Charges sought for owner of malnourished horses

Authorities said charges are being sought against a Michigan City-area woman for not feeding her horses.

One of the malnourished animals had to be put down, police said.

According to LaPorte County authorities, a warrant is being sought to charge the 35-year-old woman with animal neglect.

About 1 p.m. Saturday, police and animal control officers were called to a farm in the 3200 block of W. 700 North in LaPorte County's Springfield Township.

Three horses inside a barn were found grossly underweight with bones protruding.

The property owner, Margaret Bolton, allowed the woman to keep her horses on the farm, police said.

Ed Bohle, who also lives at the Bolton farm, told investigators he had not seen the woman or anyone else showing up consistently to feed and care for the horses, police said.

The woman told officers she had not visited the farm for several weeks because she didn't have any transportation.

She told investigators she had been sending her 14-year-old son to the farm to feed the animals.

But, according to police, there was no evidence the horses were being fed properly and several inches of ice had developed in each of the horse's feed buckets.

There also was not enough water in the troughs to keep the horses properly hydrated, police said.

Police said the floor of the barn also was covered by several inches of feces.

A veterinarian was called out and euthanized an 11-year-old mare.

LaPorte County Animal Control Director Jane Bernard said the key for a malnourished horse to survive is having the ability to stand, but the mare was not able to get up.

"She struggled and struggled and really fought, but pretty much gave up," Bernard said.

Bernard said the surviving horses were taken to a farm in hopes of nursing them back to health.

In a still tough economy, Bernard said more and more animal owners no longer have the ability to buy enough food.

"Times are really tough and this is not uncommon for us to see cases like this," Bernard said.