Malnourished horses seized in Panama, OK

PANAMA, Okla. —

More than two dozen malnourished horses were rescued in LeFlore County on Saturday.

LeFlore County Sheriff Rob Seale said he and his deputies traveled to private property on Coal Creek Road outside of Panama and seized 26 horses, several of which, he said, were in poor condition.

Sheriff Seale says the report came in that a man was housing many horses that were malnourished and some were even had cuts and rain-rot. He says they even found one horse dead upon arrival.

LeFlore authorities traveled to the property Thursday after receiving the report from the concerned citizen.

"It was a breeding farm basically," Seale said. "(The owner) hadn't been taking care of the horses."

Seale said after he notified the LeFlore County District Attorney's Office about the condition of the horses, he was given the go-ahead to seize the horses without a court order.

When authorities returned to the private property Saturday, they confirmed that one of the horses was dead. Several of the horses were so malnourished that the outline of their ribs and hip bones were visible, Seale said.

"A lot of them didn't have shelter, and their coats were rain-rotted," he said.

A stud was found locked in a horse trailer without food or water, according to Seale.

After the horses were seized, they were placed in holding pens at a livestock auction facility. Food and care was provided with contributions from the Humane Society, Seale said.

Seale said he has sent a probable cause affidavit, applying for a warrant to arrest the owner of the horses.

The horse owner, whose name has yet to be released, has a history of neglecting the horses he owns, according to Seale.

Copyright The Associated Press