Abused horse finds new home in Key West

No one who meets Trigger today would believe the shape he was in when he was confiscated from his owner in November, 2016 after a 700 mile ride from South Carolina to Miami. The horse was

Sheriff Rick Ramsay takes a look at Trigger in his new stall.

emaciated, with saddle sores on his back so severe he would not let anyone near him because of the pain. He also had terrible sores in his mouth. His owner had been riding him with the bit in his mouth backwards, he said to “give him better control”. The owner also said he had no money to feed himself or the horse on the ride south, accounting for the lack of body fat on the horse and the fact that all of his rib and back bones were prominently showing.

That abuse earned the owner a criminal charge of animal cruelty. It earned Trigger a new, happier and healthier life in a home where people will know how to take care of him properly. Today, Trigger is beautiful and happy and is the newest resident of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Farm. South Florida SPCA delivered him Monday afternoon.

“We are happy to be able to give Trigger a home here in the Keys,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “He is a wonderful addition to our farm; the kids and families who visit will love him.”

“He is blind in one eye, so we have to make sure we talk to him to let him know where we are when we are close by,” said Farmer Jeanne Selander, who is now charged with caring for Trigger. “His wounds are all healed now. He has been eating well and all the loving care he has been given at the South Florida SPCA shows.”

Trigger, when he was confiscated in November by the South Florida SPCA

When South Florida SPCA took custody of the horse in November of last year, the agency described him as “almost completely lacking in subcutaneous body fat. He has very little muscle. You can see the skeletal structure. You can feel his ribs. You can see the individual vertebrae, his hip bones and all the bones on the horse. His back is very sensitive. He gets very mad if you touch it because it is very sensitive to him.”

As part of the final settlement of the criminal case against the previous owner, Trigger can rest easy in the care of people who will treat him properly. The last few months of tender loving care has restored Trigger to health and now, he can retire in his new home in the Florida Keys.