Starving horses seized from a failed riding school about 200km north of Perth are recuperating well, but one of the stallions had to be put down.
The RSPCA's Malaga facility was strained to its limit when 13 foals and in many cases pregnant mares were brought there for treatment earlier this month, while nine stallions were taken in by Gingin Veterinary Clinic.
RSPCA WA chief inspector Amanda Swift said sadly, one stallion had to be put down due to a badly injured leg, while a mare gave birth to a stillborn foal.
Ms Swift said all of the horses had suffered sand colic as they had been kept on a 2000 acre property that was devoid of grass, and were terribly dehydrated.
They were also anaemic and had to be wormed, but were slowly, steadily recovering, she said.
"They're all doing really well now," Ms Swift told AAP.
"They're still in poor condition but different in character."
She said an expert horse trainer had helped enormously in getting the previously frightened animals used to humans.
He would work with the foals for about four months, she said, then potential adopters would be assessed.
Fortunately, all of the surviving and now-castrated stallions have found new homes, Ms Swift said.
As for the owners of the failed riding school, they still potentially face prosecution but are co-operating with the RSPCA, which has left animals in a less dire state at the property.
If the would-be businesspeople did not continue to comply with the organisation's instructions, more animals would be seized, she said.
Ms Swift said the RSPCA had received a large amount of public support since news of the horses' plight broke.
