Neglected Horse Found Frozen to the Ground

This year's winter weather has been particularly harsh, even for well taken care of pets. However, the abused ones just have it all the worse. In Enoch City, Utah a passerby noticed a young yearling horse laying on the frozen ground out in the unprotected pasture next to her very thin mother. Luckily, for this pair of horses, the passerby called animal control. What they found was heartbreaking and is being called one of the worse cases of animal abuse and neglect in the state's history.

When animal control arrived on the scenes, they found the yearling still laying on the ground. However, what surprised them most was that she was frozen onto the ground itself. They yearling and her mother were both suffering from malnutrition, had signs of hypothermia and the young one had gotten an eye infections from laying in what had once been mud. Veterinarians that arrived with animal control were glad to arrive when they did, the young horse only had an estimated hours left to live if left in that condition.



The mother still had the strength to be moved via trailer, but the filly had to be pried from the frozen ground and carried in a makeshift sling to the treatment facility. Animal control took mother and daughter to Dust Devil Ranch Sanctuary where Sanctuary head Ginger Grimes took over their treatment. Grimes and her team of dedicated volunteers treated the pair around the clock with blankets, fluids, and antibiotics for the infection. The mother was given the name Anna and her baby was called Elsa, an obvious reference to the recent hit movie 'Frozen' . While Anna quickly bounced back after being properly warmed and fed, Elsa was only given a 15-25% chance of living. The young filly was so weak that she needed to be propped up with hay bales so she could eat and drink, lacking even the strength to stand up.

The average yearling Elsa's age usually weigh around 800 pounds, however Elsa weighed in at a dismal 400 pounds. Though she is now making a fantastic recovery, though the infection in her eye still persists. Veterinarians have deemed it likely she will lose sight in it. However, Elsa has gained the ability to stand and, upon being reunited with her mother, rubbed noses lovingly with her.

But what of the abusers? The Enoch City residents received two citations for animal abuse, which in Utah is a Class B misdemeanor. This means they will likely be facing a least a fine or a maximum year in jail. Police Chief Jackson Ames states he is disappointed with the lack of a stricter punishment, but citations were all that the law would allow. It is just another example of how unequally cruelty is punished between humans and animals.