Horses rescued from Kentucky strip mine where 20 horses were found shot dead
A pregnant mare and her yearling colt have been rescued from the same location where 20 horses were found shot and killed earlier this month.
The mare and colt were picked up by Dumas Rescue at the strip mine near the Floyd and Pike County line and were taken in Friday night by the Kentucky Humane Society, the organizations said in Facebook posts Saturday.
“I feel like we have closed a door on their past and Kentucky Humane Society Equine CARE has opened a door to their future,” Dumas Rescue said in a post.
The humane society said the mare is very thin and has been placed on a special feeding regimen.
“The colt took everything in stride as long as his mom was close, but the mare was showing signs of stress and anxiety on arrival,” Lori Redmon, the humane society’s president and CEO, said. “She was sweating, and her breathing was labored so our primary concern was getting her stabilized and relaxed. She is heavy in foal and we didn’t want her to go into premature labor due to stress.”
The horses are being assessed for medical and behavioral issues and were taken to the humane society’s new horse farm in Simpsonville, Kentucky Humane Society Equine CARE said in a Facebook post.
The farm is named Willow Hope Farm, in honor of Willow, an extremely emaciated horse that the humane society took in in October. She is also from the same herd as the horses that were rescued, the humane society said.
On Dec. 16, a man reported that he found five of his horses dead. He said his horses had gone onto an abandoned strip mine adjacent to his property and joined a herd of horses that roam there, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
The next day, Dumas Rescue and sheriff’s deputies found nine more horses dead at the strip mine. The rescue said Dec. 22 that it had found six more carcasses, bringing the total horses killed to 20.
WDRB reported Wednesday that police were still investigating.
There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people responsible for shooting the horses.
Dumas Rescue plans to return to the site to try to rescue three more horses that belong to the same herd and are thought to still be alive at the site.
The Kentucky Humane Society says there are likely thousands of other free-roaming horses in Eastern Kentucky.
This story was originally published December 28, 2019 at 5:47 PM.
