45 Horses Seized in Saskatchewan

By Melanie Huggett

The Saskatchewan SPCA has removed 45 horses from a farm in the southeastern part of the province. Two of the horses were in such bad condition they had to be euthanized.

The remaining animals have been sent to a temporary caregiver, and the case is under investigation with charges being considered.

In the past 11 months, the Saskatchewan SPCA has received 130 complaints involving 1576 horses, and that is concerning the SPCA. Complaints have typically been about horses lacking water, sometimes because it is frozen, or being without food. While most of the complaints require only minor corrections from the owners, others have been major.

In November 2009 the SPCA received a tip about eight horses on a property without food or water. The horses were severely thin, living on a bare pasture and all water supplies were frozen. In this case, the owners followed the SPCA’s orders to better care for the animals, and the case was closed in December.

The SPCA suggest owners plan ahead by ordering bales of hay, to ensure shelter is provided, to make sure to check that water supplies aren’t frozen, and to wait to breed until horse prices have stabilized.

With files from Global News and Saskatoon Homepage.