Texas: abandoned horses seized.

This article is written in a sensationalized way, meant to make you believe that things are worse than they probably are ... uses a lot of "buzz words" to create an emotional reaction.

When I see coverage that is more based on heartstrings-pull than facts, I tend to lean toward giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt.

Local Humane Society In Need Of Livestock Feed [link]
Katherine Blake | Aug 22, 2008

Seven horses were found in a life-threatening situation in Fort Worth. According to investigators, the owner had abandoned them, leaving them without food and water.

The animals arrived at the Humane Society of North Texas late Thursday night. Workers there said that the horses had cuts on their bodies. Many were just skin and bones. They were so hungry that they only wanted to eat. "It's heartbreaking," said Humane Society of North Texas employee Sandy Grambort. A pregnant Grulla Mare is one of the worst. Grambort explained, "On a body score condition of 1 to 9, she is a 2."

The horses were all found in Fort Worth. A woman there identified herself as the property owner, but she did not want to speak on camera. She did, however, say that she leases the property to a man, but she does not know his name or where he might be. "Nobody had seen an owner out there to care for them in a month," said Humane Society of North Texas employee Peggy-Brown-Aguilar. A nearby business owner gave the horses food and water upon learning of the animals. Otherwise, "They probably would be dead," Grambort said.

Fort Worth Animal Control was able to get a warrant to seize the horses. For now, they will remain at the Humane Society of North Texas until a custody hearing can be held on Tuesday. "If the judge awards them to us, then we've got our fingers crossed to get them all wonderful homes," said Grambort.

XP—If you watch the video, you will see that most of the animals are looking somewhat underweight to average, with the ones that they focus on, conveniently in the foreground, being the most thin of the group.



While the grulla mare is certainly malnourished, they do not explain that the scale of 1-9 that they use is not 1=bad and 9=good, but that ideally a horse is around 4-5 on the scale, and that 8-9 is overweight in an unhealthy way.

We shall see what happens in this case.