Abused, neglected horses now healthy, happy

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Story Published: Oct 14, 2009 at 4:02 PM PDT

By Kristina Nelson, KCBY News

NORTH BEND, Ore. - It's been a long road for Dede and her baby Tilly.

In May, the two horses, along with eight others were taken from a property in North Bend, after being neglected and abused by their owner, Bobbye Cikanek.

"The foal was so weak that she couldn't stand up. We had to hold her up to let her nurse. The mare was so stressed she wasn't producing milk," says current caretaker Heide Erickson.

Erickson has been taking care of Dede and Tilly since May 7th.

When she first received them, they were very thin and weak and their hooves were in bad shape.

But that's all changed.

When Dede first arrived at the boarding facility she weighed only 800 pounds. Since May she's put on 200 pounds, but Erickson says it will take about a year for her to get back to a healthy weight.

"We're riding her, she's been in a parade and some trail rides. And the baby obviously you can see she's growing like a dandelion," says Erickson.

Coos County Sheriff's Deputy Tony Watson worked on the criminal investigation surrounding these horses, and says he amazed at how far they've come.

"It's a feel good story to see them doing well and be able to get healthy and lead a happy life again."

The other eight horses were all adopted by members of the public, and according to Watson are also doing well.

"They all look tremendous, they all have their weight back."

Erickson says it will be another six months before Dede and Tilly are completely healthy, but considering how far they've come, a few more months isn't so bad.

And on another positive note, the Coos County Mounted Sheriff's Posse has set up a fund to help these and other abused horses in the community.

You can head to any Umpqua Bank branch to donate money towards the fund.

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