New York - nearly 80 horses seized.

If 30% of these horses belonged to boarders, and all 82 horses were malnourished, don't you think someone would have done something sooner? I know I'd be raising a ruckus.

78 Horses Removed from New York Farm [link]
Pat Raia | Sep 5, 2008

Seventy-eight allegedly malnourished horses are currently residing in foster homes after animal welfare authorities removed them from their former home last week.

According to Finger Lakes Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Investigator Scott Mazzo, these horses are among 82 that had resided a property in Troupsburg, N.Y. Four of the horses were euthanized at the scene, he said.

"The surviving horses are also in need of medical and other rehabilitative care," Mazzo said.

Charges in the case are pending.

The seizure was the result of an investigation that began when authorities received a complaint by the owner of a horse boarded at the property.

"It looks like about 30% of the horses were boarders," Mazzo said. "We're trying to match the horses with their owners now, and we will release the horses to their owners as soon as we possibly can."

This is the largest equine seizure in the Finger Lakes SPCA's history. The agency is seeking financial and material donations to defray the estimated $20,000 cost of the horses' first month of care.

It makes one wonder if all of the horses were indeed malnourished, or if the seizure occurred due to a small number of horses in poor condition.