Strapped ranchers abandon horses
Rescue resources are strained to the max
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Rescue resources are strained to the max. Horse rescues are asking for a leg up, as more people can no longer afford to care for their animals. Some people have even resorted to turning their horses loose in the desert to die. Video by kgun9.com
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Rescuer Judy Glore stands by one of the horses she is helping
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Reporter: Jessica Chapin
TUCSON (KGUN9- TV) - Horse rescues are asking for a leg up, as more people can no longer afford to care for their animals. Some people have even resorted to turning their horses loose in the desert to die.
Heart of Tucson horse rescue owner Judy Glore says she is doing all she can to help the growing problem. Their ranch is full, with 26 horses, and 15 more in foster care.
"There's a lot more horses that are being dumped out in the desert. We're getting lots of calls on horses. People wanting us to take the horses in," she said, "but the problem is we're full."
Part of the reason is because filling up the horses can be costly. The rescue spends $4 thousand a month, mostly on food. The price of ha bale of hay has doubled in the past year, from $9 to $18. It's expected to keep rising.
As a result, some horse owners are having trouble caring for their own, often times neglecting the problem until it's too late. The Department of Agriculture had more than 11 hundred calls for mistreated horses since January, and about 400 calls for stray horses found wandering the desert.
"A lot of them are just like skeletons. Skin and bones where people aren't feeding them," she said, "and they're waiting until the last minute to call in for help."
With strained resources, Glore says they're looking to the public for help.
"What we need is we need more funds, we need people to donate," said Glore, "If we can get people just to look and start paying attention to this because there's no place to drop these horses off. It's going to turn into a huge problem."
For more information about Heart of Tucson and opportunities to help, click here.
Heart of Tucson's next fund-raising event will be a car wash at the Circle K on Harrison and Broadway on October 29.
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