The operator of a West Virginia horse rescue has been charged with multiple animal cruelty counts in connection with the alleged maltreatment of animals on her Martinsburg farm.

Last month, Berkeley County law enforcement authorities removed 53 allegedly malnourished horses from the Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue Inc. The animals are currently under rehabilitative care at various locations.

On Oct. 7, rescue operator Mary O'Brien was booked into the Berkeley County Eastern Region Jail on 56 charges of animal cruelty, according to a jail spokesman. Her bail has been set at $280,000.