Warrant leads to removal of 15 horses

CANFIELD -- Fifteen horses a veterinarian deemed were being mistreated were removed from 5156 S. Raccoon Road and placed in foster care Thursday afternoon, said Sgt. Lenny Sliwinski of the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department.
He said a search warrant was obtained from Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield after the sheriff's department received complaints about the horses on property owned by Thomas Skelton.
Dr. Suzanne Wilcox, a Hubbard veterinarian, examined 30 horses on the property and deemed 15 were suffering from disease or were malnourished, Sliwinski said. "Some of the horses were in real bad shape.
It's hard to understand how they could do this to animals," the sergeant said. No arrests were made. Sliwinski said charges could be filed next week. He said most of the horses taken from the property belong to Skelton, who rents stable space to other horse owners.