Gibson County officials and the Indiana Horse Rescue last weekend removed 15 horses from a southern Indiana farm in another chapter of what they call a chronic case of horse neglect. An additional 35 horses were removed from the property last August, and around 100 remain.

Farm owner Richard Stallings, 66, of Owensville, was arrested May 26 and was released on bond, said Gibson County Sheriff R. Allen Harmon. Charges from the August seizure are still pending. Sheriff Harmon said the condition of horses at the farm has been an ongoing concern for about three years.

Stallings’ attorney on record did not immediately return a call for comment.

Harmon added that the population of horses at the farm has been reduced from a high he estimates at 300 head.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY INDIANA HORSE RESCUE Caldwell said many of the horses have severe hoof problems.

“We did the first search warrant approximately two years ago,” Harmon said. “It was a lot worse than we thought it was–we found a lot of dead animals on the back of the farm, thrown off into a gully, there were a whole bunch of dead animal carcasses laying around, there were crippled animals, underfed animals, sick animals. So we got Animal Services involved, and quite frankly our Animal Services aren’t equipped to handle this type of problem–you get 300 sick horses and think ‘what do we do now?’ ”

The Indiana Horse Rescue (IHR), a group that assists Animal Services and Humane Societies in the state, steps in during such cases. According to Tony Caldwell, co-owner of IHR, the group was called to inspect the property in August, and they removed 35 horses. Fifteen of these horses died or were euthanatized, eight were adopted, and 12 are still in the care of IHR.

The Gibson County Animal Services set requirements Stalllings had to meet to retain the rest of the horses. However, according the Harmon, they were blocked from entering the property once their search warrant expired.

Caldwell explained: “There was a broad spectrum of things that he was supposed to do. At that time his lawyer advised the county that they were not allowed to enter the property any longer–therefore, follow-up inspections were problematic. So as they moved forward they would do drive by inspections, and they received a complaint. When they received the complaint they called (IHR) and said they had to go back and take a look–there might be some foals that are not doing so well out there. So we went down with that in mind, to simply examine a very small area. They obtained a search warrant and we went in there with them, and what we found was appalling.”

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY INDIANA HORSE RESCUE Caldwell estimates around 100 horses are still on the farm Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content. TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com. Start your free account today! SIGN UP Already have an account? Login and continue reading. Share Written by: Erin Ryder Erin Ryder is a former news editor of The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care. 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