2 charged with animal cruelty after horses found malnourished in Connecticut

STAMFORD -- Two people are facing animal cruelty charges following the discovery of horses that were malnourished and kept without food or water.

Police say they investigated conditions at Rock Spring Farm in Stamford in January after receiving a call from an equine center that a horse arriving at their facility was very dehydrated. Five horses were found in stalls with large amounts of manure and frozen-over drinking water.

The barn's owner told police she owned several of the horses but believed another man was responsible for caring for them. The man told police he had alerted the owner the day before that he thought the animals had been poisoned. Both were charged this week and posted $10,000 bail.

Police said neither could explain why conditions in the stable were so poor.