Man arrested after 9 horses found neglected in barn

Nine horses have been removed from a barn in Acadia Parish and a Church Point man arrested for animal cruelty.

24-year-old Tramaine Marks of Church Point was arrested after deputies say the horses were discovered in a barn on Charlie Arceneaux Road near Rayne. Acadia Parish Deputies were investigating horses loose along the roadway. 

Nine horses were discovered in the area which deputies say were not being maintained by the owner. Several horses had broken through fencing and others were found pinned inside of a barn.

The animals showed significant weight loss as their ribs and backbone being visibly observed. There was no feed out for these animals and there were signs of the animals chewing on the wooden gate which was keeping the in the barn, to free themselves from the barn. Several horses showed signs of possible infections, according to officials.

The horses were recovered and removed from the property and transported to a care facility in St. Landry Parish.

Marks was booked into the Acadia Parish Jail on nine counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and three counts of livestock at large.