More than 100 neglected horses rescued from Oregon ranch

MILL CITY, Ore. - It’s one of the largest animal rescues this Linn County community about 20 miles east of Stayton has ever seen.

Dozens of animals, including horses, mules, and donkeys were found Thursday sick, neglected, and some near death on a ranch that was once a thoroughbred haven.

Most of the animals had mange, parasites, and bulging bellies. Experts said a bulging belly is a sign the parasites are eating away inside the animal’s stomach.

“It can cause colic, and colic is basically where they get a stomachache and end up rolling and twisting their gut. And it’s, you know, death,” said Cindy Kingsberry of Linn County Animal Rescue.

Some of the animals were so sick and hungry they were coughing and eating their own manure. Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller said it was more than he expected to find.

“It turns out what we thought was going to be 70 head of horses is really 116 head of horses,” he said.

Inside a trailer, veterinarians said two horses were stricken with a disease known as strangles, which is an infection that will eventually choke them to death.

“It causes them to cough and have real runny noses, and if you don’t treat it, it can kill them,” said Kingsberry.

One horse was so sick with the disease that the infection burst right through its neck.

Mueller said the animals will be evaluated on a scale of zero to 10. Animals that are rated 10 are considered obese and those rated zero are those that have died of starvation. He said those rated one and two will be put into foster care to be rehabilitated.

Mueller said that as many as 40 of the horses will need new homes, but he worries about those left behind. Because of the large numbers of animals, rescuers won’t be able to take all of them, he said.

“It’s the worst of conditions,” he said.

The owner, 30-year-old Tania Herring, could face criminal charges of animal neglect but Mueller said it is likely that Herring, if charged and convicted, will serve little, if any, jail time.

“The best thing we can hope for is we can get a court order, and they’ll never be able to own a horse ever again,” said Mueller.

The head of Linn County Livestock Investigations Unit said he has been tracking Herring for some time and warned her in the past to care for the animals, but he never expected to find what was discovered today.

Herring declined to comment.