MARYVILLE, Tenn. - A Blount County walking horse trainer charged with animal cruelty has been ordered to vacate the barn he rents.
Property owner Kay Talbott told the Knoxville News Sentinel she filed a warrant with the court on April 26, a day after local authorities removed 19 injured horses from the barn.
At a Wednesday hearing on the warrant, a judge ordered Larry Joe Wheelon out by June 10
Investigators suspect the horses' injuries were caused by soring. That's an illegal horse training method that forces exaggerated gaits in Tennessee walking horses by injuring the animal's legs.
The 68-year-old Wheelon is charged with animal cruelty. He is set to appear in Blount County General Sessions Court on May 14.
Talbott said she doesn't want anything illegal going on in the barn.