasant, has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty. A hearing date has not been set.
The mares are named Karen and Kelley, and they are 10 and 12 years old, "though we're not sure which is which," said Cathy Bricker, the humane agent who investigated the case after receiving numerous calls and complaints over a two-year period about the horses' condition.
"We always try to work with owners to resolve situations," Ms. Bricker said, and on one occasion Mr. Taylor did call in a veterinarian after Ms. Bricker investigated. She also received numerous calls about the horses roaming loose, including standing in the middle of roads where they could cause an accident.
Late in April, another humane agent, Elaine Gower of Action for Animals, answered a 911 call about horses roaming and filed charges.
"These horses are now in protective custody pending the outcome of the hearing," Ms. Bricker said.
The horses are staying in Elizabeth, on a farm owned by Dave Thorpe, who works for the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society at their Fallen Timber shelter, just down the road from the farm.
Both horses weigh about 1,600 pounds and they should weigh about 2,000 pounds, Mr. Thorpe said. The untrimmed feet are causing the horses to alter their gait, which is causing knee and leg problems. They are being given medications, including painkillers. Each is eating four to five bales of hay and 15 to 18 pounds of grain daily.
"I don't know if they'll ever be totally sound again," Mr. Thorpe said. They probably will never be able to work or be ridden but "they can have a quality of life."
The horses must be sedated to have their hooves trimmed and treated, which is something that will have to be done a little at a time. It will take nine to 12 months for them to regrow healthy hooves, Mr. Thorpe said.
Horse hooves grow continuously, like toenails on a human. Healthy horses generally have their hooves trimmed every six to 10 weeks. References« PA State Animal Cruelty Map
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