Law enforcement authorities in Oregon are seeking the owner of two allegedly maltreated horses confiscated by Marion County Sheriff’s Department personnel on June 20.

Marion County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Don Thomson said Sheriff’s Department personnel discovered the 6-year old Buckskin mare and the 3-year old Paint mare when the owner of the leased property on which they were residing complained that the horses’ owner was not caring for them.

"Where the horses were being kept is actually a dog run converted into a makeshift paddock," Thomson said. "The area was filled with 12-inch deep mud and measured 15-feet by 40-feet. There was no shelter from the weather."

Veterinarians diagnosed both horses with rain rot, mud fever, muscle loss, and hoof rot, and deemed them significantly underweight Thomson said