FAIRPLAY, Colo. -- When Carol Martin started the Flying Ah Horse Rescue Ranch five years ago, she wanted to rescue horses.

But now, she is accused of abusing the very animals she and her husband, Keith Synnestvedt, set out to save.

"I never thought it would spin this far out of control," said Martin, after she watched the Park County Sheriff’s Office drive away with her horses. "I thought we could handle it. I really did."

After the Park County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the rescue, they took action.

"The horses were very thin, some were not in good condition, so we started investigating animal cruelty because of neglect and mistreatment," said Matthew Sexton, an animal control officer with the Park County Sheriff’s Office.

On Dec. 22, 2007, he said officers were investigating several reports an animal had died and they discovered four dead or dying horses on the property.

He said that preliminary necropsies indicated all four starved to death.

At the time, Martin surrendered 12 horses.

On Jan. 9, 2008, the officers returned to seize 10 more horses, two of which were living inside the Martin house.

A 4-month-old foal and a 1-year-old filling were being kept in a stall in the living room to keep them warm, according to Martin.

Officers said the foal’s ear had been ripped off by the family’s rottweiler.

The officers used the Henneke body condition scoring system, which is based on visual appraisal and palpable fat cover on six major points of the horse.

On a scale of 1-9, with 5 being a healthy horse, officers said the foal and filly both scored 1.5, which is noted as "extremely thin."

They said all the horses confiscated then scored a 3.5 or less.

On Jan. 15, officers came to the ranch to confiscate the remaining horses and take them all to a horse rescue operation in Pueblo.

Carol Martin said they take in sick and unwanted horses, and the horses that died were either elderly or had medical problems.

She said the rescue did end up with too many horses this year.

Last year, she said, they were able to adopt 50, but this year, only three.

This was the rescue’s first winter in Park County, and Martin said, with no shelter built, yet, heavy snow and harsh winds took their toll on the already sick animals.

She said a supplier three miles away donated hay for the horses.

"We would never do anything to intentionally hurt these animals. I took two of them into my home to keep them warm," she said. "These horses always had adequate food in front of them. I think we may have had a parasite problem get out of control, but we were working to correct that also."

But since the horses were seized, she is not sure if the rescue will ever reopen, but she says she will always be involved with rescues in some capacity.

"This happens too often. Too many rescues get in too deep and can’t handle it, and we need to find a way to keep it from happening again,"she said.