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Hay prices contributing to horse caretakers' lack of means
By Jim Warren
McClatchy Newspapers
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LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Equine groups say many factors have combined to put horse owners in a financial bind in many parts of the country this winter.

The key factor is the high price of hay, which has been rising as a result of last summer’s drought. Production was cut in half or more in many parts of Kentucky and across the southeast.

Good-quality square bales of hay, which sold for around $4 each last year, now cost $8 and up — if you can find them. (Bigger, round bales can command prices of nearly $100 each.)

Veterinarians say a horse normally needs about half a bale per day to maintain weight and strength in winter weather, so it now takes about $8 a day to feed two horses. The problem quickly becomes acute if you’re supporting a herd of 30 or 40 head. At today’s hay prices, feeding that many horses can cost almost $3,500 a month, equine officials say. That’s an expense many smaller owners are struggling to meet.

Then, there is the current national economic downturn, which has left many owners with less money to spend on their horses. At the same time, horse prices have fallen sharply, so owners are having trouble trying to sell off horses they can’t afford.

Finally, many equine officials agree, there are simply too many horses.

America’s equine population is now estimated at between 9.2 million and 9.5 million animals, and growing.

Roughly 35,000 new thoroughbred foals are registered in the United States annually. A typical year also sees about 140,000 new quarter-horse foals registered, along with 14,000 to 15,000 standardbred and about 35,000 Arabians. Of course, that doesn’t include the untold thousands of saddlebreds, Andalusians, Icelandics, Paso Finos, Hungarian Warmbloods, Morgans and other breeds that are foaled each year.

Horse groups in Minnesota are citing what they call the “hobbyhorse syndrome,” referring to affluent urbanites who bought horses for their mini country estates without fully appreciating the responsibilities involved in owning a 1,000-pound animal that’s costly to feed, takes lots of care and might live for 30 years.

“I’m sure there are some who have this romantic notion that they are going to have horses, maybe not realizing that it takes more than putting the horse in a pasture and giving it some water,” said Stacy Segal, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States. “If your hobby is skiing and you decide you don’t want to ski anymore, you can put the skis in the garage. But if your hobby is horses, you can’t just put them in the garage and forget them.”

Joe Penn, a horse and mule auctioneer, says many horses bought as pets in recent years have never been ridden or trained, and therefore are almost impossible to sell now, even if owners can’t afford to feed them anymore.

“Sometimes, I think people ought to have to pass an IQ test before they can buy a horse,” Penn said. “They make you take a test to drive a car. Why not pass a test to own a horse?”

Take a look
Director Lori Neagle visited with Sparky, who recently arrived at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center in Nicholasville, Kentucky, on Thursday, February 28, 2008. Sparky was purchased at auction by a concerned person (anonymous) with the intent of saving him from slaughter. (Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)
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