Animals suffering as downturn drags on

Sara McCubbins of Triple Springs Horse Run takes a look at Doc, a horse she took in about a month ago that was hungry. Photo by Steve Huffman

Joanie Benson, executive director of the Horse Protection Society, said her organization has in recent years seen a great increase in the number of people looking to get rid of unwanted horses. Photo by Steve Huffman

Sara McCubbins of Triple Springs Horse Run says the number of people calling to place unwanted horses has increased dramatically in recent years because of the economic downturn. Photo by Steve Huffman

Students from Catawba College are among the many volunteers who donate their time to the N.C. Horse Protection Society. Photo by Steve Huffman

By Steve Huffman

For the Salisbury Post

It's not just humans affected by the economic downturn of recent years.

A variety of animals — horses, especially — are also suffering as their owners don't have money for their food and medical care.

The N.C. Horse Protection Society in China Grove is filled to overflowing with unwanted and neglected equines, and the number continues to grow.

"Yesterday, I got requests for six more," said Joanie Benson, the organization's executive director. "There's just too many horses out there."

This past Saturday, Girl Scouts, students from Catawba College and a variety of other volunteers assisted Benson with the feeding of the 43 horses housed in the society's barns off Miller Road in China Grove. It's filthy work, involving the cleaning of stalls and requiring that volunteers plod through a muck that's made up of a combination of mud and horse manure.

"It's a tough job," Benson admitted.

She said another three horses were scheduled to be delivered before Saturday was through. The demand to take in neglected/unwanted horses has become so great that Benson throws some tough questions of anyone wanting to rid themselves of the responsibilities that come with horse ownership.

"I ask 'em, 'You've got a cell phone, don't you? You can afford that,' " she said. "Most of 'em still have the Internet."

Benson said it's estimated that it costs $250 a month to feed and otherwise maintain a horse. In addition, the animals need acres on which to roam and graze. The cost to purchase a horse is often one of the smallest expenditures involved in owning the animal.

Not too many years ago, anyone looking to get rid of a horse could find a ready market for the beasts. That's no longer the case. Demand for horses is nowadays virtually nonexistent.

Talk with her a few minutes and Benson will share numerous stories of owners desperate to get rid of their horses.

One of the horses housed in a barn at the Horse Protection Society belonged to a family whose members were themselves on the verge of being homeless. They lived in a dilapidated trailer and fenced in a small area behind it for the horse, which someone gave them.

They didn't mistreat the horse, Benson said, they just had no idea the work and financial responsibilities that went into the undertaking.

"Isn't he cute?" Benson asked as she leaned across the boards that make up the horse's stall. "His name is Pecos. He's just a baby."

Benson said she'd love for the general population to learn that demand for horses is virtually nonexistent.

"People need to know, there is no market for them," she said. "Don't breed them."

Though the last three U.S. slaughter plants were closed in 2007, area rescuers say many horses are still sold to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. In some cases, that's the only market for horses.

Benson said she began rescuing horses in 1991 and founded the Horse Protection Society in 1999. She said she can gauge the health of the economy based on the number of calls she gets from individuals looking to get rid of horses.

"As soon as the economy turned bad, the number of phone calls we received picked up," Benson said.

Sara McCubbins of Triple Springs Horse Run off Old Mocksville Road said much the same. As the economy worsens, more and more people look to unload their horses.

McCubbins is reluctant to discuss the exact number of horses she boards, noting that many are rescued animals and she gets phone calls daily from individuals looking to give others away. She finally allowed that she boards "more than 40" on her property.

"A horse is not a pet," McCubbins said. "If you want a pet, get yourself a cat or a dog."

She said horses are service animals and need jobs in order to be healthy and happy. They also need, McCubbins said, plenty of food and medical care, plus room to exercise.

As the economy has tanked, more and more owners find themselves unable to provide horses the most basic of necessities. McCubbins cited numerous cases where she's rescued horses that she said were sick and starving, cases where the animals lacked the essentials needed to survive.

"It's progressively gone downhill as the economy has worsened," McCubbins said. "And grass doesn't do it. If you think your horse can survive on nothing but grass, you're wrong."

She said that all too often, people get into the business of raising horses for all the wrong reasons. There's a certain charm in the idea of owning a horse, McCubbins said, the belief that the animal is a holdover from the Wild West of days gone by.

McCubbins said it doesn't take long for that mystique to vanish.

"The glamour is not there," she said. "I want people to have horses, this is a dying tradition. It's a way of life. But I want them to have them for the right reasons. It takes a lot of land and money to raise a horse."

Clai Martin, director of the Rowan County Animal Shelter, agreed that the problem with horses often lies in the fact that an individual will take one or more of the animals with no real idea of the responsibility they're tackling.

"Lots of times, we just have to educate them," Martin said of calls he and his officers answer in regards to a horse that's too thin or otherwise neglected. "Sometimes, the owners truly don't understand all that's involved."

He said animal control officers take calls about neglected horses especially seriously, and said, "We shoot out there" as soon as possible, usually accompanied by a veterinarian.

Martin said if a horse is found to be especially neglected, officers will seize the animal and pay to have it boarded. He said that while prosecuting the owner for animal neglect is typically a last resort, it is done on occasion.

"That's a priority call to us," Martin said of those who phone to report a horse that's being starved or otherwise mistreated.