Across the country, horse rescues are facing the plight of having to turn away horses that need rescuing because their owners are no longer able to care for them either because of the cost of maintenance or because of financial situations beyond their control.
So many horses in need!
No accurate figures document how many unwanted horses actually exist, their age and sex, the breeds represented, their value or what happens to them in the long run.
From California to Illinois, from the Dakota's to Texas, the drought with corn shriveling on the stalk, hay withering in the fields, and the cost of feed beginning to move steadily upward, many horse owners are either calling horse rescues, abandoning their horses, or simply neglecting them, causing unwarranted misery for hundreds, if not thousands of horses.
Horse abandonment is a crime in Illinois and several other states. Last year in Texas and Oklahoma in horses were abandoned or turned over to rescues in record numbers during that year's drought. Circumstances have grown worse in many states this year.
When the land is so parched there are no pastures to graze, no hay has been produced to prices sky-rocket the price of keeping a horse per month doubles and it's going to get even worse this winter as owners go through their winter hay -- high prices will go even higher -- and many rescue organizations believe more owners will give up their horses.
No accurate figures document how many unwanted horses actually exist, their age and sex, the breeds represented, how many are purebred versus grade, their most recent use, their value or what happens to them in the long run. Tens of thousands of horses that could be classified as unwanted are being sent to processing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico each year.
Unfortunately, the number of unwanted horses exceeds the resources currently available to accommodate them. The estimated cost of providing basic care for a horse ranges from $1,800-$2,400 annually. Currently, there are not enough volunteers, funding or placement opportunities for all of the unwanted horses.
Where rescues used to receive four or five calls a year, some are receiving as many as twenty in one week, leaving the owners and caretakers in tears because of the plight of horses they cannot rescue.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners estimates that the minimum yearly cost to care for a horse, not including veterinary and farrier expenses, is $1,825. Add in veterinary and farrier costs, as well as boarding expenses in some cases, and the yearly cost for keeping one horse can reach $5,000.
Back in 2009, findings from the Unwanted Horse Coalition's Study on Contributing Factors Surrounding the Unwanted Horse Issue in a study that was the first of its kind to assess the causes and magnitude of the unwanted horse population in the United States the following information came to light:
- More than 90% of respondents said the number of unwanted horses, as well as those neglected and abused, is increasing.
- 87% of respondents indicated that the issue of unwanted horses had become "a big problem" in the past year, compared with only 22% who said the problem was important three years ago.
- In light of one of the worst economic downturns in U.S. history, the economy was considered to be a significant contributor to the unwanted horse problem.
- Other major contributors cited by the respondents included: the closing of the nation's processing facilities, changes in breed demand/indiscriminate breeding, and the high costs of euthanasia and carcass disposal.
- 63% of equine rescue/retirement facilities polled reported that they were at near or full capacity and, on average, turn away 38% of the horses brought to them.
Now, going into the latter part of 2012, conditions for horses and owners are far worse. With no new study comparable to the 2009 one, it is anyone's guess as to the true numbers of horses and owners needing to be rescued.