Two horses found abandoned earlier this month in the East County will be adopted by a nonprofit equine shelter today, the San Diego County Department of Animals Services announced.

A 20-year-old horse named Beckett was found in a pasture in Crest, while the other horse, a 25-year-old named Omega, was found emaciated in Spring Valley.

"When Beckett came to our shelter, he was lame on all four legs and had old wounds and healing lacerations,'' said Dawn Danielson, director of the county Department of Animal Services. ``Omega was very underweight and may have been a race horse in her younger days.''


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Both horses have improved with treatment, but will need long-term care, Danielson said.

Beckett and Omega are being adopted by the Horses of Tir Na Nog, a nonprofit organization that takes care of equines, according to the county.

The organization's director, Amy Pat Rigney, will pick up the horses at the San Diego County Animal Shelter.