COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The Humane Society has seized 17 more horses believed to be owned by the Trexlers, a family that has been accused of neglecting a number of horses in a case that broke last week.

The latest group of horses were found in a field off Misty Meadow Road in Hopkins. The property is not owned by the Trexlers, but the Humane Society thinks the horses were being held there and that Terry Trexler intended on later selling them.

For the most part, we’re told, the horses appear a lot healthier than the horses previously found at two other sites owned by the Trexlers. The Humane Society found the horses after obtaining and executing a search warrant Monday afternoon.

Earlier Monday, two of the three accused Trexler family members were in a Richland County courtroom Monday to decide who should get custody of the horses seized last week. The decision was neither one. The horses will stay with the Humane Society for now.

One of the suspects is telling WIS News 10’s Dan Tordjman he’s not not guilty.

“I’m innocent. I don’t even know why I’m here.” Terry Trexler professes his innocence.

Shackled and cuffed, he follows his 70-year-old mother Hazel into a Columbia courtroom. Absent at a hearing Monday is a suspended state agriculture official - Jim Trexler - who, along with his mother and brother, stands charged with mistreating horses.

Richland County investigators told a judge why nearly 30 horses were seized from the Trexlers last week. They say the animals were malnourished, some near death.

The horses are now being cared for by Doctor Michael Privett. He describes the condition he found the horses living in, “The stalls were just, it was just a septic tank. The horses were ankle deep in mud, urine and manure.”

Also on the stand Monday was the Humane Society investigator who first visited the Trexlers’ property. She says Terry and Hazel cursed her out and wouldn’t let her leave.

Hazel Trexler will head back to jail, along with her son Terry. Jim Trexler is free on bond.

Meanwhile, the family is also being investigated by authorities in Georgia, where Terry and Hazel face more than 60 charges of animal abuse.

Officials suspect some of the horses they were charged with abusing there are the same ones found sick and hungry in South Carolina. Deputy Jimmy Kitchens says he won’t say for sure, “But I just feel like it may show up that some of these horses did come out of Georgia where they were in quarantine.”

We’ve gotten a lot of calls and e-mails asking how to adopt the horses. We asked officials and found out that it could be a while before the horses are physically and legally ready for adoption.

First, they need to be nursed back to health and show signs that they’re gaining weight.

Some of the horses are also described as being wild - not to be confused with pets - because officials say they were never raised or trained as such.

And, of course, even though a judge ruled in favor of the Humane Society keeping the horses at this point, the case itself could take years to resolve - leaving the horses’ future in legal limbo.

Dr. Privett says, “If you call right now and want to adopt one of these horses, we’re just putting you on a list. That’s something that may be a month down the road; it may be two to three years down the road. For now, they will all be fostered out, until the court makes its final dispostion.”

For more information on possible adoption or fostering of these horses, call Doctor Michael Privett’s office at 783-6999 or the Humane Society at 783-1267.

Source: wis10