31 horses found dead on Rowan farm, OWNER WAS APPARENTLY TOO ILL TO CARE FOR THEM

The bodies of 31 horses were found on a Rowan County farm, and several other horses are very sick, the Rowan County sheriff said Tuesday.

Sheriff Jack Carter said some of the horses' bodies were decomposed. Eleven horses were found in the barn and 20 in the pasture at the horse farm off Ky. 32 east of Morehead, he said.
Carter said the dead horses were a "terrible sight to see. It's something you don't expect in this area, or any area."
Law authorities and agriculture officials were investigating.
No charges have been filed, but the owner of the horses told investigators that he has been critically ill and unable to care for the animals, Carter said.
The owner, Don Miller, could not be reached for comment.
Della Reynolds, a neighbor, said she did not notice anything unusual about the Miller farm before she heard of the investigation through news reports.
Reynolds said she had spoken with Miller's wife in the past and learned that Miller had a heart attack a year and a half ago.
"He had been in really bad shape," Reynolds said, recalling past conversations. "His wife told me that he didn't have the energy to do anything ... he wasn't capable of doing much, from what I understand."
Miller has raised horses and they have been taken care of in the past. She has seen truckloads of hay being taken to the farm, and her family had helped feed the horses at one time.
"I don't think it was intentional, because he worked with animals all of his life," she said.