Officials hunt for owner of abandoned horse

A black gelding found starving and tied to a barbed wire fence was in such poor condition that it had to be euthanized, said animal control officials who were looking for the horse’s owner.

The animal, estimated to be in his late 20s, was found without water or food last week in near 100-degree temperatures.

Michelle Helberg, owner of Saddles to Boots in Sebastopol, found the horse on her way home.

“This horse was not only starved, he had been abused for quite some time,” she said. “He had old scars from head to tail, and a lot of them.”

Helberg and a horse rescue group have raised $300 as a reward for information about the horse’s owner.