Six Harford horses taken to rescue farm in Howard County

Six horses were removed from Harford County Friday and taken to a rescue farm in Howard County, according to the organization that is caring for them.

The horses, four mares and two stallions, which were described as “emaciated,” were taken to Days End Farm Horse Rescue, Inc. in Woodbine, according to a media release from the non-profit animal rescue organization.
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Beyond that announcement, and some specifics on the conditions of the animals, details about where the horses were taken from and their ownership were not available late Tuesday afternoon.

The media release from Days End Farm, states that the animals were removed Friday “at the request of Harford County animal protection officials” and that all are receiving “immediate critical care and evaluation.”

Bob Thomas, spokesman for the Harford County government, said he had no information on the rescue and said he would direct questions to Richard Lynch, the director of the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits, whose department oversees the county’s animal control agency. Lynch, however, was not available.

Eddie Hopkins, spokesperson for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, said the agency had no record of any animal cruelty complaints received from Friday.

According to the Days End Farm release, three of the six horses rescued from Harford were rated as a 1 or 1.5 out of 9 on the Body Condition Scale, or “as thin as a horse can be and still be alive;” two were rated 2.5 and one was rated 3. According to the release, veterinarians consider a body score of 4 to 7 as acceptable.

The six horses range in age from 4 to 12 years. According to the release, one has a swollen knee and several suffer from dermatitis.

“Over the next several days, a more thorough evaluation will determine the condition of their teeth, whether they have other starvation-related issues and the extent of internal parasites,” the release states, also noting that the horses “will require substantial veterinary care and critical treatment.

According to its release, Days End Farm Horse Rescue was founded in 1989 and is a volunteer-based, all breed rescue relying solely on donations to carry out its mission.

Caroline Robertson, development director for Days End Farm, said Tuesday night that the six horses are “thoroughbred type” and one was tattooed suggesting it might have been a racehorse, although they did not have any confirmation of that.

Robertson said her organization picked the horses up at the request of Harford animal control officials, to whom she referred questions about the location of the horses and other details of the rescue on the Harford County end. “This case is still pending,” she said.