Horse's condition sparks outcry; Two judges rejected warrants for owner's arrest (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Animal activists are outraged that a man lawmen say mistreated his horse might not be prosecuted.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office determined that the owner of the 2-year-old male miniature horse neglected the animal. Deputies found the malnourished horse Aug. 20 when they responded to a complaint on Coy Burgess Loop, said Capt. Shepard Bruner.

See a photo gallery of the horse »

Judges have halted two attempts to issue a warrant for the man’s arrest.

When deputies found the horse, it weighed about 80 pounds when it should have weighed about 300 pounds, said Laurie Hood, founder of the Alaqua Animal Refuge. The horse couldn’t stand up.

“It was shocking, it really was,” Hood said. “It was the worst case I’d ever seen.”

She said horses found in such desperate condition are usually euthanized. But the Sheriff’s Office called and asked if she was “up for it,” and Hood agreed to try to rehabilitate the animal. It was renamed “Champ” and nursed back to health over the last few weeks.

“He had a strong will to live,” Hood said.

The Sheriff’s Office initially tried to charge the owner with felony animal cruelty after a veterinarian determined the horse had no disease or injury, but had become bony and weak from a lack of food, Bruner said. The state attorney’s office signed a warrant, but Walton County Circuit Judge Kelvin Wells rejected it.

The Sheriff’s Office submitted a second warrant that lowered the offense to a misdemeanor, but County Judge David Green refused to sign it, Bruner said.

He wouldn’t say why Green didn’t sign the warrant, but said the investigation remains open and lawmen will try again to press charges.

Green told the Walton Sun newspaper that rules and guidelines prohibit him from discussing or commenting on a case before him.

“I can say, though, that we look at the whole picture and we have to do what is right instead of what is popular,” he said.

Alaqua put up a Facebook post Tuesday morning about Green’s decision not to sign the warrant. It prompted more than 220 responses throughout the day.

Sandy Hawkins, a supported of the refuge, said Facebook is a powerful tool to spread awareness of the horse’s plight beyond Northwest Florida.

“There’s no excuse for an animal being allowed to get in a state like that, and there’s no excuse for a judge not seeing that there was definitely abuse through all the evidence gathered,” Hawkins said. “We’re not gonna turn our backs on this.”

Hood said the DeFuniak Springs man who owns the horse could reclaim the animal.

“It’s heartbreaking that they could potentially have the horse back,” Hood said.

The owner could not be reached for comment.