Veterinarian Dr. Sharon Marshall said she often returns to her Lexington horse ranch after treating abused and neglected horses, or euthanizing terminally ill animals at pet owners’ homes.

When she returns home and sees Crystal, a blind 18-year-old mare, with her newborn foal she said it does her heart good.

“It helps when I can come back to this,” Marshall said. “It reaffirms what I’m doing.”

Crystal was being starved and had been blinded when rescued two and a half years ago by Marshall and Norman animal welfare officers. Last week, the mare gave birth to a healthy foal.

“She’s truly a maiden mare. This is her first foal. All odds were against it,” Marshall said.

Officers rescued Crystal and 14 other horses in December 2005, from an east Norman horse ranch operated by Melinda Robb.

Animal welfare and police officers executed a search warrant on the Robb property and reported finding the horses in various stages of starvation and neglect. Crystal and another horse were locked by chains and padlocks in filthy stalls. The mare was “blind and underweight and in a stall unfit for a horse,” a police report said.

Neither of the horses had food. Other horses were outside in freezing conditions without food or shelter, police said.

Robb was ordered to stay off the property. Less than a week later, she was again arrested after entering the property, tying a horse to a tree and starving it to death — with food just outside its reach, police said.

In March 2006, Robb entered pleas of no contest to two counts of animal cruelty and was sentenced to two five-year deferred sentences to run concurrently. She was placed on two years’ supervised probation.

Robb, 50, was ordered to sell the horses owned by her family and to use the proceeds to pay feed, boarding and veterinarian bills. She was ordered not to train, show or own horses while on probation. Robb volunteered to undergo inpatient mental health treatment after her arrest, officials said.

Robb and her mother once owned well-bred horses that were shown in reining horse shows around the country.

“Crystal is a 1996 Amateur World Reining Champion,” Marshall said.

The filly’s sire is Royal Chic Olena of Whitesboro, Texas.

“He’s a high-level reining horse himself. She’s supposed to truly go in her mama’s footsteps,” Marshall said.