OCTOBER 21 UPDATE:

Ten horses are now available for adoption after being removed from a Storey County property for neglect, according to Wild Horse Connection. 

A senior mule previously listed as available for adoption is no longer available because of its age.

Wild Horse Connection's President and Founder, Corenna Vance, says they wound up with the horses through their connection with the Nevada Department of Agriculture. 

"When they came upon this case, they did not have the facilities needed to hold the 25 horses, mules, and donkeys that were in there," Vance said. "So they asked us to step up and take them under our care."

Of those 25 animals, two horses were euthanized shortly after Wild Horse Connection took them in. 12 animals have since been adopted.

She says anyone looking to adopt a horse should be aware of a few screening questions as part of the application process.

"We like to know if they have horses currently or other animals,"  Vance said. "Do they have shelter? And, you know, a space available for them that would be safe? And what is it they're really looking for in the horses?"

Vance says they don't know a lot about the horses, so it's unclear how well they will handle riders.

For anyone who wants to know how the horses are doing, Vance assures us "they're doing really good and they're definitely ready to find their forever homes."

OCTOBER 20 UPDATE:

Several horses that were taken from a Storey County property in a neglect case are now up for adoption. 

Wild Horse Connection says eleven horses and a senior mule are ready to find homes.

The animals were removed from a property near Gold Hill in July after deputies say they found them in poor health.

If you're interested in adopting, text (775) 240-1304 or email corenna@wildhorseconnection.org to set up a visit.

JULY 14 UPDATE:

An arrest has been made in the recent Storey County investigation into animal abuse.

According to a recent release from the Storey County Sheriff's Office (SCSO), on July 12 deputies served an arrest warrant to Sally Summers at her home in Gold Hill, Nevada.

Summers was placed under arrest for a warrant on 20 counts of animal abuse/neglect and a single count of resisting.

She has been booked into the Storey County Detention Facility with a bail amount set at $20,640.

SCSO says that the investigation is ongoing, and that further charges are pending.

Original Story (7/8/2025, 7:12 a.m.):

A possible animal abuse case was reported over the weekend at the "Horse Power" property, a known rescue operation in Storey County.

Sheriff Mike Cullen says, "Basically we just have an investigation going on of an animal neglect. We're out here removing the animals so they can get proper treatment and be evaluated."

Deputies tell us they found eighteen horses and seven burros that were in poor health. 

The sheriff's office says they were alerted to the issue by people riding horses in the area.

Shana Peterson, a Lyon County resident, tells us what she found: "When we got closer, we saw they were all really thin and they had really long hooves, and we started skirting the property like, 'This doesn't look right. These animals are starving - something's not right. And then we found a bunch of dead bodies in different stages of decay; some definitely had been dead for a long time, and one looked like it had died maybe a day or two prior."

They immediately called the authorities. They also posted on social media about the neglect later that day.

Peterson also told us she tried to bring the animals food and water, which is when the police were called on them and they got cited for trespassing.

When deputies got to the property, the sheriff found the neglect was so bad they called in groups like the Wild Horse Connection and the LRTC Large Animal Rescue to help out.

Sheriff Cullen goes on to say, “The horses are going to be safe now; I'm really happy about that, and burros—I should include the burros; there are horses and burros out here—they’re safe, they’re going to be taken care of, and the vets are going to look at them and evaluate them.”

Over the course of the last few days, they were able to move the animals to a veterinarian in Dayton, where they will be properly cared for.

The Sheriff mentioned that the owner of the property was cooperating at first, but cooperation has since dropped off. However, the main priority was getting the animals to safety.

The investigation is ongoing.