FINCASTLE -- Jack Cassell walked into court Friday morning charged with 33 counts of cruelty to animals for allegedly allowing his herd of horses to starve. When he left that afternoon, he had pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving an animal of food and water and agreed to reduce his herd of 28 horses down to six by September.

Cassell's trial in Botetourt County General District Court had been under way for two hours when Judge James Farmer told both sides to stop and work out an agreement.

"I'm not totally pleased with what happened," Cassell said once the hearing was over. "I'm making a compromise."

Both the prosecutor and Cassell's attorney called the agreement fair.

"We're pleased with the outcome," said Assistant Botetourt Commonwealth's Attorney Jill Deacon. "That accomplished what we had been trying to accomplish for a long time." She said county animal control officers have been handling complaints about Cassell's farm for two years.

"Jack Cassell is not a cruel man," said his attorney, Robert Hagan. "He has horses because he loves horses. He takes other people's problem horses."

Authorities said the problem was that Cassell, 79, of Fincastle, kept too many horses on his farm without giving them enough feed or complying with veterinary recommendations. Deacon said Cassell kept his fence in poor repair, and his horses would get out, sometimes ending up on nearby U.S. 220. Cassell has vehemently disputed the allegations about his feed and his fence.

Pat Muncy, president of Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue, said her organization first received calls about Cassell's farm in November 2004. The organization worked with Cassell in 2005. There were nine horses that staff members had concerns about, Muncy said, because their weight was dropping when they should have been improving. Two of those horses died, Muncy said.

Hagan argued that Cassell did try to follow veterinarian recommendations on multiple occasions.

On Dec. 6, Salem veterinarian Tanya Hatchett went to Cassell's farm at the request of Botetourt authorities after they received a complaint through the state agriculture department. Hatchett reported that she found five horses that were extremely emaciated and others that were unhealthily thin. Hatchett advised that if the horses weren't removed they would die, Deacon said.

Animal control removed five horses from Cassell's farm on Dec. 21.

The 33 charges were related to the 32 horses on the property at the time of the seizure, and also to a foal that died. Its mother was one of the horses in the worst condition, Deacon said.

The agreement requires Cassell to stop breeding his horses. He'll be required to follow veterinarian recommendations and allow inspections by animal control officers, Hagan said.

The standards of care for horses have changed since Cassell first learned to care for them in his youth, which is what led to some of the problems with authorities, Hagan said.

Muncy said there was no excuse for the condition of the horses at Cassell's farm, but noted that there's a widespread problem with horse owners not being educated in the most up-to-date methods to care for a horse's health.

Three of the seized horses are being adopted by Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue. One is going back to its Vinton owner, and one is being returned to Cassell.