Are people having trouble holding on to their horses? There’s an excellent article in the Denver Post about the falling prices of horse sales at the National Western Stock Show:
http://www.denverpost.com/stockshow/ci_14205386
The writer also delves into the annual costs of owning a horse ($5,000) and the struggles of what to do with abandoned animals (many are sent to Canada and Mexico for slaughter).
Are American Cowboy readers seeing a glut of unwanted horses in their communities? Or at least seeing prices fall dramatically?
My wife and I tried to adopt a malnourished, abandoned arabian in his 20s this summer, but after fattening him up (he did not stop eating for a month), the added weight aggravated his lame leg and made it nearly impossible for him to walk. We eventually had to put him down, which his original owner did not have the money or heart to do.