Horse left to die in Fresno County

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A disturbing discovery was made Friday morning near Easton. Someone tied a horse to a power pole on a rural road and left it to die.

The dead horse was found on Cornelia near Central. Motorists spotted the horse tied by its rear legs to the power pole.

Beth Caffrey of the Central Valley SPCA was troubled by the discovery.

Caffrey said, "It's difficult because the last thing we want to see is an animal lose its life so it can be heart-breaking."

Lt. Greg Gularte of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office said the Ag Task Force has seen a rise in the number of abandoned horses this year.

Gularte explained, "In the last six months we've had 11 cases specifically involving horses either being malnourished or mistreated."

The SPCA currently houses 36 neglected horses rescued from owners unable to care for them.

One of them, Holly, recently gave birth to the very friendly Holly Berry.

Caffrey is very concerned about the increase in horse neglect cases. "This is the worst we've seen in our entire history. It's probably just the beginning of the situation because foreclosures and the economy a lot of times it take a while to hit other areas and horses unfortunately are in that area."

Earlier this week two Porterville men were arrested on animal cruelty charges.

Authorities say they hit a horse in the head with a sledge hammer. The men claim the horse suffered from arthritis and their actions were an effort to put it down.

Officers say most of the animal calls they receive involve dogs but they also now respond to calls of stray horses. The SPCA has a few which have gone unclaimed.

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