NM lawmaker seeks money to help horses

A New Mexico lawmaker is seeking state money to help care for abandoned and mistreated horses in the Four Corners area. Democratic Sen. George Munoz of Gallup has introduced legislation to appropriate $500,000 to the New Mexico Livestock Board's Horse Shelter Rescue Fund, saying the board lacks support to help feed and care for the horses it seizes. When the board takes horses, they are placed in non-profit horse shelter rescues, which rely on private donations. The money would enable the state to pay the rescue groups for taking in horses seized by the state. The request comes, he says, as drought, rising hay prices and the economy have left many horse owners unable to properly care for the their animals. AP