BOULDER, Colo.-
The owner of an equestrian center in Niwot has been cited with nine counts of animal cruelty and 34 counts of improper care of animals, sheriff’s officials said.
Marcy Trescott-Helmick, 57, was cited Friday.
Boulder County animal-control officers investigating complaints about the facility Thursday found horses standing in stalls filled a foot deep with feces and urine, sheriff’s officials said.
Many of the 47 horses on the four-acre property were underweight, sheriff’s officials said.
Animal-control specialists said the horses had no dry place to stand or lie down because of the feces, and only two bales of alfalfa were provided to feed them.
Seven horses were impounded and taken to Colorado Horse Rescue, sheriff’s Cmdr. Phil West said. Eleven horses that were deemed underweight and two other horses were left on the property under a “notice of warning,” which comes with strict care instructions. The other 27 horses were in “acceptable” condition, West said.
Trescott-Helmick told investigators that most of the animals were being boarded for other owners.
Animal cruelty is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and 18 months in jail. The charges of improper care are petty offenses.
A phone number for Trescott-Helmick could not be found.
