Her new owner Emily Cromer said she a veterinarian told her she should weigh around 1,200 pounds, but that she’s only about 895. She is now safe, eating plenty and on the monthslong road to recovery.
Cromer said she was horrified when she first saw the horse at Born to Fly Stables off Singer Road north of Huber Heights.
She went there based on a Facebook ad for Joline.
Credit: STEVE MAGUIRE / STAFF
Credit: STEVE MAGUIRE / STAFF
“And when I got there I realized the conditions were not good. The horse was not in a good condition. There were several others there that were also noticeably thin,” Cromer said.
It’s the same boarding facility where April Patton said she removed her horse last summer after her concerns grew about the owner.
“The longer I was there the more she stayed in the house, the more she didn’t come out to feed the horses, the less I saw of her,” Patton said.
Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak announced Friday that six counts of animal cruelty were filed against the owner, 26-year-old Dayna Cocca, “for not feeding some of the horses.”
Two of the six malnourished horses died, and a necropsy performed at Ohio State University revealed malnutrition was its cause of death, the sheriff said.
“It’s disgusting. It’s disgusting,” Cromer said. “There’s no excuses for horses to starve.”
Cromer decided to buy Joline.
She boards her at a different stable, where Joline eats a lot and is getting the care she needs.
“We have a long road ahead of us but I will make sure this horse never wants for anything again,” Cromer said.
Cocca did not answer her door.
But after seeing what Joline went through, Cromer had this to say about the horse’s former home: “I really don’t have a lot of excuses for this kind of behavior. It’s unethical, it’s immoral and we owe them more than what this horse has been given.”
Her focus now is on getting Joline’s weight up. She’s been doing a lot of eating, and she’s had a lot of water — 15 gallons on her first day, and her early reports from the veterinarian are good.
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