WOODWARD TOWNSHIP -- Eight horses are recovering Friday night in Lycoming County after Humane Officers removed them from a farm in the Williamsport area.
Authorities believe the animals were neglected and starved because of the condition they were in.
Humane officers said they discovered these horses near Williamsport earlier this week. Another horse over who was boarding his animals at the farm reported the suspected neglect to the SPCA.
The horses were seized Thursday, but now the SPCA is working to determine exactly who is responsible.
You can see the ribs on one horse, just one of eight seized from a farm near Williamsport. Humane Officer said all of them are in terrible health.
"Their feet are bad, we have thrush, we have rain rot. we of course have, well basically it's starvation," said Lycoming County SPCA Humane Officer Lawrence Woltz.
Two stallions, one mare and five geldings are now being nursed back to health at Appalachian Horse Help & Rescue. All came from the farm along Youngs Road near Williamsport and humane officers are investigating to determine exactly how many people will face charges.
"You wonder why people wouldn't feed them and take better care of them and I guess the sad thing from what I heard is she was boarding some of the horses," said Norman Koch with Appalachian Horse Help & Rescue Inc.
Humane Officer Lawrence Woltz says this winter has made it especially tough on larger animals because the snow has covered any grass they may have grazed on.
"These large animals depend 100 percent on their human caretakers and if that's not provided then this is what we end up with," said Woltz.
Workers at Appalachian Horse Help & Rescue say it's going to take months to get these guys back in good health, and that's going to take a lot of supplies and a lot of volunteers.
"It will be expensive, I think a lot of times people don't think of what it costs to keep a horse," said Koch.
They say they'll be needing lots of good hay and grain and are in need of donations.
Ron Baney is friends with the farm's owner and saw the horses just last week. He couldn't believe the horses were taken.
"I'd say that they really take care of them, or they wouldn't have horses the way they do and they wouldn't be feeding them and doing things, and it's obvious they tried. They did that," said Baney of Woodward Township.
The farm's owners were home when we stopped by. They told Newswatch 16 they had no comment.
Humane officers say they expect to file charges against up to four different individuals sometime next week.