CROWN POINT | Four abandoned horses are believed to have been roaming free for several days before county police were alerted, police said Friday.
The horses were malnourished with one suffering serious injuries.
Now being boarded at a Crown Point farm at the request of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, the horses have been tended to by a veterinarian.
The farm's owner, Terry Snook, said the horse in the most serious condition suffered an 8- to 9-inch gash in one hind quarter and a hole the size of a baseball in the other.
Snook said he contacted a local veterinarian at the sheriff's expense to treat the animals.
"We're going to get them fattened up, and they will be put up for adoption," Snook said.
In a news release issued Friday, Patti Van Til, public information officer for Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, said another local farmer reported having spotted a black truck pulling a white horse trailer stopped at the side of the road at Ind. 2 and State Line Road in Lowell.
The driver opened the trailer, released three horses and left the area, according to the unidentified farmer. The man was unable to obtain the license number of the truck.
A fourth horse was discovered roaming free in the area but is not believed to be part of the horses released in Lowell.
"The current concern is addressing the health needs of the horses and perhaps adoption of them at some time," Buncich stated in the news release.
Buncich urged animal owners to contact the Lake County Animal Shelter at (219) 769-7016 rather than letting animals run loose.
"We will assist them in finding good homes," he said.
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