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In an ideal world, everything is perfect – no poverty, war, terrorism, famine or disease; no child abuse, domestic violence or rape. In an ideal world there are no neglected, abused or abandoned animals. Unfortunately, this world exists only in our dreams. Unwanted horses, about 100,000 annually in the United States, include every discipline and sport, from backyards and pleasure riders to OTTBs to show hunters and jumpers past their prime to abandoned and/or starvation cases. They pose a huge problem: quite simply, there are not enough adoptive homes to take them all in, and many are in such bad shape they can’t be saved. Too many horses are suffering more hardship and deprivation than horse lovers care to admit.

During the best of economies, it can be challenging to meet the maintenance expenses incurred by healthy equids, let alone those with ailments, soundness issues, and special needs. Animal welfare proponents are seriously concerned about the fate of unwanted horses. From a livestock perspective, they become a liability when age, injuries or illness prevent them from fulflling their job descriptions.

The ideal scenario, of course is re-homing, but even that isn’t always in a horse’s best interests. Yes, the responsible choice is euthanasia if a pasture-potato situation can’t be secured. But to an already-struggling horse owner, even calling in a vet to do the deed is expensive. Costs average from $150 to $350, more with a barn call fee. Then you have to do something with the remains. This is complicated by the high dose of concentrated barbiturate in the lethal injection, which can be administered only by a vet. The remains become an environmental hazard if buried or composted near a source of water and can’t be fed safely to carnivores in zoos or in the wild.

The economy has resulted in dire consequences for middle class people who own the majority of the nearly 10 million equines in the US. More fnd themselves facing diffcult decisions about whether to pay the rent or mortgage and feed the kids or the horses. It isn’t ideal; it’s the current reality. Horses are actually livestock, but now that they’re more widely regarded as companion animals, the issue of unwanted horses gets agitated by emotion and anthropomorphized personal beliefs.

The recession’s impact on many equine rescues and retirement farms has been devastating. Many haven’t the money or the staff to take care of the animals.

Hilleary Bogley founded the Middleburg Humane Foundation, a farm-based, small and large animal shelter that specializes in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused, neglected and at-risk animals. MHF, a 501(c)3 nonproft organization, relies on fundraisers and private donations which are 100% tax deductible. All funds go directly into the animals and programs, which include companion animal adoption, equine rescue, feral cat population control, and low cost spay & neuter assistance. Bogley, a licensed vet

tech and court-appointed Humane Investigator for two Virginia counties with 23 years in animal welfare, leads a small core staff and many volunteers.

“We’ve gone from an average of 20 horses a year in our program for adoption to now we have 57 horses,” says Bogley. “For the frst 15 years of MHF we never had more than 20 horses, unless we had a large seizure, but we would usually be able to place them pretty quickly. Horse adoptions are way, way down: because of the economy, and the fact that there is no longer much value in horses, people can’t afford to take on more horses. A lot of equine rescue facilities are closing, because they can’t keep up and they’re frustrated and overwhelmed – it’s just never-ending.”

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