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On Feb. 5, a team from the MSPCA spent two hours digging the horses out of their stalls because the manure blocked the doors. The animals are now being cared for by the MSPCA at Nevins Farm in Methuen.
Nancy L. Golec of Ludlow, the former owner of the horses, has been charged with four counts of felony animal cruelty. Golec was arraigned in Palmer District Court on Feb. 24.
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The horses— a 13-year-old Arabian named Shakira and an 11-year-old Quarter Horse/Arabian cross named Tia—were surrendered and taken by the MSPCA's equine ambulance to Nevins Farm.
Once extracted from the stalls in which they had been trapped, the sores on their backs — a result of standing on piles of manure so high that their backs were pressed into the building's rafters — were made plainly visible, the MSPCA said.
Roger Lauze, the equine rescue training manager at Nevins Farm, said he hasn't seen such neglect in nearly 40 years of working in horse rescue.
"The hooves on these horses were so overgrown and disfigured that it will take years of farrier work for them to reshape — if that's even possible," he said.
Both horses had overgrown teeth, with hind legs that were caked in manure.Tia is underweight, an additional sign that she had been neglected for years, the MSPCA said.
Their overgrown and misshapen hooves contributed to imbalances that have significantly impacted their health.
“We’re going to do everything possible to help them live the rest of their lives without pain, but that will be determined by the degree to which we can reshape the hooves,” said Lauze.
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Tia’s radiographs, however, show immense deformation of the coffin bones in her hind hooves, among other bone changes that could forever compromise her health.
The Nevins Farm team will continue to rehabilitate both horses in hopes that they can be placed for adoption. Anyone interested in adopting can email barnstaff@mspca.org for more information.
Readers who wish to contribute toward the horses’ mounting medical bills may do so by way of the MSPCA at Nevins Farm Ashton’s Hope Fund.
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Oh my goodness, how horrific! Tears, came to my eyes when I saw that picture, it is just horrific, that they have been so very neglected to a point of abuse.
