Kristin Chambers stands with one of the horses at her rescue in the fall of 2008. File Photo, Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

Kristin Chambers, a former Emporia State student, faces charges of animal cruelty and neglect after the Coffey County Sheriff’s Department seized more than 80 horses, miniature horses and donkeys from her property on July 30.

A police report filed with the Coffey County Courthouse confirmed the seizure.

Karen Everhart, owner of Horse Calls LLC and director of Rainbow Meadows Equine Rescue and Retirement, is in charge of overseeing the placement of the horses from the rescue. She said at the moment, the police have placed the horses are in an undisclosed location near Burlington.

“The shape (of the horses) is across the board, we have some very, very emaciated horses, we have a number of thin horses and then we have some that are marginally acceptable, we don’t have any fat horses there at all,” Everhart said.

Everhart said the majority of the animals appeared to have little to no wellness care, little sign of grooming, and she is unsure if they’ve had their vaccinations.

“We have very sketchy details, we don’t know a lot about them, we have no idea about their training or their wellness status, but they certainly are deserving of a loving home,” Everhart said.

On Sept. 18, 2008, Chambers was featured in an article in The Bulletin called “Local horse rescue: A thrifty solution.” The article chronicled how Michael Soyez, a local businessman, donated one-fourth of the profits of his business, Winding Road Thrift Store, to Chambers’ Winding Road Equine Rescue and Retirement.

“WRERR is a public charity that rehabilitates horses that have been abused or neglected. They save horses from slaughter and often work with law enforcement in animal cruelty cases,” the article stated.

Chambers had worked with volunteers to care for over 50 neglected and abused horses at her farm located outside Waverly.WRERR had received national media attention in 2009 when Chambers rescued Clever Allemont, a champion thoroughbred, from slaughter.

Chambers did not return calls for comment by press time.

Everhart said she’s trying to find homes for the animals before the court orders that they are put up for public sale. She said that it is not certain, but possible that they could have to go up for sale in two weeks. Anyone interested in adopting the seized animals can go to Horse Calls’ website, www.horsecalls.com.

Liz Coffey

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