Horse remorse

As many a remorseful horse owner learns too late, the animals aren't just lawn adornments - they tend to represent a considerable investment of time and money. On average, horses need about 1.5 percent of their body's weight in food each day, on top of 5 to 10 gallons of water. Throw in a visit from the farrier (for hoof care) every six weeks, a dentist appointment each year and essentials such as salt licks, dewormer, supplements and shoes, and the cost to keep a horse in acceptable health for a year ends up at about $1,500. Then multiply that by 30, the number of years in a typical horse's life. Or you could multiply it by 50, the number of horses Diane McCracken and her small staff of volunteers care for at the Spring Creek Horse Rescue, the only rescue of its kind in La Plata County. A convergence of factors has helped dim Spring Creek's outlook, along with the fates of many unwanted horses in the U.S. Federal legislation banning horse slaughter passed in 2007, and has so far yielded a glut of older and infirm horses that might otherwise have become entrée meat for Europeans and others who hold no taboo against eating horse. Restrictions against interstate travel and the transportation of horses across the Canadian and Mexican borders, where horse slaughter is still permitted, have made the process more clandestine and the conditions for transported horses unmonitored. And with a recession winnowing the finances of most Americans, some horse owners are faced with a dilemma, said Jon Patla, director of the La Plata County Humane Society's Animal Protection unit...DurangoHeraldNews