A Western Massachusetts woman is facing four counts of felony animal cruelty after animals were found living in dangerous conditions on her property.

Members of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Law Enforcement and Adoption Center arrived to the Ludlow home where they found a pair of horses “caked in manure.”

The horses were in a stall “standing on manure piled so high they could not exit through the doors,” Rob A. Halpin, of the MSPCA said. “Their backs were actually pressed up against the rafters, causing sores to develop."

3 ’Worst case of horse neglect the MSPCA has ever seen;’ Western Massachusetts woman facing animal cruelty charges

It took nearly two hours of digging to free the horses, a 13-year-old Arab named Shakira and an 11-year-old Quarter Horse/Arab cross named Tia.

In addition to sores on their bodies, both had overgrown teeth, legs “caked in manure" and overgrown and misshapen hooves. Tia was underweight and radiographs “show immense deformation of the coffin bones in her hind hooves, among other bone changes.”

Roger Lauze, the equine rescue training manager at MSPCA at Nevins Farm in Methuen, described their condition as the worst case of horse neglect he’s seen in nearly 40 years of working in horse rescue.

"The hooves on these horses were so overgrown and disfigured that it will take years of farrier work for them to reshape—if that’s even possible,” Lauze said.

Their former owner, Nancy L. Golec, is facing four counts of felony animal cruelty. She was arraigned in Palmer District Court on Feb. 24.

Golec is a kindergarten teacher at East Street Elementary and is on leave as school officials investigate the matter, according to Ludlow Public Schools Supt. Todd Gazda.

The horses will be rehabilitated at Nevins Farm in the hopes they can be placed for adoption. Anyone interested can email barnstaff@mspca.org for more information.

Anyone who wishes to support the horses and their growing medical bills can do so by making a donation to the Nevins Farm Ashton’s Hope Fund.

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