The Humane Society of Louisiana says the organization is seeing a rise in horse abuse cases throughout the state.  Director of the organization, Jeff Dorson, said rarely does a day go by the animal protection group doesn’t get a call about one or more horses being mistreated, estimating they deal with at least a thousand cases annually.

“Each case takes an enormous amount of resources, manpower, veterinary care, a lot of hours trying to refeed these horses.  They are actually delicate creatures,” said Dorson.

Dorson said part of the issue is an endless cycle from the horse racing industry with an oversupply of horses being turned over to new owners without the proper credentials to care for the animals.

“They unload a lot of surplus racehorses all the time at these auction barns.  So there is forever a pipeline going to Mexico and Canada for slaughter and individuals who think they want one or two,” said Dorson.

Dorson says horse ownership can be overwhelming to those that don’t know what they are getting into.

“Don’t own a horse unless you have $2000, at minimum, to spare.  Plus lots of time for grooming, health maintenance, walking, feeding, and cleaning the stalls.  We’re seeing just a lot of people failing to give basic maintenance for horses,” said Dorson.

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