Thats quite a conservative figure isn't it? And whom will be providing the large animal care anyways? Dr. Burris isn't quite up to doing so, and that otherwise entails hiring another vet with large animal skills and experience. A trailer for transport is also required for them,is it not? Think the numbers are being skewed a bit here. Besides, not one single dog/cat/squirrel has lasted a year at the shelter unless it's personally being cared for by staff at their own risk and investment. Usual lifespan at the shelter is under 30 days, most times around five days. Care for them runs around $2.00 a day if that ( most food is donations, and cleaning is done by inmates), and those requiring ANY medical care get the needle to the heart and plastic trash bag treatment. I think a disservice to those horses is also being done with a acre for their use. I own an acre lot, and I surely cannot put more than 3 animals in that allotment of space! It was mentioned around 4-6 horses per month are taken in, averaging a stay of 45-60 days each. That says to me the costs for them would amount to $800. per month for four without major medical expenses, or $28,800 for a year for an average of four per month. Wonder if that is also included in budget discussions. $28K sure feeds and spays a lot of smaller animals.
-wyatt1sc
I was speaking of the cost of having a healthy horse in your back yard:
For a 1000 pound horse, no pasture:
2% of body weight of hay per day = 20 lbs/day = 146 50lb bales/year @ $7/bale = $1,022/year
6 lbs complete feed/day = 44 50lb bags/year @ $15/bag = $660/year
1 dewormer/quarter @ $10 each = $40/year
Spring innoculations + farm call = $165
Fall innoculations + farm call + teeth floating = $265
Farrier every 6 weeks @ $35/visit = $315/year
Total: $2,467/year
If you have pasture, you can reduce feed and eliminate hay during the summer, but you have to fertilize and mow, so it's really a wash.
So, no, it's not a conservative estimate.
As to PEARL's agreement with the Sheriff's department, I don't know. I think Ms. Walukewicz has said that PEARL will continue to pay all the expenses as they have in the past, and the volunteers will continue to care for the horses as they have in the past.
I also believe Ms. Walukewicz said that PEARL had cared for 34 horses over 18 months or so, and not all of those came from Anderson County.
You are correct that small paddocks are not optimal for a horse to live in, but it would only be until the vet certified that the horse is disease and parasite free. A coggins test takes 10 days to get the results; a complete deworming regimen takes a minimum of 3 weeks, so, assuming all goes well, in 4 weeks a horse can then be moved to a foster home.
In addition, you can kill a starved horse by giving it access to a pasture full of grass; refeeding must be done in small increments several times a day. A small paddock with little or no grass is perfect for this.
As I said before, there currently are more adoptive homes for horses than there are horses to adopt, so it's not necessary to euthanize them except for behavior or health issues.
Who knows what the future will hold, however.... Time Magazine, May 28, 2008: An Epidemic of Abandoned Horses.
