Road to Recovery: Chaparral horse in poor condition rescued

The community is pulling through to help a horse found malnourished and in very poor condition, in Chaparral, New Mexico. His name is “Attis” and he was found and rescued by an El Paso woman in a in an empty area of land in Chaparral.

When approached by Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Deputies, the lot’s owners denied ownership. So, the woman worked with deputies to claim the horse. Now that he’s in her possession, she’s working on getting him back to normal.

Jessica Gray rescued Attis and says he’s showing signs of improvement, but he still has a long way to go. Gray tells Abc-7 she’s spent well over $300 for food in the past two weeks alone, but fortunately, she’s gotten some help through donations.

The New Mexico Livestock Board tells Abc-7 they hadn’t heard of attis’ case until now. The board is the state’s law enforcement agency for livestock specifically. They normally assess situations and help get the horse back in shape. In extreme cases, they’re forced to seize the horse and arrange for care. Depending on the circumstances, they can cite the owner or go through the district attorney’s office to file animal cruelty charges. Gray tels Abc-7 she just wants someone to be held accountable.

“He was bad, and you could see it in his eyes, it wasn’t his time. He deserves a fair chance and if that means bringing the person who did this to him to justice, then he deserves it. He didn’t ask for it,” Gray said.

State officials tell Abc-7 this is a big issue in the borderland because not many people are aware of the real costs and maintenance that come with owning a horse. Food and necessities can run well into the thousands. After having contacted the board, they plan to have a county inspector assess Attis.

If you’d like to help, you can donate to a gofundme account set up for Attis: gofundme.Com/6x5duj7ec .