Economic hard times taking a toll on horses

The ribs of horses left to die on the western desert or abandoned in northern Utah fields may be the latest signs of an economy that appears famished itself.

As people prioritize expenses, rescue shelters and federal facilities are seeing an increase in unwanted and abandoned horses, says Dr. Patricia Evans, an equine specialist with Utah State University.

"People that were responsible horse owners have found themselves in a really tough situation," she said. "They're making tough decisions on what they can afford."

But at auctions across the nation, horses are fetching an ever-dwindling price. And with private horse rescues and government facilities often too full to take on

new animals, some people have turned to abandoning their animals.

In Elsinore, Nellie Mooney has her hands full with three horses at her small animal rescue. Recently, she took on another horse after the animal was found "severely emaciated" in a field.

"The gentleman left and totally forgot about it," Mooney said. "Horses are more or less throwaway items right now. I hate to even say this. ... It's just the economy."

With about 50 horses and mules at Best Friends Animal Rescue in Kanab, Jen Reid said there has always been a waiting list for people wanting to unload their horses.

"Horses are a luxury in this day and age," she said. "Hopefully people don't wait until its absolutely dire" to find someone to care for their animals.

More and more, however, domestic horses are being set free in the wild, where the animals often starve because they are unable to provide for themselves, said Gus Warr, head of the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse and burro program.

"Over the last year, we've definitely seen an increase," he said. "Whether they don't want to take them to auction, or they can't, we've found horses around Cedar City, west of Delta, in Tooele County."

While some horses are aggressive enough to survive with a wild band, many domestic horses die in the wild because they cannot find water or food.

Thursday, an abandoned horse was found wandering on BLM land in Box Elder County. That means one more animal is headed for a federal holding facility that is limited on space, Warr said.