The Border's equestrian community is rallying to help save two horses in shockingly poor condition at the Albury-Wodonga Equestrian Centre.
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Concerned agistees and members of the public raised the alarm on the two thoroughbred geldings they claim are severely malnourished and starving to death.
The issue went public on Monday night when an Albury resident and animal welfare advocate raised her concerns about the plight of the horses on Facebook and called for action to help them.
The post, accompanied by heart-breaking images of the pair's condition, elicited an outpouring of grief and outrage about the welfare of the animals.
The Border Mail understands agistees at the centre also separately flagged their concerns about the situation.
The horses, a six-year-old bay gelding and a chestnut gelding (age unknown), arrived at AWEC six weeks ago already in poor condition.
The bay horse is apparently known in racing circles with one industry insider posting an image of the horse in its racing heyday, commenting it's "very sad to see him the way he is now".
Albury-Wodonga Equestrian Centre (AWEC) co-ordinator Barb Chenoweth said the animals arrived when centre staff were on leave at Christmas but since becoming aware of the situation, staff had been in regular contact with the owner "who has been feeding them twice daily".
He reportedly moved them to the facility to take better care of them.
She confirmed the horses were checked by a vet in December and the RSPCA notified of the situation.
However late on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Chenoweth issued a statement saying that due to the fact there "has been no improvement in the horses's condition", AWEC had terminated the agistment agreement with the owner.
At this stage it is unknown what will happen to the horses.
On Tuesday people were already coming forward with donations of hay and offers to re-home the pair to give them a "happier life" in a more appropriate location for rehabilitation.
The Albury Council-owned equestrian centre has a detailed Animal Welfare and Management Policy and agistment agreement form.
The policy (Appendix 3) outlines "mandatory" guidelines for care and accommodation of agistment horses, which include "an adequate supply of food to maintain horses' condition" that must take into account the season and conditions, and "provision of supplementary feed where necessary".
The document states the guidelines are "strictly enforced" by AWEC on a three-strikes-and-you're-out policy.
