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Forsyth woman accused of starving horses
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Aguilar - photo by For The Times

CUMMING — A 37-year-old woman faces several charges after authorities found stolen property and starving horses on a farm in northern Forsyth County.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office has charged Maria Rosario Aguilar of 4930 Smith Drive with three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and four counts of felony theft by receiving.

Aguilar is being held at the Forsyth County Detention Center, where records show bond had been set at $37,905.

Sheriff’s Lt. David Waters said a neighbor complained of a stray horse running around in the area Wednesday.

He said animal control officers arrived to find a horse so malnourished its hips and ribs were showing under the flesh.

Waters said Dr. Lanier Orr, who provides veterinary services for the county, evaluated the animal and another smaller horse that also appeared to be starving.

The horses were taken to Orr’s facility, where they are being nursed back to health.

"I’ve never seen anything like that, not that bad," Waters said of the animals’ condition.

Waters said the pasture where the horses were kept had no grass and there was little water on the property.

Authorities later found the skeletal remains of a third horse in a stable on the site.

Waters said it was not clear how the third horse died.

In addition, three all-terrain vehicles and a golf cart that had been reported stolen were removed from the site. The owners have been notified.