LAKE PILLSBURY >> Lake County Animal Care & Control (LCACC) is seeking help in identifying a young sorrel mare that was apparently dumped in the Lake Pillsbury area on Saturday.
The horse has an old injury on its right rear leg but is still suffering from some swelling. LCACC Director William Davidson said he suspects the injury was the reason the horse was abandoned.
According to Davidson, LCACC received a call from the Soda Creek Store on Saturday reporting several campers had seen a green-colored trailer enter the area and leave shortly after. They later found the horse and, upon catching it, walked it down to the store.
The LCACC posted a Facebook status on Sunday seeking information about the horse”s owner, which has received “an absolutely phenomenal number of hits,” Davidson said. Almost 150 people had shared the status as of press time, but no leads have surfaced yet.
If a responsible owner is not found, Davidson said there”s always a chance someone would adopt the horse as a pasture pet; its injury will prevent it from being ridden again, however.
“It”s a very sweet horse and it”s in good health,” Davidson said.
Typically, LCACC picks up an average of 20 horses throughout any given year; this summer the agency”s been lucky as this is the first horse it has impounded in months, Davidson said as he knocked on wood. The LCACC has also had good luck at finding about 90 percent of those horses homes but it can take some time to find them a new owner. The sorrel”s injury will only make adoption more difficult.
“The horse not being rideable is a big issue because you”re knocking out a huge chunk of people who are looking to adopt a horse to ride. The horse will only appeal to someone that needs their grass eaten,” Davidson said.
If LCACC is unable to find the horse a home in Lake County, it will look toward rescue groups.
“But times have been tough because of the economy and lack of rain and rescue groups tend to be overburdened; if we can”t find it home for it anywhere, it would ultimately face being euthanized,” Davidson said.
Davidson recommends that people who find an abandoned or loose horse call the LCACC. For horse owners who are having economic trouble taking care of their horse, he recommends reaching out to equine centers that may be able to help subsidize the cost of taking care of the animal.
Anybody with information on the sorrel is asked to contact LCACC at 263-0278.
“We would love to have a chat with the owner,” the LCACC”s Facebook post states.
