Number of abandoned horses increasing in NM

With expensive care, even more expensive euthanasia and a national ban on horse slaughter - the most common means in the past of unloading unwanted horses - the number of owners abandoning horses like Grace to the New Mexico desert is increasing. Now a group of animal rights activists is working to get a bill through the Legislature that would establish a permanent fund to help subsidize equine euthanasia and provide grants to licensed horse shelters to help with renovations and upkeep. "We would like to see the situation for horses improving," said Heather Ferguson, legislative director for Animal Protection of New Mexico. "But in no means do we intend to house and shelter all the unwanted horses. That simply is not a viable solution." "Basically the horse rescues are full," leaving people with few options, said New Mexico Horse Council president Rusty Cook. The number of emergency calls to the New Mexico Livestock Board tripled from 41 in 2007 to more than 134 in 2008, board Executive Director Myles Culbertson said. "Almost all have to do with abandonment and malnutrition," Culbertson said. "It is going to become a burgeoning problem. New Mexico and the West, they are all having the same problem."...Santa Fe New Mexican