Booth and Blackburn pulled their Chevrolet truck towing a 22-foot livestock trailer containing 11 malnourished and emaciated horses, one of which lay dying on the trailer floor into the GCR Tire Store on North State Line Avenue.

The store manager , Greg Fett noticed a sickly looking horse being trampled by other malnourished horses when he went to look at the trailer to repair a tire.

Fett told his crew to take their time fixing the tire because he needed to call the police and report the malnourished horses.

Once the police arrived, all 11 horses were seized, quarantined and transferred to the Four State Fairgrounds.

   (Photo of Greg Fett and the injured horse, photo courtesy of Jim Williamson, Texarkana Gazette)  Fett and Brian Adkins, maintenance director at the Fairgrounds, rigged a sling and used a forklift to remove the sickest horse from the trailer floor and put her into another trailer to be transported to the fairgrounds.  The sling allowed the horse to stand, drink water and eat hay.

ARTEX Animal Welfare League was called to provide hay and water for the horses.

Upon further examination of the horses, it was discovered that not only were they emaciated but some of the horses had fur and hair missing.

(Photo's courtesy of KSLA TV)

Booth, age 64 and Blackburn, age 77 were arrested and released on a driver's license bond for cruelty to animals in transportation.  They were bringing the horses from Memphis, TN to Paris, TX at the request of Blackburn's son.

The horses will remain in the care of ARTEX until the legal proceedings are completed.  If the horses are awarded to ARTEX they will be placed in foster care.

Reference:

Texarkana Gazette