More than a dozen people have signed up on the waiting list to adopt one of the 19 horses found abandoned in Ranger.

"That's why I came out here today," said Shelly Roberts. "I have plenty of room to adopt several [horses] but I want to make sure that even if I get just one, that he is completely taken care of."

Wednesday morning landowner Pat Collins walked around his property in Ranger and found 20 abandoned horses, one already dead. By Friday, Abilene's Rescue The Animals, SPCA stepped in to help provide transportation to the Abilene Animal Shelter, where they arranged food and shelter for the animals.

"When I saw the condition of these horses I was blown away," said Roberts. "No animal should have to go through this."

Roberts is just one of 15 people signed up on the waiting list to adopt one or multiple horses. But the animals won't officially be up for adoption until the original owner appears in an animal cruelty case hearing, expected to occur Friday, June 22. The Ranger police have a suspect in the crime but have not released the name.

Roberts said there's no excuse for whoever did this.

"It's amazing to me how people can treat their animals," she said. "All they want is someone to scratch their noses and love on them."