SPCA: Some horses up for adoption from Morgan Hill, Gilroy neglect case

Thirty-eight neglected horses from Morgan Hill and Gilroy–and one man held responsible pleads no contest. Now some of those horses are up for adoption.

The SPCA for Monterey County has opened its doors to nine of the horses from that case, seven of them are ready for new homes, they said.

In October the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office started its investigation into Humberto Rivas Uribe, 51, the owner of of a property in Morgan Hill and another in Gilroy.

Investigators later determined these horses were emaciated and neglected. One colt died after Uribe sold the horse to the Equine Rescue Center in San Benito County.

“They were thin they were long overdue for hoof care, for teeth care, they needed their vaccinations, and they desperately needed to be wormed,” said Beth Brookhouser, SPCA director of community outreach.

According to the DA, Tuesday Uribe plead no contest to a single felony count of animal cruelty.

His potential sentence includes, 90 days in county jail, five years formal probation and the judge could prohibit him from owning any animals for 10 years, the DA’s office said.

The SPCA wants to adopt these horses out as soon as possible but two of them aren’t ready.

After they vet the potential owners, do site inspections and find a match with a horse, the SPCA hopes one of these animals can be a nice holiday present for someone.

Uribe’s sentencing is set for Jan. 5 in Morgan Hill.

News Channel 5 reached out to his lawyer for comment but have not heard back.