POCATELLO — The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two individuals who boarded 15 poorly cared for horses and a mule at the North Bannock County Fairgrounds.

Facilities Manager Aaron Greenwell said the county was notified about the horses by the sheriff’s office, and since then all but two horses and the mule have been removed because of the poor conditions.

Greenwell said trainers pay $40 per month per one-horse stall to board horses at the racetrack at the fairgrounds, and horse owners and trainers are required to keep the stalls clean.

The animals must also be in good condition and have adequate feed and water.

Lt. Dan Argyle with the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office said law enforcement was notified about the horses Wednesday after one of the animal’s owners was alerted to conditions at the stables by a craigslist.com post that read: “If you have horses being trained by a couple of people that are stalled at the Pocatello race track facing the track your horses are dying.”

The post said the horses received water once a week and were being fed even less.

“And when they do get fed it is nasty moldy hay but the horses are so hungry they eat it. I’m there every day and I never see the horses out of their stalls. Sometimes the horses’ top gates to the stalls are even closed for days at a time so your horses never see the sun,” the post read.

The post said the stalls were never cleaned and the horses had matted feces in their manes and tails and on their skin.

Argyle said two of the animals belong to the trainers. The trainers’ names have not yet been released, pending the ongoing investigation. The owner of the mule has not yet been located.

The trainers were operating a horse boarding operation that included caring for the animals.

“Whether or not they were doing it properly is the question,” Argyle said. “Our focus was on getting the horses out of there and to some place safe.”

Argyle said the horse owners are working with their own veterinarians to assess the condition of the animals and that information will be included in the investigation.

Once the investigation is completed, Argyle said the case will be turned over to the prosecutor’s office.

JoLynn Anderson, founder and president of the Portneuf Welfare Society, said one of the horses still at the fairgrounds is in fairly good shape, but the other horse, a big sorrel, and the mule need attention.

“They are not being cared for,” Anderson said.

All the animals had swollen legs from standing all the time, and the mule has areas where the hide has actually been rubbed off. One of the horses and the mule still have long winter coats.

None of the stalls had bedding, and the mule was “cribbing” — chewing the gate to the stall out of boredom.

About 20 bales of moldy grass hay and grain was located inside one of the stalls, along with several water containers.

Anderson said PAWS would push for the prosecution of the trainers.