Some horses seized from Pleasant Prairie farm have new homes



PLEASANT PRAIRIE (WITI) -- Once left starving to death in Pleasant Prairie, two dozen horses are getting a fresh start. Seven horses have been adopted, and more are getting ready to leave the stables.

The over 20 horses being cared for at the Stonehedge Farm in Union Grove have recovered, and now, some are being cared for by new families.

A pony known as "Echo" was the seventh to be adopted.

"Once you get to the point where they're all back to their healthy, normal status, I guess my feeling is I've accomplished this and I'm ready to help the next animal," Rob Melby said.

Melby said when the animals came in, he didn't know whether they would survive.

The horses' former owners, David White and Paula Moctezuma could face prison time for animal cruelty after 55 horses were found starved to death in mass graves at the couple's Pleasant Prairie farm.

"When I first started coming out here he was so thin. It was hard to use a brush on him. You were afraid -- his bones stuck out so far you were afraid you were going to tear his skin," Steve Tenwinkle said.

Tenwinkle is one of the people who helped the horses grow strong again -- and he even grew attached to one known as "Midnight."

"His personality, his eyes -- you can see it in his eyes and he's just such a beautiful horse. It's just the relationship, you know, when he trusts you it's really cool especially after what they've been through," Tenwinkle said.

Tenwinkle filed an application to hopefully take care of his favorite horse for life.

The organization Clawz and Pawz and the Village of Pleasant Prairie are taking the applications for animal adoptions. While there's high demand for the horses, ducks, sheep, goats and geese are also looking for new homes.