The saga of neglected horses continued for the South Florida SPCA Wednesday.
Rescue workers recovered two horses that had been running wild in Homestead for weeks. They also got a call about a white Thoroughbred that was left unattended at boarding stable in Hialeah for the past two weeks.
"She was locked in a filthy stall that hadn't been cleaned, no food, no water. The people out there said nobody has been out to feed her for at least two weeks," said Laurie Waggoner of the South Florida SPCA.
A close look at the animal's upper lip revealed an identifying tattoo. According to the SPCA, the horse is named "Noble Wolf" and she last raced at Hialeah in 2001. She's the second racing horse rescued this week, the other was among 11 horses discovered Sunday in Southwest Miami-Dade. Most of them were nearly starving to death. You could clearly see their ribs and hip bones protruding from paper thin hide.
But hope and help arrived for some of the neglected animals Wednesday. Jennifer Boden drove from Ocala to pick up two of the horses rescued over the weekend and take them to a farm in North Florida for abused and neglected horses.
"They stay there forever, they're guaranteed a home, good food and everything and then when they die, they are buried there in what's called the 'field of dreams' and they plant an oak tree on each horse," said Boden who is also adopting two horses; a mother and her foal rescued by the SPCA in October.
It's the happy ending to a sad story of abuse that rescue workers say keeps them focused on their mission.
"Knowing that she's going to a great home where she's gonna live the rest of her life is what makes it all worthwhile," Waggoner said.
