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More horses abandoned, straining MSPCA

Print | Comments () Posted by Andrew Ryan, Globe Metro Desk December 22, 2010 03:24 PM

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Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals photo

Dreamer, a three-year-old Clydesdale/Paint cross breed, was brought to the MSPCA equine rescue farm in Methuen last Friday.

By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

With the New Year fast approaching, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials say they are troubled by a sharp increase in the number of horses surrendered to their Methuen facility this year.

The number of horses turned in to the MSPCA Equine Center at Nevins Farm has more than tripled in three years, said Melissa Ghareeb, barn manager at the farm. The center, which received 21 horses in 2007, has taken in 75 equines so far this year, including one today, with one or two more expected to come in next week.

The trend shows no sign of stopping in 2011, she said.

"It’s been a pretty scary increase over these years,” Ghareeb said. “Horses are much more expensive than maybe a dog or a cat can be, and when people are losing their jobs, it becomes much more difficult to keep these animals.”

The owner of four horses surrendered last week was facing foreclosure, and another could not afford the veterinary care to treat an intestinal blockage affecting her horse. That horse, a 22-year-old Norwegian Fjord named Dieter, is slowly recovering, Ghareeb said.

More than 40 of the horses that the facility has received this year have been adopted, but the center’s resources remain strained, she said.

The farm, which can only accommodate 25 to 27 horses at a time, relies on a foster care program to house many of those surrendered, Ghareeb said. Basic care for each horse, which includes medical treatment and behavioral therapy in an effort to move the animal toward adoption, hovers around $350 per month and is for the most part funded by donations, she said.

Nearly 40 horses are available for adoption at the moment.

Anyone interested in adopting a horse or making a donation should visit www.mspca.org/nevins.