After finding a dead horse on property, 30 horses were seized from a farm in Staunton, Va.

The alleged offender is Terry Lynn Sullivan, who was convicted of animal cruelty in 1996 and is in the process of appealing a separate charge in 2008. She runs the Fern Leigh Foundation, a non-profit organization which claims to treat, rehabilitate and find good homes for abused or abandoned horses.

The horses are now in care at Mountain View Equine Hospital in Steeles Tavern.

“Twenty-two horses scored body conditions scores of one and two. We’re reintroducing them to grain slowly, but with horses it’s a slow process. There are still six or seven that are not out of the woods,” said Debbie Caywood of the Augusta Regional SPCA.

In addition to being severely malnourished, at least six of the horses are pregnant according to a whsv.com report.

Caywood thought they reached this level of condition for a variety of reasons, “Besides a lack of care, there was no herd management, and this brutal winter has been very hard on the horses.

“It’s hard to comprehend how anyone could do this to an animal,” she continued.

The SPCA is hoping the public can help care for the horses through donations. Items the SPCA needs include:

– Flax seed
– Senior/High fat horse food
– 12 percent horse feed
– Mare/Foal feed
– Salt/Mineral Blocks – Large and small
– Square hay bales
– Alfalfa or alfalfa mix hay bales
– Round hay bales for the field
– Alfalfa cubes
– Feed buckets with secure handles

People interested in donating can call the following contact number for the local SPCA: 540-885-SPCA (7722)