05/08/08 Economy Impacts Horses

Economy Impacts Horses. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. I've always wanted to own a couple of horses but have just never been in that position. One day soon perhaps but there are many horse owners that are wishing they hadn't jumped into that decision. It seems the down turn in the economy is having a detrimental effect on the equine industry. Misti Chastain is the owner of The Spotlite Foundation in Lacey, Washington, a shelter for unwanted horses. CHASTAIN: We really don't have to look very hard for rescues. People call us all the time with the different situations, the different scenarios. Sometimes it's concerned neighbors that see horses that are being neglected and then other times it's just owners that have just hit on hard times and they can't afford to care for the horses properly and they're willing to relinquish ownership so that the horse goes to a good home. As Chastain notes, there are many reasons that people want to let go of their horses but many simply abandon them. She says it is becoming a big problem. CHASTAIN: We are at capacity right now and we have a waiting list of about 10 horses that are in need of a place to live and the people can't care for them any longer and rather than go down the list we do go on the horses that are in the most dire need. So sometimes horses will get skipped if they are in an okay place right now. They try and keep the horses at their facility and only rarely do they let them go. CHASTAIN: With this huge need for foster homes for horses, we are looking at adopting some of ours out on an adoption contract that we would still have ownership rights but we could place them in other homes and that way we can open the spaces here at the ranch so that we can serve more horses. The cost of owning a horse is fairly high with the price of feed, vaccinations, farriers to name a few. Chastain feels that we haven't seen the worst of it yet. CHASTAIN: It's anybody's guess. I don't think we've seen the worst of it yet but I do think that we will be able to recover. You mentioned gas prices; hopefully we will see an alternative fuel source arise here soon and that's going to make things a little bit better but things I think are going to get worse before they get better. If you are thinking of getting rid of your horse or suspect that one has been abandoned, contact the humane society or equine shelter in your area. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.