I would pray and hope that laws will be passed and inforced if people got put in jail and faced large fines they would think twice before doing this to animals..Animal abusers are people that have no respect for other lifes it has been proven that alot of animal abusers also abuse their children and spouses..It does not necesalilly have to do with pay scale because anyone who cares would not have let this happen to their horses...

In memory of little Tonka, please consider a small (or large if you can) donation to help this rescue with the expense that they racked up in the fight to save Tonka, so they in turn are able to help another. With people like this creep out there and the landowners that did not care enough to see to their care. Beauty's Haven must be supported so they can continue being the safety net too many horses need.

I know of the situation that these horses were in. The news story is blown up to make Beauty's Haven Farm And Equine Rescue look good and the owner of the mare and the foal look bad. He was paying another farm owner to care for these horses and unbeknownst to him, she was starving the horses. As soon as he became aware of the situation, the horses were immediatly removed from her care and sent to the location shown, where they were fed and walked for a few hours a day on another part of the property with grass. He was currently searching for a reputable care taker

Stricter penalty's should be put in place, people have no right to starve animals that depend on humans to take care of them.

Anonymous ~ are you kidding me??? If you own an animal you are STILL responsible for their well being. What point is it to own an animal if you are not going to at least check in on them and make sure they are okay? Sorry, I'm not giving any of these abusers a pass. A foal died needlessly because of lack of caring and FOOD, plain and simple; whether it was by the owner or the care giver. A day late and a dollar short... RIP Tonka and Kudos for Beauty's Haven for stepping in to try to better the lives of these 3.

Its too bad that people dont see horse abuse the same as they do dog fighting and Michael Vick. People where rioting then, why not now? These poor horses are not exclusive and this type of niglect seems to run rampet with dog fighting and cock fighting as well as drugs, prostitution and weapons trafficking.

Why dont people get the connection? Its not only abuse if it affects your home, its abuse if it affects anything alive that is mistreated. You can not just close your eyes and wish it away. Horse rescues all can agree that prevention and proper punshment for crimes is a must. I bet he will be charged for dog fighting harsher than killing poor Tonka. Horses are expendable to people like this and to the law. They do nothing to prevent this, just show up and make visits. That is what we pay them for? To drive around and be lazy?

Thank you so very much for your follow-up on this story. Appreciation for taking the time to raise awareness for this type of abuse cannot be measured in words. There are thousands of caring people who are grateful to you for finding this story of importance. I hope you will continue to investigate stories of this type in the future. Thank you so very much!

These horses didn't get that way overnight. Who was paying for their feed??
hoof trimming, vet work??? Whats that saying??"Ignorance is no excuse" Williams looks like he didn't miss a meal. Hope he never owns another animal ever.

This is a ploy by the Beauty's Haven Farm And Equine Rescue to get donations. Mr. Williams paid multiple parties to have their hoofs trimmed, yet no one showed. Call the organization and see if the hoofs were recently done. Last week someone finally showed. The previous caretaker was not only paid for boarding the horses, she was paid for the price of the food, and the gas to pick up the food. The news program does not show the rest of the farm and how much grass is there and that there are about 15 other horses on the property. They only show the ones that he just brought onto the property in order to get them away from the previous caretaker he had put his faith and trust in.

Thank you for the follow up and I hope you continue to follow this story. Tonka, Layla and Sienna are not the only horses in this condition there are literally thousands of horses all over the United States, that are rescued in this kind of conditiion or worse. This abuse has got to stop. These are innocent creatures that do nothing to deserve this treatment. The laws need to be changed, then maybe people will get the message. How can a person sit in the comfort of their home day in day out and see them starving to death and do nothing?

Horses are a committment and it does cost a lot to give a horse the proper care they require.They require a lot of your time. If you find yourself in way over your head ask for help, give them away, do something just don't sit back and them get in this conditiion.. If you can't afford to take care of an animal and provide the proper care, don't OWN one.

If they were on another's person's property the owner should of been checking up on these horses, if I own a horse, I would be out there all the time making sure they are in fit condition. If he saw them in the condiition they are in today, they need more than a walk for a few hours a day and apparently the current residence and owners were not taking care of them very good. They own Sienna and look at the condition she is in. One of them owned Brook and her foal was born stillborn and she was put down. That is 3 horses there were murdered and two are in critical condition.

Please go to Beauty's Haven website and look at these pitiful horses, Layla is so depressed she won't even look at you. You can tell she never receive any love or attention. That's part of owning a horse, not just feeding them and trimming their hoofs and vet care. Hugging, kissing, talking to your horse. telling them how special they are. You just don't put an animal out to pasture and give them some foood and ignore them.

I visited Beauty's Haven Rescue for the first time almost two weeks ago. They have over 30 horses of all ages, from 6 weeks old up to 40 years old. Yes 40 years old. He is a beautiful white horse named Casper. Every horse has a story of abuse. Just go to their website and read their stories. Theresa is the most caring, compassionate person, and go without before she saw her horses starve. She rarely sleeps. When you have sick horses they all have special needs, some round the clock care. If people, treated their horses with dignity and respect there wouldn't be a need for a rescue, Theresa didn't do this to Layla, Sienna and baby Tonka, if it wasn't for her they would of died a lonely death in that pasture.

If the owners really cared for their horses, they would of just gave them to Beauty's Haven, no they delayed (wasting more precious time) and wanted money, so you see money TALKS!!

Animal control is part responsible in this story they went out there to check on the horses over 16 days ago took Brook and put her down and left the other three and said "They don't look that bad". Well, apparently they need to have there eyes checked. Over two weeks elapsed before they would even do something, I believe they were called and no response. Two weeks ago maybe baby Tonka could of been saved. Your investigators apparently don't care or need more training. If one horse is in that condition, the others if they weren't ,will be soon. The state the horses were in does not happen overnight, so the owner had to see what was going on, it doesn't matter if they were on someone's property they needed medical attention fast. Not take them someone where else and put them in a pasture.

There are pictures of Layla a little over a year ago, what a beautiful horse she was. This is disgusting the condition she is in now.

There needs to be a harsher penalty for the mistreatment of these animals. It's not fair. No animal deserves that life. Thank you Beauty Haven for doing all that you could for little Tonka. I know how hard you all fought to keep that foal alive. I just pray that just for him and the two mares will be served.

Thank you for the follow up story. It saddens me that these stories are way too common but are never talked about in the media when horse racing is the most visible like the Derby, the Preakness, the upcoming Belmont and Breeder's Cup. Why not? Perhaps it is the side of racing no one wants to talk about because of the money involved in breeding. However, this story higlights the issue of overbreeding.

I don't believe people are unaware of the responsibility of horse ownership because that should be a criteria to horse ownership. TOBA offers courses in responsible horse ownership. I think is pure, and simple neglect and abuse. If you are unable to care for your horse rescues are out there to help. This is just blatant neglect! Their living conditions were abominable and how did Animal control allow them to stay another 16 days? There are still many questions left that need to be answered.

I for one, think we need to push the racing industry to address the issues of abuse and neglect in unwanted thoroughbreds. Rescue operations need to be supported by the racing industry so other horses don't suffer the same fate. It seems like now the racing industry is running around trying to breed the "perfect combination" to have the "perfect throughbred" but that is not what racing should be about. These horses deserve so much better and we humans need to recognize that and help provide for them not because they are champions but because they are beautiful loving creatures created by God and entrusted to us all!

Anonymous, whatever the circumstances were, the mare with foal was a healthy fat mare in 2008 with another foal that was also healthy. The mare is now a walking skeleton and her 2009 foal is dead. That doesn't say much for the care and oversight of the owner, whatever the conditions were. Anyone with half a brain could look at the horses and see that they were starving. As far as Beauty's Haven goes, they are wonderful people and had they not bought these horses, the two mares would probably be dead soon also, like the foal. If another "caretaker" is responsible for the starvation of these horses, then Todd Williams should name that person and prove it.
I hardly think that the word of a man who participates in dog fighting is worth much.
If the people reading this and watching the broadcast want to help, remember that Beauty's Haven has incurred enormous expenses trying to save Tonka, the foal and continuing to save the 2 mares, Layla and Sienna. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

Anonymous: The owner HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY to go to the boarding farm every day to make sure the horses are well cared for. Horses don't become a bag of bones like Layla overnight. It takes time for a full grown mare who is pregnant and nursing a foal to lose several hundred pounds! How idiotic can anyone get to try to justify starvation?

And what condition was the mare in when she became pregnant? Too bad no one documented whether the mare was already underweight when she got pregnant.

There is no way that anyone can be excused for abusive and neglectful behavior. Every horse owner is personally responsible for their horses. End of story. As indicated above, no pass for any animal owner who abuses and/or neglects their horses. He needs to go to jail and never be allowed to own an animal again.

Anonymous: If Todd Williams was really interested as you say about these horses, why did Beauty's Haven have to pay him over one thousand dollars for the foal and Mom? Williams has been accused of participating in dogfighting too so does anyone really think he cares about animals?

Please consider sending a donation to Beauty's Haven. They have spent a great deal of money trying to save Tonka and a lot of money will be required to bring back Sienna and Layla to good health.

First of all I would like to address the idiot that thinks this is a ploy for BHFER to get donations --- get a grip and look at the pictures of the horses - then you'll see who the ploy should be directed to --- your apparent loser friend - Todd Williams. If he was dumb enough to pay for services not rendered - well - there ya go.......

I would like to thank the author of this story for following up and keeping the public aware of how things are progressing --- progressing only because people care for these innocent animals that were neglected by Williams and their apparent owners. I see TW in the same circle of lowlife as Michael Ick - not worthy to breathe the air of the planet earth, let alone ever have any other living being in their care whether it be 2 legged or 4.

It is also high time that stronger laws for animal abuse and neglect be made and those that are in place be enforced - not allowed to be bartered down - they should all be class 1 felonies that required the reimbursement of all medical and care expenses incurred, a fine and lots of jail time. The good ol' boy system needs to go bye bye and those that are responsible for enforcing the laws should be made responsible for doing just that - not looking away. I also think that those that checked on these horses and warranted that they were not bad enough to be confiscated also be held responsible for the death of baby Tonka and his medical costs, as well as the mares. A little bit of public service at BHFER to help with the rehabilitation of the two remaining mares wouldn't be a bad place to start - that is if they can measure up to the quality of Theresa B. and her volunteers.

Please keep reporting on the fate of these poor animals. The owner should be forced to reimburse the people who are taking care of them. He should do jail time for the death of Tonka and for the torture he inflicted on all of the horses. except in jail, he would get three hots and a cot.

I would also like to know did the Animal Control workers did not respond quicker. There is no way they could not see the danger these animals were in when they first went to the farm.

It certainly doesn't look like Todd Williams has ever missed a meal. Lock him in his grassless back yard for 4 months - let's see how he fares. Along with humanity, it appears he also lacks education.

I only wish Theresa was able to get to these poor horses sooner. That baby did not deserve to go through a life of starvation. Thanks to Beauty's Haven for getting the horses from the jerk. At least Tonka didn't die in the sh!t-shack Todd Williams calls a farm.

To WCJB and Sarah Pusateri:

Thank you so very much for reporting the story and the follow-up.

The media is so important in broadcasting these types of stories to not only the residents of Florida but also to all Americans. It is important to keep up the pressure to institute real change at every level. Abuse and neglect must be exposed to the public and become front and center. People need to see the cruelty bestowed on our horses. The more these kinds of stories become public the more outrage there will be and more likely real change will be implemented at every level including the passage of strict anti-cruelty laws, cleaning out Animal Control offices of dead wood and holding abusers (boarding farms, owners etc) accountable for the abuse!

It is unconscionable for any human being to starve their animals. They need to be locked up forever as far as I am concerned. And the gall to accept over one thousand dollars for the mare and the foal is disgusting, despicable and contemptible.

Please keep up the excellent work and I sincerely hope that more states will follow in your footsteps in reporting horse abuse and neglect.

Anonymous: If you are so certain in the alleged "facts" relating to TODD WILLIAMS, Animal Abuser Extraordinaire, why not sign your name? Step up to the plate, state your case clearly and succinctly, and sign your name --- like a regular person.

Annie: No one -- other than an idiot -- pays for services that were never rendered. Let's see the receipt from the farrier, Annie. Don't blow smoke in an area already clouded by egregious abuse and neglect, passing the buck, blame, along with an abject case of moral bankruptcy on the part of the soul-less TODD WILLIAMS and all of his bottom-feeder, low-life cohorts.

Channel 20/News Media: THANK YOU for your reportage of this heartbreaking event that has shaken my belief in humanity to the core. We need enforceable laws that give Judges the mandate to mete out just and proper punishment befitting the crime to the heartless animal abusers that populate our society.

Hey, anonymous, if you feel your friend Williams is totally in the right, I have a question for you. Why don't you tell all of us who you are? Why didn't you step up and give Williams $1000 for the mare and foal? If you own horses, do you keep yours in such deplorable condition? It was Williams' responsibility to MAKE SURE that the horses were fed and watered EVERY DAY as long as he owned them. I do not have the luxury of having property, and my horses have always been boarded. Never did I let time go by without either checking on them personally 3 or 4 days a week or talking with the person with whom I was boarding horses. No, Williams - and the owner(s) of the property - let his horses starve. Certainly, these horses did not look like they do now at the time he purchased them.

You don't blame the rescuers for the condition of these horses. They didn't cause these horses to be in the condition they are in. If it wasn't for people like Theresa and all the other rescues, these animals would die a horrible death.

If people treated their horses with dignity and respect, there would be no need for rescues.

Owners are just as responsible. If you board, you better be checking on your animals. That's if you care about your animals, not just shoving off their care on someone else and hoping they are do the right thing. You need to be a responsible owner. So you take two sick horses, Layla & Tonka and put them in the care of the owners of Sienna and Brook (I assume) who are just in as bad as condition as Layla & Tonka. That makes sense to me, NOT!!

Another thing Tonka was nearly 4 months old, and didn't even have a name, that shows you how much you care for your animals.

Anonymous ~ are you kidding me??? If these horses where taken back and feed and walked 4 hours a day they would not look like they do right now. And sign your name you coward!!!! Williams deserves to be locked up and the key thrown away. Horses like people don't come to look like this over night and that poor baby what a horrible way to die, maybe we need to take your food and William's food away and let you starve and see how it feels to die from starvation, this foal should never have gotten to the stage it was at. Shame on you Anonymous for even defending someone like Williams. The pictures truly do tell the truth, and any owner that see's these horses after they have gotten this bad didn't care enough to check on them to begin with and certainly didn't put out any money for them.

And Annie writes "This is a ploy by the Beauty's Haven Farm And Equine Rescue to get donations." maybe you should go out and look at the conditons of these poor horses and maybe you should have been at the hospital when this baby died from starvation, so please don't tell anyone that Williams paid anyone to feed, water or whatever it took to keep these horses healthy, maybe if you feel he did the right thing you should help pay for the vet bills that are mounting right now. You would be the one to defend a child molester too I'm sure.

Thank you Beauty's Haven Farm for all your hard work you do for all rescue horses.

Thank you Sarah Pusateri and thank you WCJB news for keeping us updated on this story.

For those of you making excuses here… please consider what a horrible way it is for a living, breathing, feeling creature to die of starvation and dehydration.
Please consider what it feels like to be held in a prison and only given a minimal amount of water.
Please consider how it feels when your stomach is empty and the gnawing pain never goes away.
Please consider how it feels when your body runs out of fat to feed from and turns to consuming your own muscle to live.
Please consider how it feels when your muscles are gone and your body can only turn to consuming its own vital organs to continue to exist.
Please consider how it feels to have your organs shut down, and you die, because there is absolutely nothing left to nourish your body.

Places like Beauty’s Haven rely on donations to get by from day to day. It takes a lot of their funds to attempt to repair all the damage someone else has created by their neglect. Medical care and feed are not free.

When someone owns an animal, they are responsible for their care. If my child denied food or water at a daycare, it would first be my responsibility for knowing something was happening when my child began to waste away. Secondly responsible would be the daycare. A starvation case like this takes months to kill a horse and there is no denying that >*there were*< people that knew it was happening. In most cases of a caretaker starving an animal, it starts when the owner quits paying for their feed and boarding. I, among many others, don’t buy any of the excuses offered here.

As a lifelong animal lover, adult animal activist and horsewoman, this story ripped my heart to shreds. I’ve dealt with cruelty cases that are beyond most peoples’ ability to comprehend, but the story of this pitiful mare and foal just cut me in a thousand pieces.

Horses don’t deteriorate to such a skeletal condition overnight. It took weeks, perhaps months. All the while the caretakers probably never missed a meal!
I read about Williams. Anyone who would even think about dog-fighting has serious mental problems—a sociopath for sure!!

Little Tonka is at peace now and his last hours were filled with loving, caring people. Animals know when you care. They can feel it. His pain and suffering are over now. It is Layla and Sienna that we need to focus on and with the care and attention they’re getting from the wonderful people at Beauty’s Haven, the mares will recover. I try to imagine what it must be like for Layla—so painfully thin and weak. Everything taken from her, even her precious little baby! What is wrong with people today? Are we so technologically advanced that we have lost our humanity, our ability to “feel” and empathize with others, including voiceless animals?

What have we become?

Even if you aren’t an animal lover, I urge you to give a small donation to Beauty’s Haven so they can continue with the restorative care these horses desperately need and enable them to reach out and help others who may suffer the same sad fate. I had never heard of them until this sad event. I urge you all to skip a few espresso drinks or a lunch and give a few bucks to help. It costs a lot of money to take care of a healthy horse. These horses need lots of care!

If Williams is not charged with animal cruelty and neglect, our justice system is horribly broken.
The pathetic excuse for a man should never, ever own another animal again. I wouldn’t entrust him with an ant farm!

Finally, I PRAY he never has children!

We’re praying for you Layla and Sienna. Little Tonka is running free in Heaven, knee deep in lush green grass. You will see him again!

Annie - If there are 15 other horses on this property, I hope someone is checking their condition too!! If they neglect these 4 horses, I am sure the others are being neglected. I hope Animal Control will do periodic checks on this property after what has happened to this beautiful creatures.

I just want to thank WCJB-TV Channel 20 in Ocala for following this story and I hope it stays in the news.

I was telling my family and friends last evening about Layla, Sienna & Tonka. I was telling them how depressed Layla is. How she won't look at you and keeps her head down. She probably feels broken and life isn't worth living. She misses Tonka. In the last several months I have seen this same look on all abused horses. They all have this same look. I have seen more than I ever need to see in a lifetime. This has to stop. Please go to Beauty's Haven website look at this horse. Just a year ago this horse was a beautiful, healthy horse. She still is a beautiful horse and I hope and pray she has the strength to overcome her depression.

Prayers for Layla, Sienna and all horses that are suffering from abuse and neglect.

Thank you WCJB-TV and Sarah for keeping on top of this story. There just is so much abuse and neglect to horses all over in the US and elsewhere.
I have always said and felt, if you can't care for an animal the proper way, then why have them. No one makes you have an animal!
This monster T. Williams is a poor excuse of a human being. I will never believe that he didn't know what was happening to those horses. A man that has a background in dog fighting and God only knows what else!
How anyone can stick up for this monster is beyound my comprehenstion.
They must be no better than he is.
As for Beauty's Haven, thank God for recuses like them. They run on donations to help these horses and I am sure they even use some of their own funds too. Theresa has worked her butt off and she is given alot of credit for all that she does along with her volunteers. Yes, she does need donations to help these poor horses that have been so abused and neglected by monster like Williams. Maybe if people would own up to their ooresponsiblities, then maybe recuses wouldn't be needed like they are now. And also the Animal Control is a big part of the problem too. What is wrong with these people anyway, not to see the condition of Tonka, Layla and Sienna when they were out there on that property. Maybe they would like to borrow my eye glasses!!!!

I also would like to thank ABC channel 20 for the initial story and the follow up. This is not an isolated incident, many horses and other animals, are abused and neglected. Overbreeding and people looking for a big return on a throughbred horse is too common.
Todd Williams, the 'caretakers' and animal control should pay the price and be punished for letting this happen. Don't forget another mare that had a stillborn foal that was put down 2 weeks before these 3 were rescued!

The owner is responsible for the complete care of these poor horses. I own several horses and would never place them in the hands of a third party for their care without checking on them to make sure they were being cared for properly! I am so tired of owners of neglected and abused horses putting the blame on others. What a cop out!! I hope they throw the book at Mr. Williams! Horses don't get in this deplorable shape overnight. This is a case of longer term abuse! Lock him up and throw away the key!!

The people responsible for this abuse should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I will be watching this case and others in Florida to see if the state's record in this regard improves. If not, I won't be returning there to spend my tourist dollars, and I will urge others to do the same.

OK, who wants to bet anonymous is the man charged in this crime? Or perhaps his buddy that got arrested with him when caught at a dog fight?
As this man and another were arrested after fleeing a dog fight and after ramming a police car to keep the police from stopping another car. Kind of surprised they aren't in jail right now. Not sure this is a guy I'd trust to tell the truth about this subject.
Apparently he had another mare, also severely emaciated, that had to be euthanized after delivering a still born foal. I'm going to guess that is when the first complaint came against Todd Williams. If only Law Enforcement / Animal Control had done something then. Perhaps Tonka's story would have been a happier one.
Hopefully Krystal and Joann Knish will be charged with him as I have a feeling all parties involved with these horses are equally responsible.

You can go to the Marion County sheriff website www.marionso.com/main and go to inmate search. Put Todd Williams in and you will see that this man has a record in Marion County all the way back to 2001 for battery, drugs and other charges. He is not a nice guy. I dont buy the argument for one minute that he paid someone to "look after" his horses. Not to mention he is still under investigation in Columbia county for dog fighting! I dont live on property with my horse but you can bet I check on her almost daily and take feed and any other supplies she needs myself. As for ferriers, if you dont have one that is reliable find another. I will be sending my opinion to the prosecutor in this case as soon as I find out what charges are filed. Remember, if he could treat an animal this way, what do you think he would do to a human being?? As for the supposed caretakers, they are equally to blame as they could have let the authorities know of the condition of these animals. They are all guilty of murder. Animals cant speak for themselves and we must be there to do that for them. Shame on anyone that could possibly say anything negative about the people who are trying to save them.
And yes they need money to operate but at least they are doing the right thing!

I experienced first hand, the results of neglect and abuse with a TB mare and foal, both of whom died the day we found them. She had partially foaled with the foal dying before complete birth. Then after working on her with my vet, neighbors and animal control, the mare had to be euthanized. Channel 20 covered this story as well the first week of June.
We are all outraged with this constant neglect problem and the time has come to seek legislative change. The only thing that animal control and the sheriffs dept. can tell you is: in FL , livestock is considered personal property and thus makes it difficult to act quickly and effectively. So....I'm still trying to find out who to go to, and how to start getting some laws either changed, enforced or enacted.
If anyone has suggestions or knowledge of how to achieve this, please let me know.
Thanks.