ShareThisMore than 80 percent of the 170,000 horses cast off every year nationwide were once owned by people who couldn't afford to care for them. Now the nation's 432 rescue facilities are at capacity.
It's a heartbreaking story. And nowhere is this playing out more visibly than California, where 700,000 horses live, according to the American Horse Council. When the economy falters, animals suffer.
To horse rescuer Beth DeCaprio, a pair of recent cases represent the worst of an already bad situation.
A 3-year-old gelding -- unable to stand on his own four hooves -- was discovered in July in an empty field at Rancho Murieta, Calif. Left without food or water for weeks, the horse was hundreds of pounds underweight, had been burned with cigarettes and most likely poisoned.
In August, a starving thoroughbred mare and her filly foal were let loose to fend for themselves. Animal control officers found them standing on the side of the road in Sacramento, emaciated and near death.
Animal control officers took all three horses to the Grace Foundation, a nonprofit rescue facility in El Dorado Hills. The Humane Society of the United States has offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of parties responsible for these horses' neglect and abuse.
All three of the most recently rescued horses are receiving veterinary care. The mare nearly died last weekend of a secondary infection. The gelding -- nicknamed Keola by foundation staff -- this week underwent surgery to repair a severely damaged hoof.
The Washington, D.C.-based Unwanted Horse Coalition estimates 170,000 horses nationwide are cast off annually, with 81 percent a direct result of owners no longer being able to afford caring for them.
Meanwhile, most of the nation's 432 recognized rescue facilities are at capacity -- many turning away horses.
"The economy is tough, but these are two severe cruelty cases," said DeCaprio, executive director of the Grace Foundation. "People consciously made the decision to leave them for dead. It's just heartbreaking."
So far this year, the foundation -- currently home to 124 horses -- has received 21 abandoned horses. Two horses -- one half-blind -- were found wandering along a highway.
DeCaprio said she's never seen such numbers of abandoned horses.
"Last year was difficult, but this year, we never could have prepared for what we're facing right now," she said.
"These are cases we'll definitely be haunted by," DeCaprio said. "We're trying to bring them back to health, but it will be a very slow process. The shame is that they're just lovely horses and incredibly grateful for any kind of care."
DeCaprio is bracing for more rescues.
"This is the time of year when we see more and more cases," she said. "The grass dies down and there's nothing left to eat. We're praying for good weather."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit Sacramento Bee
