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Former owner wants her horse back after it was seized from Nottoway farm

Posted at 8:58 PM, Mar 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-01 21:02:27-05

NOTTOWAY COUNTY, Va. -- After CBS 6 reported forty horses and fifteen dogs that were malnourished, injured and seized from a Nottoway County farm, a woman emailed saying one of the horses used to be hers.

Billie Sullivan says she couldn’t stand to watch the report about one of her old horses suffering, only 9 months after she sold her.

"When I first watched the video, I probably cried for about 2 hours," she said. "There was a lot of sadness, a lot of disgust but, it's mostly anger."

Sullivan, who lives outside Charlotte, North Carolina, said she sold her hold horse, Alia, to a horse breeder in Charles City County in June of 2015.

"Then the picture of her walking to the side, I watched it 30 times, that little clip, I was like, that is Alia."

Alia after she seized this past weekend

Alia after she seized this past weekend

Sullivan says at the time she thought the breeder understood the significance of Alia's Bloodline. She never expected to see her former horse malnourished and seized by county officials.

"You couldn't see Alia's ribs when she left here, at all, so to be able to count the ribs, see the hip bones, see the spine, it was a drastic, drastic change,"

The horse breeder Sullivan sold Alia to, is the daughter of Robin Vince, the woman who had the 40 horses seized from her Nottoway County home over the weekend.

Alia before she was sold in June of 2015

Alia before she was sold in June of 2015

The seized horses are now in rehabilitation, and Sullivan said she going to reach about concerning Alia.

"We personally want her back," she said.

Over the next couple of days, she says she is planning to bring hay for the horses to help in their recovery.

At this point no charges have been filed in this case. Nottoway Commonwealth’s Attorney Terry J. Royall said criminal charges will be filed once the investigation is completed.

If you would like to help the animals recovered, you can make a donation to the Central Virginia Horse Rescue, Hope’s Legacy Equine Rescue, White Bird Appaloosa Horse Rescue or and Angels of Assisi.

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