A Burke County woman accused of animal cruelty involving horses pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Animal control officers seized 12 horses from Bobby Reep's farm south of Morganton earlier this month. Deputies said the animals did not have enough food and were not properly cared for by Reep.  

Reep agreed to turn the horses over to Burke County after pleading guilty to three counts of cruelty to animals.  

As part of her plea, Reep cannot own horses for the next 18 months and will be on supervised probation for that time, officials said.

She has signed the horses over to county authorities, who will try to sell them.  Officials put a lien on Reep’s property for $5,500, which is how much the county has spent taking care of the horses.

On her way into court, Reep talked about the county's case against her for animal cruelty involving the dozen horses seized off her property.

"I don't understand this. I don't understand why people can do this. I don't understand this at all," she said.

Deputies said Reep did not give the horses enough food or water, which forced them to remove the horses from the property three weeks ago.

"They ate and ate and drank. They drank and drank. They were so thirsty," said Toni Davis with Burke County Friends For Animals. 

Since the seizure, a filly, nicknamed Skinny Minny, has been born.

Animal control officers do not believe she would have survived if not for the nourishment provided to the mother in the weeks before her birth. 

"I loved them very much," Reep said.

Animal control officers said at least two more of the horses are pregnant.

Officers are finding homes for the animals both inside and outside the state.