It's a real shame because this didn't have to happen. According to the owner of the farm where the horses were boarded, their owner was supposed to bring enough grain for his horses and enough hay for his and the farm owner's horses, but he never did. Repeated efforts to get the owner to care for his horses, including registered letters, failed. His case was definitely one of cruelty because if he had simply provided them with food and water, they would still be alive today. This was just needless.
State law forbids mistreatment of farm animals.
And last year a bill was passed giving the agriculture department the responsibility of enforcing the law. But when they passed the bill, lawmakers in Trenton apparently forgot to provide funding for enforcement. In the meantime, state and local SPCA officials have entered the breach to ensure that allegations of abuse against horses and other farm animals are fully investigated. Someone was burning leaves the other day, I thought the person was trying to burn down the barn. . . . Every present I bought her for Christmas was for this horse.