HECTOR, NY (WENY) -- A malnourished horse was rescued on Sunday, January 12th, and is now on the path to recovery. The Begin Again Horse Rescue, based in Lima, NY, removed an emaciated horse from a property on Updyke Road in the town of Hector.

"We specialize in a two-hour radius of Lima and help horses in need in any way. We help with owner surrenders when horses have no[where] to go, but we also work closely with area County law enforcement and animal control when they ask us for help. We have no investigative power [and] we only respond when we're asked for assistance," said one of the founders and current President of Begin Again Horse Rescue, Jennifer Lilly.

According to Schuyler County Sheriff Kevin Rumsey, the horse was owned by Nickolas and Kelly Stevens, the same people who were charged with animal cruelty in the town of Chemung last week. This was after authorities discovered an emaciated horse, a dead pig, and four other pigs in a stock trailer in a wooded area. The horse was humanely euthanized, according to Elmira Animal Control.

Since the Stevens willingly surrendered the horse to the rescue, they will not face any charges in Schuyler County.

Lilly said the horse in Schuyler County was kept in a small shed made out of wood pallets with a small enclosure outside. She believes the horse had been in those conditions since at least June. Lilly said the horse they rescued from Updyke Road was not in good shape when they rescued it.

"As far as our evaluation goes, we use a body condition scoring system called the Henneke Scale, which is a scale from one to nine. One being, can't sustain life from being starved and nine being extremely obese. So, we scored the horse between a 1.5 and two," said Lilly.

Lilly said the horse's name is Skyler and will be taken to the vet for a full checkup. She said right now, his back legs are weak, but he's able to walk on his own. Lilly said Skyler is very affectionate, is ready to start a new life, and enjoys rolling around in the snow in his new coat.

Lilly said it will take a couple of months depending on Skyler's health and when he could be adopted. If you'd like to see the other horses up for adoption, click here. If you'd like to make a monetary donation, click here or mail them to:

Begin Again Horse Rescue
P.O. Box 28 
Honeoye, NY 14471

  COURTESY: BEGIN AGAIN ANIMAL RESCUE