Magazine Page 1

Effects of the recession in the US

  It is unlikely that anyone will be completely unaffected by the recession. Certainly the equestrian world is already feeling the squeeze. At the one end breeders and producers are likely to face diminished markets. At the other end buyers and consumers may be met with rising costs and diminishing personal resources.
  A recent article in the Sunday New York Times paints a gloomy picture of repercussions in New York State where horse rescue centres are being flooded with animals whose owners can no longer afford their keep. Contributors to the on-line forum ClevelandBay@yahoogroups.com report some bizarre happenings: Of friends who returned to their stock trailer after a long ride to find the trailer full of strange horses. Another came home to find horses abandoned in her pastures. Read the NYT article at
http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 03/01/nyregion/ long-island/ 01Rhorses. html?scp= 3&sq=horse% 20rescue& st=cse

And in the UK

The Horse Trust has reported a fivefold increase in enquiries from owners who cannot afford to keep their horses.

March 2009