Local task force to provide better care for horses

Elissa Rivas Image
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Special task force to get better care for horses
Special task force to get better care for horses, Elissa Rivas reports.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The bones are still visible on four horses, weeks after the Houston Humane Society took custody of them at a north Houston property.

Spot Williams and his daughter Nellie Johnson, both horse owners, are charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.

"I love them horses," said a woman who identified herself as Williams' cousin, Sarah Sheffield. "I would love to see them horses coming back, if Spot is able to give them their medical treatments."

To combat situations like this, the Houston Humane Society formed Monty's Task Force this year. It was named for a horse seized in an animal cruelty case. Monty's Task Force is working hard, but struggling to reach horse owners.

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The task force hosted two affordable vet care clinics this year in Acres Homes. They vaccinated 35 horses, but have hit road blocks to doing more.

"There's a lot of distrust; I've had people walk up to me at a horse clinic and say, people in the neighborhood are saying you're gonna take my horse if I come here and get vaccinations, and it's simply not true," said Monica Schmidt of the Houston Humane Society.

In 2017, the Houston Humane Society says it will reach out to well-established community leaders and responsible horse owners in the area to spread the word and build trust.

To report animal cruelty online go to www.houstonhumane.org or call 713-433-6421.