Equine Group Rescues Two Malnourished Horses

September 13, 2013

Two malnourished horses were recently rescued by the Cantonment based Panhandle Equine Rescue.

PER received a report that a very thin horse was down in a yard on Bowman Avenue, just off Nine Mile Road. PER and Escambia County Animal Control responded and found two  Tennessee Walking Horses in poor condition. One was unable to get up on her own.

“But with the help of a veterinarian, my family, volunteers and several county employees from animal control and environmental, we were able to get her up.  She went down again, but they all quickly got her right back on her feet,” PER President Diane Lowery said. “Everyone came together to help this special little horse.”

The owner voluntarily signed ownership of the horses over to PER.  The horses, mares named Capona and Sweet Mary, are mother and daughter, according to PER President Diane Lowery. PER reported Thursday that Capona remains in poor shape, still unable to stand without assistance.

“I am requesting prayers from everyone and donations.  We still have a long road ahead and they are not out of the woods yet.  This will be a costly endeavor, well worth it, but will put a huge dent in our funds.”

For additional photos of Capona, click here. (Warning: Some readers may find the photographs to be disturbing.)

The only horse rescue in Escambia County, Panhandle Equine Rescue was founded by a small group of concerned citizens with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines. PER is authorized by the court system to investigate equine cruelty in Escambia County.

Lowery said PER may pursue the filing of criminal charges in the case.

For more information on Panhandle Equine Rescue and how to donate to the organization visit  www.panhandleequinerescue.org.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

17 Responses to “Equine Group Rescues Two Malnourished Horses”

  1. AL on September 15th, 2013 3:47 pm

    Thanks, Bob’s Brother! Since I live near the 9 mile road corridor, far south of Molino, I take offense to the suggestion I cant be a responsible horse owner on small acreage! I have 3 horses on small property and all 3, including the 31 yr old, are on fine shape according to their veterinarian ..

  2. Bob's Brother on September 15th, 2013 8:55 am

    @taxpayer. How arrogant of you. I own 2 horses on 2.5 acres. We’ve been told that the mare needs to lose about 100lbs and the gelding ain’t skinny. It costs about $300 a month with feed, vet bills, transportation and farrior. When it comes to the horses, they eat before we do. If I lost my job/income, the horses would be the first things to go, but until then, I’ll appreciate you not dictating who can and can’t have horses.

  3. gf on September 15th, 2013 8:21 am

    EVEN a blind person could “see” these horses were in serious danger. How? If i was their caretaker, not even blindness would prevent me from putting my hands on the horses to check them over and would feel their bones.

  4. Fred on September 15th, 2013 5:24 am

    I sent my check, like I said I would.

  5. Justice on September 14th, 2013 8:07 am

    Only a blind man could not see that these horses were in a really bad way. The Florida Statutes on animal cruelty protect animals from this kind of a neglect. This is a crime and should be treated as one. These horses are in such bad shape that they still may not live. It will be a long and expensive road to recovery for PER. This man should never have horses again since he was not able to SEE the problem and allowed it to get to this point. Thank yous to whoever reported this and many thanks to Panhandle Equine Rescue for stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing. Since this rescue saves our county many dollars to do what they do …. we all should be supporting this rescue!

  6. Ziggy Pope on September 14th, 2013 8:06 am

    Accountability is required here. This kind of starvation does not happen over night, and the rehab is quite expensive.

    And for the the good folks are PER-thank you for what you are doing for these two creatures of God.

    And let’s help them help these horses, shall we! Even $5.00 helps!

  7. John on September 13th, 2013 9:19 pm

    Until people start being held accountable for this kind of cruelty,whether its a dog,cat,horse or any other animal.,It will continue.It isn’t just folks south of Molino doing this .It is up here also. I know of several locations right now that is fully in everyones face where this kind of care is going on.I know personally where there has been contact with the county,but as usaual,it’s who you know,that gets stuff done or maybe its what can make headlines.It’s that they are seen as just property.No change is being made toward their welfare…just lip service.
    Seeing these animals in dirt pens with no shelter and with very little, if any constant food and water source is heart breaking.There should be a enforced limit to how many that be kept to a specific footage and accountability for those that are supposed to be enforcing those laws or put someone in place that will act on it and see it through.
    .PER is a great group,but until the laws change for the animals protection and actually get enforced..it will stay this way .And if any personal connections are there,Then bias interferes with enforcement…smoke and mirrors

  8. Georgia Brazzell on September 13th, 2013 9:11 pm

    Many thanks to the good citizen who reported the situation. PER operates only on donations. Look at the end of the article which has the link to the PER website and that will explain how you can donate or volunteer or foster or adopt.
    Diane and the other volunteers are giving these horses virtually around the clock care. Diane Lowery has been doing this since 2005 for free. It is time the county stepped in with some support for this organization. This county is so lucky to have PER. Please donate if you can.

  9. A shame on September 13th, 2013 8:35 pm

    If you were my best friend, Kin or what ever i would tell you that you need to do something to help the animals or i will call some one. Saying nothing means you agree that this is alright. Put the owner in the field and do not feed them.

  10. Jerica on September 13th, 2013 4:08 pm

    This is sad people can be so cruel starve them see how it feels

  11. fred on September 13th, 2013 1:01 pm

    we all seem to be highly concerned about these horses. So, I’m writing a check to PER this weekend to help. Who’s with me?

  12. No Excuses on September 13th, 2013 9:58 am

    @ Taxpayer,

    I agree with you to a point. If you have horses on less than five acres, you should make sure they are well fed and exercised regularly. I have three on 10 acres and they have plenty to eat as well as feed and hay. They can’t keep up with the grass on the 10 acres we have and we have to bush hog regularly to keep things under control. Responsiblity is the key. Don’t get animals you can’t afford. You aren’t helping them – quite the opposite, in fact, as seen by the two horses in this article.

  13. taxpayer on September 13th, 2013 7:39 am

    why do people around here still try act they are farmers or “country” folks with horses and livestock in the city. If you cannot afford to waste money feeded a horse since you don’t have 10+ acres don’t get them. Way to many people have horses in to small of spaces around here. I say if you live south of molino and you have less than 5 acresyou shouldn’t own one, let alone 2.

  14. Workin Man on September 13th, 2013 6:30 am

    May pursue criminal charges???? They should have took whoever owns the horses to jail on the spot !!!!!!!

  15. Lin on September 13th, 2013 5:58 am

    Why do people let it get to this point, when it makes it so much harder for these two horses to come back to a good physical condition? can’t they see? Thank goodness for rescue organizations, the poor volunteers that have to suffer though this with the animals. Wouldn’t it be nice if we did not need rescues?

  16. Jane on September 13th, 2013 3:56 am

    This group does a great job and is the only one in this area to help horses. If you can help them, please do…if you have hay, call them and see if you can donate some hay or horse feed if you can’t help with money. Every little bit helps!

  17. CD on September 13th, 2013 2:53 am

    These poor animals. This is almost as bad as someone deliberately starving their child! Just no excuse for it. Please post an address where people can see these animals and where they can make contributions. If I was physically and financially able, I would take these horses myself.