LAKELAND, Fla (WFLA) — The founders of a Tampa Bay horse farm are expressing their concerns about cases of animal cruelty, where some of the horses involved have been brought to them for rehabilitation.
Erika Gilbert from Grune Heidi Farms in Lakeland noted that horses are constant grazers, and it distresses them to hear about instances where individuals deliberately starve horses. Gilbert provided 8 On Your Side with a glimpse of the rescued horses at their facility, mentioning that they rehabilitate between 30 to 35 horses annually.
“This one we just rescued,” Gilbert pointed out. “There’s no meat. There’s no flesh. Ribs are definitely prominent. You can see his bones and that’s, that’s not good.”
She said to nourish them back to health, it takes a lot of money, and high-quality food. Though she said the work it is worth it, especially when they see some of the worst cases of malnourished horses.
“It’s very depressing and it’s sickening because there is no need for it,” Gilbert said.
The rescue took in horses from Palm Beach County after a woman was arrested for several counts of animal cruelty and confinement without food, water, or exercise.
“When we had them, all we basically had to do was provide food, training, and the basic rehab that we do here in order for them to find a home,” Gilbert said.
Also this week, a Polk County man was arrested and is accused of animal cruelty after the death of his horse. Deputies found six horses they said were extremely underweight. The owner admitted to not feeding the horses for two weeks.
“This was absolutely, unequivocally a horrible scene,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Gilbert said those cases are examples of a mental health crisis, though she said it’s not an excuse for neglecting animals.
“When you see all these hoarding cases, that’s mental health issues,” Gilbert said. “These people will not stop doing what they do. As soon as they’re released with a slap on the wrist, they’re going to go out and accumulate more horses.”
She said, at the end of the day, the animal, cat, dog, or horse, suffers. Especially when others don’t bring attention to it.
“They could drive past a starving horse in a pasture, and no one would ever call,” Gilbert said. “We all need to help.”
