A judge has cleared a Carbon County veterinarian who was accused of neglecting horses last year.

Clyde Rendell Shoop successfully appealed his conviction on cruelty to animals charges. Judge Steven Serfass issued a decision last week that said Shoop could not be held responsible for the neglect of a number of horses that were owned by his ex-wife.

Kimberly Shoop, his ex-wife was also found guilty of cruelty to animals. She did not file an appeal in the case.

In Serfass' written decision, he said that the horses had been neglected. However he found that Clyde Shoop did not have a duty to care for the horses, which were acquired by Kimberly Shoop after their divorce in 2002. .

Clyde Shoop had provided veterinary care for the horses in the past, but stopped in 2013. Had he continued to take responsibility for the horses' care, Serfass said, his inaction could have been defined as neglect.