It's one of the biggest cases of animal neglect Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom says he's seen in recent years.  As a result, 69 horses living east of Rapid City have been impounded by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.   The Sheriff's Office says the animals have been impounded on-site after they investigated a complaint from the Animal Industry Board back in December.  Sheriff Thom says the horses were found suffering from a lack of feed and overall malnourishment.  He says the caretakers of the horses, Donald and Terry Harwood, owned some of the animals while the rest belonged to other owners.  Thom says, "The Harwoods, who were leasing the place, were boarding them for other people. So, we're in the process of contacting those people, identifying the owners, trying to get them returned. The other half, we'll work with people in trying to place them. We've talked to the horse sanctuary, we've talked to several individuals and over the next couple of weeks, we'll try and place as many of the horses as we can."  Thom says the Harwoods could face misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty and the State's Attorney's Office is working on filing charges.  He says anyone who may have the means to board horses can call the Pennington County Sheriff's Office to help them find homes for the animals.

Brendyn Medina