Ravenna, Ohio - At somewhere between twenty and thirty years old, the mare Annette Fisher has named Xenia is about four months pregnant mated to a full sized stallion.
Fisher says if it wasn't for the foal she is carrying Xenia would be skin and bones.
"Under her winter coat you can obviously feel very clearly bone its right here at the very top" Fisher says running her hand over Xenia's ribcage.
"If you were to take four months of baby out of this horse she would be even thinner and even more emaciated."
The horse was found by portage county Humane Officers on the property of Carl Trickett, who they say they have been trying to work with for years to better care or his animals.
Xenia was found with a rope around her neck that was caked with ice. The stallion she was mated to was found emaciated and dead, leaning against the wall of a building on the property.
Humane Officer Jennifer Sanderson says the stallion had been dead for two or three days, but in the bitter cold she does not believe decomposition was entirely responsible for the condition in which it was found.
"You could see its ribs, its spine was sticking up, its hip bones were sticking out" Sanderson told Fox 8 News adding "You couldn't see an injury on it, I honestly believe he died of starvation."
Humane officers also confiscated a calf and 35 rabbits which Sanderson told Fox 8 news he was raising to eat.
Rob Willard of Happy Trails Animal Sanctuary in Portage County says the rabbits were out in the elements and had actually bitten holes through their cages.
"They were chewing on them" Willard tells Fox 8. "Many of they had lots of holes chewed through them and the wood and the plywood and that was chewed up pretty badly."
"There wasn't available water in any of the containers or any of the cages, very few of them had a little bit of hay or a little bit of food in them." Williard Said
Contacted by phone Trickett insists the accusations are all false. He told Fox 8 News the animals were all fed and watered.
"I feed my animals and have all the receipts" Trickett said "Watered and fed them twice a day".
Trickett says the stallion wandered into a building where he should not have been and after searching himself for the animal he found him dead, adding that he had to pull rabbit cages off of the horse.
He says the horse was already old when he bought him for $100 and Trickett says all he was trying to do was keep the horse from dying.
Trickett also insists the rabbits were also old and had adequate shelter.
He told Fox 8 he has bags of feed at his house, some of it unopened, to prove that he was not disregarding the animals.
Sanderson, however, says after inspecting his property she told Trickett he needed to get a veterinarian to examine the animals, to which he refused.
"He adamantly refused" She told Fox 8. "And I told him if he didn't have a vet come out then i was going to have to take the next step because the conditions that these animals were being kept in was atrocious and I cant do this any more with him. He needed to get it fixed and he refused."
The animals have all been removed from Trickett's property. The rabbits and Xenia are being cared for at Happy Trails Sanctuary. A calf which was also confiscated has been fostered to another home.
Trickett was arrested and charged with 21 counts of cruelty to animals. He is expected in court later this month and tells Fox 8 News he is anxious to defend himself against the charges.
Humane Officers want him to pay.
"I would like him to do jail time for this" Sanderson said, adding "he needs to understand that this is not okay".
Fisher says if it wasn't for the foal she is carrying Xenia would be skin and bones.
"Under her winter coat you can obviously feel very clearly bone its right here at the very top" Fisher says running her hand over Xenia's ribcage.
"If you were to take four months of baby out of this horse she would be even thinner and even more emaciated."
The horse was found by portage county Humane Officers on the property of Carl Trickett, who they say they have been trying to work with for years to better care or his animals.
Xenia was found with a rope around her neck that was caked with ice. The stallion she was mated to was found emaciated and dead, leaning against the wall of a building on the property.
Humane Officer Jennifer Sanderson says the stallion had been dead for two or three days, but in the bitter cold she does not believe decomposition was entirely responsible for the condition in which it was found.
"You could see its ribs, its spine was sticking up, its hip bones were sticking out" Sanderson told Fox 8 News adding "You couldn't see an injury on it, I honestly believe he died of starvation."
Humane officers also confiscated a calf and 35 rabbits which Sanderson told Fox 8 news he was raising to eat.
Rob Willard of Happy Trails Animal Sanctuary in Portage County says the rabbits were out in the elements and had actually bitten holes through their cages.
"They were chewing on them" Willard tells Fox 8. "Many of they had lots of holes chewed through them and the wood and the plywood and that was chewed up pretty badly."
"There wasn't available water in any of the containers or any of the cages, very few of them had a little bit of hay or a little bit of food in them." Williard Said
Contacted by phone Trickett insists the accusations are all false. He told Fox 8 News the animals were all fed and watered.
"I feed my animals and have all the receipts" Trickett said "Watered and fed them twice a day".
Trickett says the stallion wandered into a building where he should not have been and after searching himself for the animal he found him dead, adding that he had to pull rabbit cages off of the horse.
He says the horse was already old when he bought him for $100 and Trickett says all he was trying to do was keep the horse from dying.
Trickett also insists the rabbits were also old and had adequate shelter.
He told Fox 8 he has bags of feed at his house, some of it unopened, to prove that he was not disregarding the animals.
Sanderson, however, says after inspecting his property she told Trickett he needed to get a veterinarian to examine the animals, to which he refused.
"He adamantly refused" She told Fox 8. "And I told him if he didn't have a vet come out then i was going to have to take the next step because the conditions that these animals were being kept in was atrocious and I cant do this any more with him. He needed to get it fixed and he refused."
The animals have all been removed from Trickett's property. The rabbits and Xenia are being cared for at Happy Trails Sanctuary. A calf which was also confiscated has been fostered to another home.
Trickett was arrested and charged with 21 counts of cruelty to animals. He is expected in court later this month and tells Fox 8 News he is anxious to defend himself against the charges.
Humane Officers want him to pay.
"I would like him to do jail time for this" Sanderson said, adding "he needs to understand that this is not okay".
