By Jeff Skrzypek

MILL CITY, Ore. -- The Linn County Sheriff's office is reporting a second case of horse neglect in just over a month.  Sheriff's deputies say they're seeing more of these cases all the time.

The Linn County Sheriff's Department says since the start of their Livestock Investigation Program, they've seen more than a dozen abuse cases involving horses.  But they say what they discovered in Mill City on Thursday might be the biggest and most horrific scene to date.  Horses are underweight, full of open wounds and some not even able to walk.

Investigators say while this was once a home for more than 100 horses, for months it's served as a prison and even a potential graveyard for the animals that live here.

Cindy Kingsburry with Linn County Animal rescue says what's so difficult about this incident is not only the magnitude of the neglect, but how seriously ill some of these horses are.  "they can't take care of themselves. You put them in a pen, they can't let themselves out to go eat. So they're totally relying on people to take care of them," said Kingsburry.

The Linn County Sheriff's office says it's arrested 30-year-old Tania Herring, in what deputies say is the worst case of horse neglect they've ever seen.  Sheriff Tim Mueller says the real problem is that many of these horses are too unhealthy to snap back.  "The brutal reality is, some of them are going to have to be put down. And that's the reality," said Mueller.  He says it'll be challenging to take even just a fourth of the animals at this farm.  "To foster out 30 head of horses, we're going to be real close to being tapped out on those resources, so if we have another one of these in a month or two, it's going to be bad."

Investigators say the owner of the horses at this farm, if convicted, could be fined and see possible jail time.  They say they could also ban the suspect from ever owning animals ever again.