Two horses are recovering at a local animal hospital, and nine at foster homes after nearly starving to death.

"When they arrived we offered them feed and they immediately went right to it and consumed it all, so that was good news," said Dr. Jay Stewart, DVM, of the Grand Island Veterinary Hospital.

The bad news is both animals have a long recovery ahead.

"Both of these animals are very wormy, they're heavily paratisised so we've administered medication to get rid of that," said Stewart. "The only way this mare is going to survive the winter is with protected care. That is to say, out of the elements and she may have to be kept alone."

The horses were living on Blaine Street near Highway 34.

Officials say they were keeping an eye on the area before the horses were taken, and relinquished by their owner Juan Medina-Mena on Sunday.

"Starting from the beginning of the summer there's been periodic reports and we checked on those but it has gotten to be in the last month where there's been less and less support of the horses," said Laurie Dethloff, Central Nebraska Humane Society Administrative Director.

"We had a third party call us on Saturday afternoon regarding the possibility that these horses were out there and everything, neglected," said Capt. Todd Bahensky, Hall County Sheriff's Department.

"There had been no sign of any feed or water for at least two days," said Dethloff.

Dr. Stewart said starving horses is comparable to beating them.

"If you're going to have a horse, they're expensive and they cost a lot of money to care for. Make sure that you have the commitment to care for them properly," he said.

Dr. Stewart also said the amount of horse neglect has increased since slaughtering of the animals was banned in the United States.

Dethloff said the poor economy could be contributing to more animal neglect cases.

Medina-Mena could face 11 counts of felony animal neglect.

He's been cited by the Humane Society.

The charges will now go to the Hall County Attorney.

Stewart said the two horses currently at his hospital are both expected to be taken in by responsible horse owners when they leave in about a week.