The Alberta horse industry last week countered suggestions that horses
are free for the taking in the province because owners are strapped for
feed and can’t afford to buy it.
“I’ve heard that (horse) prices are down, but that’s expected,” said
Les Burwash, head of Alberta Agriculture’s horse programs.
“I have not heard of people giving their horses away as opposed to
shipping them. That does not even make sense to me.”
Horses still are finding buyers, even if the prices are drastically
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lower than they were a year ago, Burwash said.
Even if the horses are sold for meat, they can still draw 50 cents a
pound.
Still, there were media reports last week of horse owners giving their
animals away rather than face the prospect of spending more than $1,000
to winter one animal.
At Priddis, Alta., Horse Haven Farms has seen a steady trickle of
animals arriving at its gates. In the past couple of weeks, five horses
have been taken in by the horse rescue centre, located west of Calgary.
“Instead of going to the packing plant, they come here,” said Clayton
Ray, a wrangler at the centre.
“We are expecting the numbers to go up as we get later in the year.”
Much of central and northern Alberta was hit hard by drought this year,
leading to a feed shortage and soaring hay prices.
There’s talk of feed being rationed and horse owners with few animals
say they are last in the pecking order when it comes to getting a share
of feed that’s available.
“I’m trying to get enough money together to go in on a load of hay with
friends,” said Jane Dresden of Ardrossan, Alta.
“I will need over $2,000 just for this load of 14 round bales. Ouch.”
Dresden said she has been offered quality horses at low prices, and
even for free, but has had to turn the offers down because she’s in the
same boat as many other horse owners. She’s afraid to get another horse
for fear she won’t be able to get feed.
But some concerns about feed shortages appeared to be subsiding at
least slightly last week due to recent rains in some of the worst
affected drought areas.
Horse breeder Lorraine Marks and her husband live near Bonnyville,
Alta., an area going through its third year of drought.
They normally keep 25 to 30 horses. Because of limited pasture and high
hay prices, they’ll likely pare down to 10 head this winter.
They already sent a two-year-old filly to market. It fetched $450 when
it would have sold for about $1,200 in a normal year.
With only 10 horses this winter, Lorraine figures it will cost about
$10,000 to buy enough feed. It’s a stressful situation. They need to
sell some horses before they can afford to buy hay.
“We’ve had some rain recently, but hay is still going to be at
astronomical prices this year.”
However, Marks remained committed last week to finding buyers for their
horses, with the auction mart being the last resort.
Another horse breeder at Andrew, Alta., said weeds were almost the only
things that grew on her pasture this year. A 60-acre hay field yielded
only nine bales, compared to the norm of about 200.
The breeder, who did not want to be named, has 24 registered Quarter
horses. She plans to keep only six this winter, and that will still
cost her a small fortune for feed.
She said she has no intention of giving horses away and is hopeful the
animals she sells will find a place other than in the meat market.
