Have you ever seen a horse so thin the animal was only a frame of bones with skin stretched over? Well, neither had I until recently. Such horses look horrible. One that I saw had been left tied to a tree without food or water -- abandoned by its owner and near death until it was accidentally discovered.

Can legislation be passed in Raleigh to enforce the penalty for equine abuse and neglect? Are candidates or incumbents unaware there is a potential voter base of 1,000 U.S. Equine Rescue League advocates in North Carolina?

For sure, the USERL does mighty work trying to locate and save horses. (Look at www.userltriad.org, second picture.) But the source of the problem is the lack of enforceable laws inflicting punishment to those humans responsible.

Peggy R. Bodenheimer
Winston-Salem