Owner of malnourished horse that died accused of ‘hoarding,’ abusing 100+ animals in NC, officials say

LENOIR, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A repeat offender has been charged with animal cruelty after a malnourished horse was found tied to a tree, according to Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement.

Officers began investigating after receiving a tip that the suspect, Holden Miller, had a horse tied to a tree behind his house. When they arrived and made contact with the tenant, they found the horse tied to a tree about 70 yards behind the residence in a wooded area.

The horse was severely malnourished and, despite receiving medical care, died a few days later. Officers seized other animals from the property that same day, officials said. The condition of those animals is unknown.

According to officials, this is not the first time Miller has been arrested for animal cruelty. In April 2025, he was charged with three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and one count in June. Since April, officers have seized nearly 170 animals from Miller.

“Our domestic and livestock animals are like family, and we should treat them as such by providing them a healthy environment,” said Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement Director Richard Gilliland.

Miller reportedly obtained the animals from social media and other websites. In the most recent case, he was charged with felony animal cruelty and is being held in the Caldwell County Detention Center without bond.

Queen City News spoke to Miller’s now-former girlfriend, who lives with him. 

“He had [the horse] up there in the woods because he didn’t want no one seeing her because he knew he would get in trouble,” she said. “He didn’t think anyone would see her, but someone did, and they called.”

The woman says she’s working to move out of their house while Miller’s in jail.

She says she’s glad he was arrested.

“Of course I’m glad because no animal deserves to be mistreated,” the woman said.

Richard Gilliland, Caldwell County’s Animal Care Enforcement director, says in the previous seizures, Miller had animals and birds of all kinds and sizes.

“I feel like he, in his heart, likes animals,” Gilliland said. “It becomes more of a hoarding addiction to the animal. You just get really overwhelmed with it.”

Miller’s ex-girlfriend says she tried to get him to stop and has even called authorities on him in the past.

“He didn’t care,” she said. “He’s never listened to me. I’ve told him the past couple years to slow down, get rid of things. He says he will, but he never does.”