Lake County rancher forced to sell, give away dozens of horses

<p>More than 100 fit and sassy horses once frolicked on Richard Sacks' ranch in southern Lake County.</p><p>Now, only a few remain and they won't be there much longer. The majority have been sold cheap or given away, victims of a foundering economy.</p><p>“I couldn't keep supporting it,” said Sacks, a rancher, securities trader and mining industry consultant.</p><p>He could not keep up with the costs of the horse breeding operation after his wife died last year and payment for a large consulting job failed to come through, he said.</p><p>It's a story being played out nationwide as horses increasingly are becoming a luxury many can no longer afford.</p><p>“It's a tough time frankly for all people and all animals,” said Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs for the Humane Society of the United States and a former Sonoma County resident.</p><p>Horses are being abandoned, neglected and sold, some at auctions that are frequented by dealers who ship them to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption, according to the Humane Society.</p><p>One of Sacks' former employees is seeking help feeing, training and caring for about half of his horses. Others were were sold to John Smith, a a Ukiah area man who is in the horse transportation business and has found homes for many outside of California.</p><p>Sacks bought some of the horses — warmbloods, thoroughbreds and paints — for thousands of dollars but had little chance of recouping his investment in this economy.</p><p>“There is no market to sell them,” he said.</p><p>Sacks said he decided to sell and give away the horses while they were still in good shape.</p><p>“Up until the day they were moved, they were fat and healthy,” he said.</p><p>Sacks' predicament is all too common as the recession wears on and people continue to lose their homes and jobs.</p><p>Horse rescue groups are struggling to keep up with the demand for their help.</p><p>“It's definitely escalated in the last year,” said Angie Meroshnekoff <NO1>cq,<NO>of Potter Valley, who rescues farm animals, including horses, goats, sheep and livestock dogs.</p><p>She's heard tales of horses being turned loose to fend for themselves or being tied to other people's horse trailers in hopes of finding them new homes.</p><p>Horse rescue groups have expanded their networks to seek out permanent and foster homes for homeless horses.</p><p>At Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue, Kate Sullivan works at keeping horses in their current homes by offering temporary feed assistance to owners.</p><p>She's created a “donate a bale” of hay program through area feed stores.</p><p>Information about the program is available at saferhorse.com.</p><p>Sullivan also frequents livestock auctions in an effort to keep horses from being bought by people who transport them out of the country to be slaughtered. There are no horse slaughterhouses in the U.S., and it's illegal to slaughter horses for meat in California and several others.</p><p>About 100,000 horses are hauled each year from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico, where they are slaughtered, then shipped to Europe and Asia for human consumption, according to the Humane Society.</p><p>While Sullivan and others try to intervene at auctions, their efforts often are thwarted.</p><p>So-called “kill buyers,” can outbid the would-be rescuers because the price of horse meat is high, as much as $20 a pound in France, Perry said.</p><p>The Humane Society is backing proposed legislation that would ban the slaughtering of horses for meat throughout the U.S. as well as the transportation of horses for slaughter.</p><p>Opponents say there would be fewer abandoned and unwanted horses if there were horse slaughterhouses operating in the country.</p><p>For horse owners who feel an auction is their only choice, Perry recommends they consider euthanasia, which can be expensive but for which some rescue groups offer financial aid.</p><p>But she realizes that's a tough decision.</p><p>“It's easier to send them off the auction and tell yourself it's going to be OK,” Perry said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com</p>