When firefighters responded to a house fire in Youngstown Thursday, they found another emergency.
Fire crews reported finding seven horses that had been abandoned and neglected in a barn Atkinson Avenue.
Annette Bragg of Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, Inc. told newsnet5.com that manure and urine stood more than one-and-a-half feet high in the horses' stalls.
"It was basically lying in its own urine and feces and all of that clumped to the fur,” said Bragg. "Their hooves are probably in the most horrific condition of any horse I have seen since I have been doing animal rescue."
The horses didn't even have any food or water.
"Charges will be filed, from what I understand in court,” said Bragg. “The way court proceedings go, is they do have a chance in court to state their case. And usually, it's up to a judge and jury whether the owners will get their animals back."
Bragg said if the owners are found guilty of neglect, they could lose their horses to adoption.
