Abandoned horses turn up in bad shape

Brenda Ramos, owner of Horsin' Around at BLORA Ranch, got a call last week from Fort Hood officials wondering why her horses were wandering around in the wee hours of the morning. But the four animals didn't belong to Ramos. Emaciated, dirty and scared, the loose horses likely had been abandoned by their owners. The oldest, a mare, was in particularly bad shape; her would-be powerful hindquarters were drawn in and hollow from malnutrition. "She's the third-worse (looking) horse I've ever seen," said Ramos, who began her equine career by rescuing horses. Still caked with dirt on Friday — ranch staffers hadn't been able to wash the mare that they call "Old Girl" thoroughly since she appeared on Wednesday due to her skittishness — the horse couldn't stop eating the hay Ramos put in front of her. Ramos said she guessed the abandoned horses had been left at Horsin' Around because their owners could no longer afford to take care of them...more

And you can thank the do-gooders for these "emaciated" and "drawn in and hollow from malnutrition" horses.