GOOCLAND COUNTY, Va. -- When Kimberly St. John first bought her horse Loki in 2016, she said she never imagined the state he would be in after moving him to an equine retirement farm in Goochland County after less than a year.
"It was just fluffy hair over bone," St. John said.
The farm and nonprofit, named Byrd's Nest, is owned by Byrd Rareshide, a local horse show judge. The farm was recommended to St. Johns by people in the industry.
However, a requested vet visit would raise her concerns.
"That was pretty quickly followed by a call from the vet explaining his emaciated condition," St. John said.
St. John said she learned that her horse's health was in serious decline.
"He now has a heart murmur, he had a low heartbeat, he had a low temperature. He had low protein levels that indicated he had not been receiving any nutrients, he was dehydrated, there was mud in the back of his mouth," St. John said.
She had Loki removed from the property that night and said she was heartbroken when she saw Loki's condition in person.
"I was definitely crying. I have never been this close to a horse that was that skinny before in real life. I mean, it was just bone," St. John said.
The vet gave Loki a body condition score of just 1.5 out of 9, with one being starving and nine being obese. St. John said he was given a healthy score of six when she first dropped him off.
"He would've died. He had a couple of days, the vet said," St. John said.
Horrified by Loki's condition, St. John posted a review of her experience with the farm on Facebook.
"I think it was just two or three days after I shared that initial post that I realized, like, it wasn't just us," St. John said.
Horse owners saw the post and checked on their own horses, many also deciding to remove their horses from the farm.
"I keep trying to make sense of it but I don't think there's any sense to be made. I'm still in disbelief," St. John said.
The animal abuse allegations led to an investigation by Goochland County Animal Protection. On Saturday, Rareshide was charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty related to multiple horses that were staying on the property.
CBS 6 reached out to Rareshide for comment and she responded by saying she has no comment at this time but denies any mistreatment allegations.
After charges were filed, St. John took to social media to express her gratefulness to the community and Goochland County. The post read in part, "I am thankful that this is another step to ensure not another horse has to suffer." She also said though Loki's recovery took months, he is doing much better since he moved.
Goochland Animal Protection released a statement following the charges, which reads in part, "the complaint made on February 3rd was the first animal neglect complaint made to Goochland Animal Protection for the property. Current findings of the investigation were turned over to the Commonwealth's Attorney Office on February 17th."
