Police said the abuse and neglect believed to have led to the death of four horses owned by a local veterinarian may also have killed seven more animals before police got involved.

Dr. Clyde Shoop and his ex-wife, Kim, are both accused of neglecting more than a dozen horses over an extended period of time.State police removed 16 of the animals over the past few weeks, which resulted in them charging both Clyde and Kim Shoop with 11 counts of animal cruelty."It didn't happen overnight, over the period of a week or over the period of two weeks. It didn't happen overnight," trooper Erin K. Cawley said.Four other horses have died since the rescue because of their weakened physical state. The rest are rehabilitating. Cawley said the horses had no water and no hay - something they need in winter, when grass doesn't provide the calories to gain weight to survive. Cawley said there was evidence that the horses had moved from the grass to eating bark off of the trees surrounding the property. Several of the horses have dental problems as a result.State police believe that the seven other dead horses found on the property could have also died of neglect. State police said in an interview on Friday that they found a total of seven other dead horses there.According to Cawley, the remote location of the Shoops' farm - on Sunny Rest Road - would have made it difficult for any outsiders to see the abuse that was occurring there.But in recent months, a number of escaped animals in the area led police to start wondering where they had come from."Over the two months preceding this, there were reports of loose horses, and a loose cow," Cawley said. "That was how the spotlight slowly started to turn."Troopers initially only intended to take the most critically endangered animals from the property.But Kim and Clyde Shoop both denied that they were the owner of the horses, saying they belonged to the other. So the state removed those animals as well.The Shoops both face 11 summary counts of animal abuse - which is basically like a traffic ticket. It is the stiffest charge a person convicted of animal abuse can receive.The charges each carry a maximum sentence of $750, as well as 90 days in jail.