The state has taken temporary custody of 15 horses that they said were seized from Stirrup Fun Stables Rescue in Lebanon and seeks permanent custody.
Attorney General William Tong and Department of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt said the horses had been neglected, a petition was filed on Monday in Hartford Superior Court and the court granted temporary custody to the state pending a hearing while the case continues.
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WATCH HERE“These horses were neglected and left to fend for themselves in an empty field with zero shelter during torrential rains. This is completely unacceptable. The state gave the owners every chance to do the right thing by these horses, but we were ultimately left with no choice but to seek state custody,” Tong said in a statement.
State officials are also asking for costs for the care of the animals.
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SIGN UP They highlighted a few issues over the last year and said one happened last May when two rescue horses wandered from the property and were trapped in mud for hours as dozens of volunteers worked to rescue them.
Then, in September, state animal control officers visited the facility to investigate a complaint that underfed horses were in poor condition, lacked adequate shelter and clean water and were being ridden while suffering debilitating medical conditions and found 34 horses lacking adequate shelter and water, according to the attorney general and Department of Agriculture.
Tufts Veterinary Field Service found eight horses were not fit for riding and 18 horses required restrictions, officials said.
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The state received more complaints and the Department of Agriculture issued a cease-and-desist order on Jan. 30, they said.
On May 7, the Department of Agriculture learned that several of the horses had been relocated without notice to the department to 744 Trumbull Highway in Lebanon, a 50-acre plot of undeveloped land, according to the attorney general and department of agriculture.
They said the state found 15 horses there, no shelter, a small pond that was filled with algae, plants and bugs and unclean to drink and no paddock or significant fencing to contain the horses from running onto roads or nearby properties.
They believe the horses were left in the open field for days.
The state then took custody of the 15 horses they found at the property and the Department of Agriculture’s Second Chance Large Animal Rehabilitation Facility in Niantic is caring for them.
The former owner of the farm denied all of the allegations to NBC Connecticut.
