A man accused of maltreating more than 40 horses in Mercer County, Kentucky, has pleaded not guilty.

In June, investigators from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture responded to a call about a herd of 43 horses residing on a Mercer County farm. Further investigation revealed that the horses, which were mostly Thoroughbreds, had been abandoned.

Eight of the 43 horses were determined to be in need of additional care and relocated to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation at the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington, where they are receiving rehabilitative treatment. Other non-Thoroughbred horses were later taken to the Kentucky Horse Park for care, and the rest remain on the Mercer County property where they continue to receive care from volunteers.

On June 29, following a joint investigation by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, Chuck Borell was arrested and charged with 43 counts of misdemeanor second-degree animal cruelty in connection with the horses’ alleged abandonment