HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) A Conway man and woman have been charged after officers with the Horry County Police Department found a horse 500 pounds underweight and unable to get up from its side Aug. 24.
According to a police report, officers responded to an area along Cypress Swamp Road in the Conway section of Horry County in reference to a mare lying on the ground. Once on scene, officers found the horse on its side, unable to stand on its own.
The horse was reported by officers to have numerous abrasions on its skin where it touched the ground, presumably from where the horse had attempted to stand, and was said to be 400 to 500 pounds underweight.
Officers then called a veterinarian with The Pet Doctor to the scene, who determined the horse was in too poor a condition and would have to be put down on scene.
The doctor told officers she had been called the day before in reference to the same horse, but never heard back from its owner or its caregiver, Heather Amanda Martin, 24.
Officers made contact with the horse's owner, Ervin Martin, 30, who was working out of town. According to the report, Ervin Martin told officers he purchased the horse two months prior in poor condition, but did not have the money to pay for a veterinarian.
Hay reportedly had been delivered to the home on Aug. 23, however, officers reported there were no signs of hay being delivered prior to that date.
Heather Martin was said to be the primary caregiver for the horse while the owner was out of town. Ervin Martin told police he had called veterinarians the day before for prices but no one was called to respond to the home.
Heather Martin told officers she fed the horse once a day and noticed the horse had been on its side in the morning. She also told officers she contacted the veterinarian about prices for the horse, but her brother-in-law Ervin Martin was supposed to call the veterinarian to come to the home.
A complainant then told officers multiple horses had broken through a gate and was eating the grass in her yard, so she called Ervin Martin's father about the incident. According to the complainant, Heather Martin came to retrieve the horses, but the mare had already fallen down.
The complainant said Heather Martin tried to get the horse up, but then left the horse and none of the horses received food until the hay was delivered. She also told officers Heather Martin was the primary caregiver for the horses.
Upon further investigation, officers arrested Martin and charged her with the ill treatment of animals. She was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Aug. 31 and was released Sept. 1.
On Sept. 1, Sgt. Robert Kegler with the Horry County Police Department said a warrant for Ervin Martin's arrest has been issued on the charge of the ill treatment of animals.
Ervin Martin was arrested and booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Wednesday morning around 10:30 a.m. on his charge.
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Heather Amanda Martin has been charged with ill treatment of animals (Source: J. Reuben Long Detention Center)
James Ervin Martin has been charged with ill treatment of animals (Source: J. Reuben Long Detention Center)
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