In early March, deputies from the Cascade County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of horses in distress, discovering two severely underweight horses without food, water or shelter alongside two that had already died. The Montana Horse Sanctuary provided critical rehabilitation for those mares who are now continuing their recovery.
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The horses' former owner, Susan Kay Jones, pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty, and was ordered to surrender the animals. In Montana, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor, and can be elevated to a felony if cruelty is inflicted on ten or more animals.
The Montana Horse Sanctuary is a nonprofit rescue that provides help and resources to horse owners in financial crises and to law enforcement during cruelty seizures throughout the state of Montana.
At the request of law enforcement, the organization picked up the surviving two horses, believed to be in their late teens. After receiving veterinary care, the horses are continuing their recovery in foster care.
Montana Horse Sanctuary secretary Shanna Bulik-Chism was one of the people responsible for rescuing these two horses from the property on McIver Road in Cascade County.
She says, “When I first got there, the first thing that I saw was the dead pony. And you could tell that it had been there for quite a while, the eyes were missing. When I walked in on these two, they were very close to death, probably another week they would have passed away. Luckily, neighbors were calling and making reports.”
Bulik-Chism has aided in horse abuse cases all over the state, but says this case is probably the one of the worst she’s encountered, saying, “I really was kind of wondering if we were going to be able to walk her out of the pen, she was shaking and it had rained and it was kind of muddy out there, so they were standing in a lot of muck and just dirt.”
The former owner admitted to not feeding the horses for at least a week, but a veterinary assessment suggests the neglect went on for much longer.
So far, the horses are doing well, but the road to a full recovery may take up to two years.
Bulik-Chism explains, “Their intestines and their systems are just so fragile, so we have a specialized foster that is feeding them, supplementing them with different supplements. They've come a long way, it's hard to believe because they still look so thin, but they're amazing, they're so friendly.”
The cost of care for each horse will be around $6,000 their first year. The Montana Horse Sanctuary is taking donations to help with the costs, and is also accepting adoption inquiries, ideally for both horses to remain together.
To learn more about adopting or donating, call Montana Horse Sanctuary at 406-264-5300, or click here to visit the website.
