High hay prices and the dour economy are being blamed for a growing number of horse owners who are giving up and abandoning or neglecting their animals in Idaho and other Western states.
High hay prices and the dour economy are being blamed for a growing number of horse owners who are giving up and abandoning or neglecting their animals in Western states.
In 2007 and 2008, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department in Idaho received three times more reports of abuse regarding horses, donkeys or mules than it did in 2005 and 2006, said Capt. Ben Wolfinger.
In the past three months, Angie Hilding has given away nine horses she couldn’t afford to keep. Ordinarily, the Hayden, Idaho, ranch owner would keep older horses at her facility, which offers trail rides, lessons and boarding. But like many owners, Hilding has seen hay prices skyrocket by more than 60 percent.
“When you’re in the business we’re in, you keep those old horses,” Hilding told The Spokesman-Review. “But when the going gets tough, we find a home for these older ones.”
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