Rescued horse later euthanized due to poor health

A complaint filed with the county attorney’s office in Parker County on Aug. 15, based on early results of a sheriff’s department investigation, alleges Linda Kay Pharis, 53, “failed unreasonably to provide food, water and care for nine horses by failing to provide water or food for two or more days.”

“We know that it was longer than that, but that’s what the complaint said,” Fowler told Quarter Horse News. The sheriff added the investigation remains active.

“We have filed a case on this lady, but the matter is still under investigation,” Fowler said. It’s possible at least one other person could eventually face a criminal charge, he said. It’s also likely the sheriff’s department will file a civil case to recoup expenses associated with disposing of the deceased horses and attempting to save one of them.

“Those horses dropped dead out there. From a law enforcement perspective, we take a very dim view of that,” the sheriff said. “I have two concerns. Number One is for the horses. Number Two is that somebody is held accountable for this. Those are my two concerns, in that order.”

A neighbor contacted the sheriff’s department early Friday and the horses were found around noon. Investigators found eight dead horses, plus another one initially treated by a veterinarian, but deemed too weak to save and humanely put to rest, Fowler said.

The owner of the horses had apparently negotiated a deal with the landowner of adjacent property including a water well to turn his horses out on the property, along with a deal for Pharis to check on the horses, the sheriff said. Something went wrong with the water supply and it appeared to investigators the horses also had not been checked on properly.

It’s believed all of the deceased horses were cutting or cutting-bred horses, Fowler said.

There have been other incidents in Parker County, Texas, and elsewhere, involving horses that died from a lack of food and water and a lack of supervision, he added.

“It’s the same old story,” Fowler said. “People don’t pay attention and they don’t check. And you can’t let these horses go without water. It would be kinder to put them down than to let them drop like that.”