TIFTON — This is the first of a two-part series of articles on horse abuse and neglect in Tift County.



TIFTON — A combination of factors including a drought that brought hay shortages, the closing of horse slaughterhouses, a downturn in the economy and equine inspectors spread too thin has resulted in a rise in incidences of horse abuse and neglect across the state of Georgia.

Horses, although they are large animals, can easily slip through the cracks of animal abuse and neglect cases.

County animal control offices do not handle horse abuse and neglect cases. They are handled by the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Equine Division.

“I would say we have a slight increase in the number of cases where people are not properly taking care of their horses,” said Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Irvin said that when there is a severe case of horse neglect or abuse, “We can impound them.” He said that lately they had impounded “more than we would like to.”

The Department of Agriculture depends on the Georgia Equine Rescue League located in Locust Grove for help. Since the league was organized in 1993, it has donated more than $280,000 in assistance for horse recuperation after incidences of abuse or neglect. The league operates its own foster and adoption programs.

Irvin is still delighted with the results on one equine abuse case that was resolved earlier this month. In February, Irvin declared an emergency on a Pike County farm and impounded 99 horses and other animals. This month, Roger Lee Prater was sentenced to five years after he pled guilty to 31 counts of animal cruelty.

“Out of those 99 horses, we only lost one,” Irvin said. Irvin said he was grateful to the many volunteers who helped to move and take care of the animals since February. He personally thanked Horsetown Western Stores for the use of its private stables for almost eight weeks and the Georgia Equine Rescue League for providing volunteers, feed and raising money to assist the Department of Agriculture in the recovery of the horses.

As Irvin pointed out, “The Georgia Department of Agriculture receives no appropriated funds for the care and feeding of the horses it is required by law to impound.”

Irvin also pointed out that his department can only bring civil action. He said, “Criminal animal cruelty must be pursued by local law enforcement and officers of the court.”

Tifton-Tift County Animal Control Director Regenia Wells said when she gets calls about horses that might be abused or neglected, she goes and checks them out and then calls the equine inspector with the Georgia Department of Agriculture. She said her office can, and does, initiate criminal charges for horse abuse and neglect when it is called for.

“To my knowledge, we only have two equine inspectors for all of South Georgia,” she said. “And we have at least 2,500 horses living in Tift County.”

According to an information specialist with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, there is one equine inspector assigned to Tift and 16 other counties — Turner, Berrien, Atkinson, Coffee, Irwin, Ben Hill, Wilcox, Jeff Davis, Telfair, Dodge, Wheeler, Montgomery, Treutlen, Laurens, Bleckley and Johnson.

“This must be horse month,” Wells said. “I have a horse abuse call I am getting ready to investigate, and I just got a call from a woman who said she has a horse she can’t take care of.” Wells said the woman told her the horse was 21 years old and didn’t have any teeth. Wells said she told the woman she would get the horse moved to a rescue facility. “I’m not going to let the horse starve to death,” Wells said.

Another case of alleged neglect of four horses in this area may be a case that has slipped through the cracks.

Out of utter frustration, a Tift County resident and horse lover called The Tifton Gazette anonymously recently to see if someone could help save four horses that were on the verge of starving to death.

“I can’t get anybody to do anything because they are livestock,” she pleaded. “They are so malnourished they are going to die if something isn’t done.”

The caller said the horses were on Owen-Medford Road and were just on the county line between Tift and Cook counties. She said she lived nearby and saw the horses every day. She said someone had reported the situation to animal control in Cook County over a month ago.

“They’re not going to make it much longer,” she said, “Since there has already been a report made, we’re pretty much helpless.”

The caller said many of the neighbors in the area are upset and concerned about the horses’ welfare.

“There used to be five horses, now there are just four,” she said. “I don’t know if the fifth horse died or was sold.”

The woman said she has two horses of her own. “My horses know they (the four malnourished horses) are in distress and call to them,” she said.

Wells said she was familiar with the case, but would check out the situation, although no one was sure if the horses were located in Tift or Cook.

Wells called the equine inspector with the Department of Agriculture who works the territory that includes Tift County and he was not available. She then called the investigator who works the Cook County territory, Steve Shaddix.

Wells learned Shaddix had been out to the location Aug. 24 and had written citations and told the owners what they needed to do.

Wells got Shaddix to meet her at the location Thursday afternoon, Sept. 13.

“It didn’t look like anything had been done,” Wells said. “The horses didn’t have any water or grass. There was absolutely no grass, it was just dirt. They were in the front yard of a mobile home. They had some hay but no feed. They didn’t have any shade or shelter either.”

Wells said one of the horses was in especially bad condition.

“It was nasty,” Wells said of the environment where the horses were kept.

She said the horses were located about 25 feet from the Tift County line in Cook County, right where Owen-Medford Road runs into a dirt road.

The owners do not live on the property, Wells said, but live a short distance away.

Wells said Shaddix was upset because there was no running water at the site.

“The owners had been hauling water in on a little trailer,” Wells said. “There was this funky thing they were using for a trough. The horses were standing around it, but there was just a little stagnant water in it that they wouldn’t drink.” Wells said horses, like cows, graze, but there was nothing there for them.

Shaddix told The Gazette he could not comment on any specific case. He did say he has had the case on Owen-Medford Road for several months and the horses had “greatly improved and continue to improve” from the time he first got the case.

The anonymous caller, when told of Shaddix’s assessment, said she disagreed. “I’m sorry, but they have not improved,” she said.

Shaddix said the state has had a critical shortage of hay and he is seeing a lot of horses in distress. “This is not uncommon,” he said.

Just before Wells left the site, the owner showed up to speak with Shaddix.

“Surely something will be done now,” Wells said. “He was writing them more citations.”



To be continued. In part 2, meet Tift County’s Horse Whisperer.



To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321, ext. 208.











To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321, ext. 208.