And photographs, if you have any.
Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Lisa Holder
Seven horses that were recently surrendered to the York
County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are
now being cared for by Lisa Holder on her rented York Township
horse farm.
The horse's personalities have started to shine through, she said..
Horses that were rescued
from the York SPACA search for treats from their temporary
caretaker, Lisa Holder >>
When Holder first locked eyes with the six Kentucky Mountain Horses and the Tennessee Walking Horse, she was disheartened at what she witnessed.
"They were standing in a field, no food, a frozen
water trough.
They were just hanging their heads, like they
had given up," she said.
Slowly, she approached the horses.
Holder could easily feel their ribs and hips -- a sign that the horses had not been eating enough.
After a few calls, Holder loaded the horses on to a trailer and took the animals to her farm in York Township. The horses will live at the farm until new homes are found for the animals.
"Every single horse walked onto the trailer like they knew they were going somewhere where they were going to be taken care of," she said.
Saturday the horses ran in the field, dug in the snow and one even decided to make his version of an "angel" in the snow.
Melissa Smith, executive director of the York County SPCA, said the horses were taken from a property in Lower Windsor Township.
There was an "overall neglect of the horses," she said.
The owner, who could not care for the animals, surrendered the horses to the SPCA.
A citation for cruelty to animals will probably be filed in the next week, Smith said.
The former owner signed over ownership of the horses to the SPCA on Jan. 19, she said.
One day later, Holder began caring for the animals.
Holder said the horses were "probably at least 100 to 200 pounds underweight, and they all had worms."
The horse's normal weight is 900 to 1,200 pounds, she said. Holder said she estimated that the horses are between 8 and 15 years old.
"When they eat, they eat with such gusto because they
might not know when they are going to eat again," she
said..
Riding Jesse, a Kentucky Mountain horse, Carrie Fix, 15, said he handled beautifully.
"It's amazing how he still trusts people after being cruelly treated," she said.
<< Carrie Fix, 15, kisses one of seven recently rescued horses
To feed the seven animals, Holder said she spends $500 for grain and between $150 to $200 per month for hay.
Holder said she wants the animals to get better. So far, they have put on about 25 to 50 pounds, she said.
"Everyday you see their personalities come out more," she said.
To donate to the care of seven rescued horses contact laholder@verizon.net or click here