BECKLEY — As more concerned citizens step forward to news media outlets, animal control and area sheriff’s offices, it remains unclear how many parcels of land and horses Grady Whitlock may own, and how many of those animals may be in critical condition or already dead.

After being charged with 28 counts of animal cruelty, one for each horse found dead of malnutrition on his Greenbrier County farm, police and citizens became concerned about Whitlock’s other properties, where it is suspected horses have been housed in questionable conditions.

Raleigh County Sheriff Steve Tanner said that he received a call Thursday from Greenbrier County Sheriff Jim Childers letting him know about the investigation.

“I knew that he had miniature horses in two locations here in Raleigh County, and we had several complaints about him not feeding those horses,” he said.

Tanner sent out animal control and deputies. He also went to check on the welfare of the animals himself.

“The horses in Raleigh County (including a Bradley location off Mount View Road) are being fed at this time,” he said. “At the point I checked, they had food and water and shelter, but that is not to say that there were not legitimate complaints in the past.”

The sheriff’s office, he said, would continue to check on the animals.

“We are not going to let this happen again,” Tanner said.

The saga, however, is far from over. As more calls came into the sheriff’s office, Tanner was alerted about another location on Moye Lilly Road off Ellison Ridge Road near Ghent.

At the time, Tanner said he thought the property was in Raleigh County and went to check the horses there.

“On that property, I found 91 living and five dead horses, but the property appeared to be located in Mercer County. I advised them of what I found and asked them to open an investigation,” he added.

Before Tanner left the newly reported property, he received reports of possible animal welfare issues on properties in both Fayette and Summers counties, and he forwarded those concerns to the local sheriffs and said he expects “appropriate actions in each jurisdiction they are taking place.”

An officer with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department said that, as of noon Friday, there was no active investigation of the Whitlock property off Wolf Creek Road, but the department would be willing to assist Greenbrier.

Summers County Sheriff Ed Dolphin said that he was aware of the property owned by Whitlock located on Moye-Lilly Road, which some thought was located in Summers County. Dolphin said that there is some debate on where the property is located and that it may straddle three county lines. He said he believes the property is actually located in Raleigh County.

He said that he was aware that there were some complaints early in the year that 50 to 75 horses were not getting fed there.

“I checked these animals this morning and found them to be well-fed and apparently healthy,” Dolphin said Friday afternoon.

He added there was “plenty of hay” placed in the field where the miniature horses are kept, saying the animals are “not neglected at this time.”

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Department could not be reached for comment.

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Sheriff Tanner noted that there is still an open investigation in Raleigh County at the Bradley property.

On Thursday afternoon, “I got a call from a concerned citizen who had taken photographs of horses and a horse trailer that is no longer on the Bradley property.

“When someone tells us something happened but the proof is no longer there, it is not a prosecutable case. Thank goodness someone called us with photographs, and others have stepped forward who saw the trailer. Now we can investigate,” Tanner explained.

“There was a citation issued in December to Whitlock for selling horses without proper Coggins tests and documentation,” said Buddy Davidson, a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

Dave Dannon, equine management specialist for the state, explained that when animal health issues are not directly related to disease, those issues are managed on a county level.

“Humane officers in the county make requirements,” he said. “There is not a state standard (regarding adequate food and space for horses).”

Lu Toler, a concerned citizen who lives in Bradley near Whitlock’s property, said mistreatment of horses occurred toward the end of December.

“I called animal control and the sheriff’s department, and they said they could not do anything,” she said.

She continued to be concerned for 15 to 17 miniature horses she saw contained in a 20-foot trailer.

Toler said that, while there, the only available water for the horses was a small bucket filled with water and feces.

“When horses defecate in water or on their food, they won’t eat or drink it,” she noted.

She said that, at times, there would be a small amount of hay for the horses but often none, and when there was some, it was not enough.

“I have three minis, and they will go through 700 pounds of hay in three and a half weeks. You can imagine how much hay those horses needed,” she said.

“You cannot just look at miniatures to see if they are well-fed because they have poofy hair. You have to feel their ribs. Just because they look like they are fat does not mean they are.”

Toler was instrumental in contacting the state and said she also sent pictures to PETA.

She describes the horses as having bite marks and being so cramped that they jumped and crawled over each other when startled. She also mentioned that many horses could not have reached the water bucket if the water had been drinkable.

“I think it would be abuse and neglect in anyone’s eyes,” she added.

Bill Peery, a doctor with Beckley Veterinary Hospital, said that when animals are crowded together, there is an increase of disease because the immune system is weakened, and if they are cramped into a space without a divider, a horse can easily get trampled to death if it falls.

Dannon mentioned that horses stay warm through food digestion in the winter, and food must be increased at least 10 percent over winter months.

Tanner explained that right now Whitlock has not been charged in Raleigh County.

“But there is the potential of a criminal investigation and charges,” he said.

—E-mail: splummer@register-herald.com