METHUEN — Horses are the latest victims of the economy's downward trot.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has had an influx of horses surrendered to their facility at Nevins Farm. The horses are coming from owners who can no longer afford the expensive animals, said Heather Robertson, community outreach coordinator at the facility.
"They're telling us outright that they literally cannot afford to care for the animal anymore, or their home has been foreclosed on," she said.
Horse owners are facing rising costs of farriers, hay, grain and veterinary services, combined with the financial problems hitting everybody else right now, according to Robertson.
This year, the farm has taken in 35 horses. It took in 21 horses throughout all of last year, and those animals joined the horses already in the facility's care from previous years.
An equine named Preston was adopted Monday, so the society now has 29 horses in its care, including four in foster homes, Robertson said.
The MSPCA is getting saddled with the same costs individual horse owners are facing. Each horse costs them $320 per month, on average, which has brought the society's funding to a dangerously low level, they said.
People spend an average of $4,000 per year to have a horse, said Melissa Ghareeb, manager of the Equine and Farm Animal Center at Nevins Farm.
Most horse owners who are giving up the beloved creatures have owned them for years. The majority of the horses have been well cared for, Ghareeb said.
"In most cases they're in decent shape," she said. "Most of the people haven't been neglecting their horses, it's just that they can no longer afford to care for them."
The barn is overly crowded as a result of the influx, causing staff to house some in pens where horses would typically go during the day, Ghareeb said.
MSPCA staff are asking the public for donations to help them care for and provide medical treatment to the horses. The shelter has Ashton's Fund, which is named in honor of a young foal that arrived at Nevins Farm in 2006, requiring expensive surgery.
Contributions to Ashton's Fund may be donated online at www.mspca.org/nevins or mailed to the MSPCA's Equine Center, 400 Broadway, Methuen, MA 01844, attention Ashton's Fund.
People can also adopt horses, which involves a thorough screening process and can cost between $600 and $4,000, Robertson said.
