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(AP) -- Four people have been charged with burglarizing a stable where five quarter horses were slashed.

Dee Dee Ulrich returned from vacation earlier this month and found gashes on the bodies of the barrel-racing horses she keeps in Taney County.

The Springfield News-Leader reports three 18-year-olds and a 28-year-old man were charged Tuesday with felony first-degree burglary.

Ulrich had stayed on the property one night hoping to find out what was going on. She called deputies the night of Aug. 4 about trespassers.

Authorities say most of the trespassers fled, but the fourth said he and the others had been hired to care for the horses. Deputies said the suspect blamed a mountain lion for the horses' injuries.

The horses are expected to recover.

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