The owner of a mare and her colt horses seized from a Jamul property was convicted of neglect and faced sentencing Monday.
A total of 16 horses were removed from a home on Bratton Valley Road in September 2015, according to San Diego County Animal Services.
Officers seized a mare and her colt who were in a "life-threatening" situation, they said. The mare weighed 727 pounds and the colt weighed 154 pounds when they were taken from their owner.
They were housed at the county’s Bonita animal care facility and gradually put on weight.
Officials said in just more than two weeks, the mare had gained almost 100 pounds and the colt put on 26 pounds.
The agency impounded 16 horses in all, including four stallions, two geldings and eight mares. All were underweight, according to Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa.
On May 1, the owner was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of neglect. He faces sentencing on Monday, May 16.
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In an earlier interview, DeSousa said that horses sometimes become victims of neglect when people cannot afford the high cost of hay or as high a quality of feed as their animals require. Another big expense is veterinarians, who often must make house calls to care for livestock.
