A horse that had previously been bought for the equivalent of almost €280,000 was found abandoned in Cork.
The mare, named War Celeste, was discovered along with ten others in a barn last year by an animal rescue charity.
The horses were starving and emaciated with overgrown feet, reports the Irish Times.
Four of the horses were found locked into stables. In one, the horses were standing in a piles of faeces.
They had difficulty moving after the rescue because of having been in a confined space for so long.
The horses “hadn’t seen daylight in a long time” and hadn’t been cared for in weeks and weeks, according to My Lovely Horse Rescue, which found them.
Two dogs and a number of cats were also discovered at the farm.
Veterinary inspectors from the Department of Agriculture seized the animals after the rescue was carried out.
They initially considered putting War Celeste down due to her poor condition.
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In the end, at least three of the animals recovered had to be put to sleep.
War Celeste has since recovered with the help of My Lovely Horse Rescue.
A number of other horses have been rehabilitated and re-homed.
“This case is probably one of the worst we’ve ever witnessed,” Maddie Doyle, a volunteer with the organisation told the publication.
War Celeste had been bought for £240,000 (€277,890) in 2013 by a horse-racing club the China Horse Cub.
She was moved to Ireland for training but never raced and was sold for breeding in 2016.
Gardaí in Cork are investigating the abandonment.
The main suspect is a previous owner of the farm where the horses were found who is believed to have left the country.
