SAN ANTONIO — A 62-year-old Bexar County man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly malnourished his horses to the point of starvation, county authorities said.
Steven David Olsen faces 10 counts of animal cruelty to livestock animals more than two weeks after eight horses were seized from his Von Ormy residence. Sheriff Javier Salazar said two of the horses were pregnant, which is the reason for the 10 counts.
If convicted, Olsen faces up to 10 years in prison.
"The horses were in horrible shape," Salazar said on Wednesday. "There was evidence those horses had been starved for some time. There was no grass to speak of, there was no water to speak of."
The sheriff added the animals were "very, very wild" when picked up by deputies on August 13, "probably due to their state of neglect and mistrust of humans." They were taken to Meadow Haven Horse Rescue in Smiley, where their conditions are improving.