Rising costs mean trouble for owners
Kristin Gold NCC News
The domino effect has finally reached upstate New York. Extreme drought in the South and rising fuel costs have caused major problems for the estimated 200,000 horse owners in New York. Owners can no longer afford to feed their horses as hay and grain prices have gone through the roof. Some owners are getting desperate.
Cathie Hallett of Penfield has owned horses since she was five years old. She is now having difficulty keeping her horses with the rising prices. “It’s putting a very big financial hardship on being able to maintain, not even improve the quality of the horses lives,” Hallett said. Hallett has given up three of her horses in the past month due to the rising costs. “I had to sit down and put heart aside and sit down to the business end of it,” she said. Hallett sold two horses, each worth $9,000, for a combined total of $500. That $500 was just enough to put the other horse to sleep.
Hay used to cost $1.75 per bale. Today it costs anywhere from $5 to $11. Each horse eats almost an entire 25 pound bale per day, meaning that it now costs $150 a month to feed one horse compared to $52 two years ago. Feed has also gone up. A bag used to cost $14, now it costs $17. “That’s a pretty considerable jump,” said Heather Warren, owner of Edy’s Feed and Farm Supply in Cato. “It may not seem it but when one horse will eat a bag in a week and a half, it adds up fast.”
Owners like Hallett can no longer afford the ever-increasing prices. Lollipop Humane Society in Fairport has already taken in ten horses in the past month and have had even more owners call for advice. “We’ve had 15 to 20 calls in the last month looking to turn in animals, looking for information because they know they’re on a short road with finances,” said Farm Manager Joanna Dychton.
Some finances are so short that owners are letting their horses loose in the wild. Others are simply not feeding them. Hallett admits she could never do that and said she has missed her monthly truck payment in order to feed the horses.
But, for Hallett and many others the market has to get better fast or many more horses will disappear. “What will happen, the heartwrenching decision will be I will need to put them to sleep so that they’re not starving,” she said. “Because if we don’t get better in the next year that’s what’s gonna have to happen and that will be a terribly sad day.”
Cathie Hallett of Penfield has owned horses since she was five years old. She is now having difficulty keeping her horses with the rising prices. “It’s putting a very big financial hardship on being able to maintain, not even improve the quality of the horses lives,” Hallett said. Hallett has given up three of her horses in the past month due to the rising costs. “I had to sit down and put heart aside and sit down to the business end of it,” she said. Hallett sold two horses, each worth $9,000, for a combined total of $500. That $500 was just enough to put the other horse to sleep.
Hay used to cost $1.75 per bale. Today it costs anywhere from $5 to $11. Each horse eats almost an entire 25 pound bale per day, meaning that it now costs $150 a month to feed one horse compared to $52 two years ago. Feed has also gone up. A bag used to cost $14, now it costs $17. “That’s a pretty considerable jump,” said Heather Warren, owner of Edy’s Feed and Farm Supply in Cato. “It may not seem it but when one horse will eat a bag in a week and a half, it adds up fast.”
Owners like Hallett can no longer afford the ever-increasing prices. Lollipop Humane Society in Fairport has already taken in ten horses in the past month and have had even more owners call for advice. “We’ve had 15 to 20 calls in the last month looking to turn in animals, looking for information because they know they’re on a short road with finances,” said Farm Manager Joanna Dychton.
Some finances are so short that owners are letting their horses loose in the wild. Others are simply not feeding them. Hallett admits she could never do that and said she has missed her monthly truck payment in order to feed the horses.
But, for Hallett and many others the market has to get better fast or many more horses will disappear. “What will happen, the heartwrenching decision will be I will need to put them to sleep so that they’re not starving,” she said. “Because if we don’t get better in the next year that’s what’s gonna have to happen and that will be a terribly sad day.”
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