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A Poolesville man who pleaded guilty to neglecting horses in his care, including three that died, will not serve jail time.

Robert Watson Curry Jr., 31, of the 17500 block of Kohlhoss Road was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty by county police in October for allegedly providing inadequate care to several of 47 horses owned by him and his family in Dickerson. He pleaded guilty to three counts of animal abuse or neglect in May and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Monday.

Curry was also given a 90-day suspended jail sentence for each count.

Two of the five horses taken to a horse rescue facility in Woodbine were euthanized, according to Assistant State's Attorney Vlatka Tomazic. One horse was found dead on the property but had decomposed so much that cause of death could not be determined, Tomazic said during the sentencing.

Curry took on several of his family's horses in addition to his own but became overwhelmed, according to his Rockville-based attorney, Rene Sandler.

Judge Ann S. Harrington said she decided against sending Curry, a foster father to youth with emotional disabilities, to jail as requested by the prosecution because she said Curry's inaction was not based out of malevolence.

"I love horses, I love animals, I love people. It's been my dream since I was young to care for horses," Curry said during the sentencing.

Days End will keep two of the seized horses — the third may be owned by another person, the attorneys said — and Curry will be allowed to keep one horse while on probation.