Starving horses getting stronger

Two starving horses, rescued last week by a Fish Springs resident, are getting stronger every day.

Cis Kemp said Tuesday the horses she named Hope and Courage are eating well and have been able to lie down and stand up easily.

"I'm really pleased," Kemp said. "They both nicker at me."

Kemp said donation cans have been placed at Laxague Feed & Supply, 1428 Industrial Way, Gardnerville, and S&W Feeds, 2310 S. Curry St., Carson City, to help feed the horses.

Kemp said she hopes to be able to keep the horses until they are healthy enough to go to new owners. She already has four horses on her six-acre spread.

"They're doing good," she said. "Of course, they're still really weak. A farrier came up two different days and we got the shoe off Hope. We had to go really slowly, but all her feet are done now."

She thinks both horses have "pink eye," and Kemp fears they may develop other ailments as they improve.

"When a horse is starved like that, it starves any infections," she said. "As they get fed, those infections can pop up."

Kemp and her brother found the sorrel mare and red roan gelding "staggering" down the road near her home on May 20. She believes they were taken to the area by trailer and abandoned.

"I would like to keep these horses until they're healthy enough for new homes," she said.

HELP FOR HOPE AND COURAGE

Anyone who would like to donate for the upkeep of Hope and Courage may do so at Laxague Feed & Supply, 1428 Industrial Way, Gardnerville, and S&W Feeds, 2310 S. Curry St., Carson City.