PASQUOTANK COUNTY, N.C. — Last July, more than 20 horses were seized out of Pasquotank County. Now we're learning how some of those horses are faring in new homes.
The horses had been taken from Skyward Pines Equestrian Center when the sheriff's office said the animals were in poor condition.
After the seizure, two women, Lori Murphy and Phylicia McAlpin, were arrestedon animal cruelty charges. The pair's expected to have a court hearing on Monday.
Watch: 2 arrested after horses found in poor condition at Skyward Pines Equestrian Center
Debby Kelly, regional director for the U.S. Equine Rescue League North Coastal Region, spoke to us about the horses last year and again Sunday. She was one of the people working to find homes for the horses. A local veterinarian named Dr. April Larivee took in one of the horses.
On Sunday, Larivee showed News 3 photos of 6-year-old Vulcan, the horse she took in.
"It was purely lack of feeding," she said, pointing to a photo of Vulcan from when he first came to be in her care.
Watch: Rehab begins for horses seized from Skyward Pines
At the time, she said he'd been rated a 2 on the body scale for horses, when he should have been a 5 or 6.
"You could see his ribs, his hip bones. He was quite, quite thin," said Larivee.
Now he's part of the family. He spent months on a methodical refeeding program and is getting lots of love.
"He came here, he was quite sweet, easy to handle," Larivee said. "My son loves him. Going slowly with just feeding alfalfa he was able to put weight back on really quickly."
"And if you look in his eyes, his eyes are happy," added Kelly.
Watch related: Couple hopes to change North Carolina law following horse rescue
Kelly said everyone from veterinarians to farriers to fosters pitched in since the horses were seized in July.
All the horses have survived and have been adopted out, though one, a horse called Little Man, is waiting for eye surgery — which Kelly said she and Dominion Equine Clinic are raising funds for — before he can go home.
"To watch them go from skin and bones to just blooming like they have done is just a miracle," said Kelly.
