Economic downturn leaves horses abandoned Tough economic times, the high price of hay, a glut of horses and a lack of market for the animals are all reasons for the upsurge in horses being neglected and abandoned. In a single incident last month in Fremont County, one horse had to be killed and three others were sent to an animal rescue center due to malnutrition and neglect. At the time, Fremont County Sheriff Ralph Davis told Standard Journal reporter Joseph Law that his office understands the plight of some animal owners caught in an economic crunch because of the high price of hay. But he said it's reasonable to expect people to feed and take care of their animals. In Lemhi County, the Bureau of Land Management recently had a report of a private party dumping horses' remains on public land. A client in Utah told Sugar City horse dealer Max Palmer that horses have been found abandoned at churches on Sunday morning in his Utah community. And in Nevada, Palmer's colleagues have seen horses still with halters on abandoned to run with wild herds on public land. For horse owners feeling an economic crunch who want to sell, the options are slim. And selling old, unbreakable, unusable and disabled horses, an option once available to horse owners, is closed. All horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. have been closed. While slaughterhouses that supply horsemeat to European and Asian markets still are operating in Canada and Mexico, the cost of shipping the horses to slaughter is more than the price people get for the horses -- if there is a market at all....Thank the animal rights industry and the US Congress.