Upwards of 50 people have applied to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s office to adopt some of the abused horses seized last month from a Brothers Ranch.

Sheriff’s Lt. Marc Mills says officials connected with the horses are ”quite concerned that people may not be interested in them.”

Approximately 124 of the seized horses are scheduled to be auctioned on March 1 at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.

Potential buyers must complete an application describing their horse facilities and why they want to buy one or more of them.

”I’d like to see a couple of hundred people apply,” Mills said on Friday.

Lack of response, he said, means a situation may develop ”where we have to look at alternative solutions in the event that we have a number of horses left,” he said.

Solutions could involve putting down some of the sickest and most injured horses, he said. Rescue facilities and humane societies in Oregon and in other nearby states also have been contacted to see if they have room for any horses, Mills said. Failure to place the horses in homes could leave the county responsible for the cost of their welfare.

When the horses were taken from the ranch, where they were found to be starving, injured and neglected, the community rallied to assist the effort. Cash donations totaling about $80,000 flowed into a bank account, and people gave tons of hay to help feed the horses, Mills said.

Now, donations have tapered off and the donated hay supply will likely run out by the end of the month, he said. That means officials will have to purchase hay using money from the bank fund. The horses haven’t been inoculated for West Nile or Coggins viruses, according to a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Furthermore, few of the horses have experience with humans, and many will require extensive time and patience to become accustomed to handling, Mills said.

About 40 of the mares are in late pregnancy, he said.

The horses are part of a herd of 130 seized after a hay delivery truck driver tipped off law enforcement officials of alleged animal abuse on the ranch. Their owners, Rebecca and Wayne Nichols, agreed in December to give up the horses.

Of the 130 horses originally seized, four were purchased directly from the owners by volunteers and two have died, Mills said. One horse broke its leg and another had a negative reaction to medicine. Both were euthanized, he said.

Mills said that all the horses have been given their immediate shots, deworming and other vaccinations with a second round of boosters.

He said the horses’ medical ailments, which include overgrown hooves and malnutrition, have improved since they were seized about five weeks ago.

Still, some horses are blind in one eye and may suffer from permanent tendon and ligament problems.

People interested in purchasing horses must turn an application into the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office by Feb. 14 at 5 p.m.

Applicants must submit to a criminal background check and agree to keep the horses for one year. During that year they will be required to allow the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office to make periodic visits to check the horses’ welfare.

The first 500 approved applications will be accepted as bidders. Minimum bid will be $200.

Information and applications are available at:

– The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, 63333 W. Highway 20, Bend.

– The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Terrebonne Substation, 8222 N. Highway 97, Terrebonne.

– The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sisters Substation, 703 N. Larch St., Suite C, Sisters.

– The Deschutes County Sheriff’s La Pine Substation, 51590 Huntington Road, La Pine.

– And on the web at: www.co.deschutes.or.us/sheriff/index.htm.

Rachel Odell can be reached at 541-617-7811 or rodell@bendbulletin.com.