Police back
Posted: Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 12:59:00 am EDT


at horse farm

By TRAVIS NEFF

Staff writer

PRINCETON-A second search warrant has been served in an ongoing investigation of allegedly neglected horses in the southwestern section of Gibson County.



Gibson County Animal Services Coordinator Brenda Foley said eight more animals were to be removed due to continued failures by their owner, Richard Stallings, to improve the health and conditions of the horses.

“Basically he just let this get away from him,” said Foley. She said her agency has worked with Stallings since January in an effort to fix the animals' health.

Last Thursday, 26 horses were taken from his farm for medical evaluation. Four of those horses were euthanized, said Foley.

Anthony Caldwell, the president and founder of the non-profit organization Indiana Horse Rescue, said the animals which were taken Thursday still had not been looked at by a veterinarian.

“We have no record of these animals having any kind of medical examinations,” said Caldwell.

Gibson County Sheriff's Deputy Tim Coomer said Stallings had more than 20 friends and relatives at the horse farm over the past weekend trying to clean up the stables and fields the horses were living in, but the animals had been living in such squalid conditions for such a long period of time, the investigation needed to be continued.

Six-foot high piles of manure were spread out across the outside of the stalls where horses had been kept. The horses had been living on two-foot high piles of manure and urine in the stalls.

Foley said the investigation began in January following a complaint about a “bone yard” Stallings had on his property.

“Legally, he needed to dispose of those corpses,” said Foley. “But they were lying out there, from bleached white bones to freshly dead horses.”

Stallings had made progress cleaning his property since the first warrant was issued last week, Foley said, but the conditions still concerned her.

“He has been cooperative with us and personable. He has tried to make improvements,” Foley said. But she said she still believed Stallings should be prosecuted for animal neglect.

The horses are being housed at an Indiana Horse Rescue facility. Foley said the non-profit organization needs funds to help maintain care of the animals. Donations could be made by contacting the shelter at 386-8079 or by sending a donation to P.O. Box 474 in Princeton.

Caldwell said one of the horses, which was being corralled in a knee-deep muddy fenced in area, had injured legs and hooves and was under duress. “Horses have normally have a heart rate of 40-60 beats per minute. That horse has a heart rate of 84 beats per minute standing still. It show the horse in pain,” Caldwell said.

Deputy Prosecutor Sharon Werne said a decision as to whether or not to press charges against Stallings had not yet been reached.

“We are still examining the evidence and are looking at different options,” said Werne.

Werne said this is an unusual case with non-typical evidence. “We're not just looking at pictures and interviewing witnesses. We are examining tissue samples and hearing from experts as to the condition of the horses,” she said. Werne toured the farm and said she spoke with Stallings on Wednesday afternoon.

Werne said she did not know when a decision on whether or not to press charges may be reached.

Efforts to reach Stallings were not successful.