Benefits

Group struggles to aid needy horses

From the Boston Globe
By Meghan E. Irons
Published September 2, 2009

METHUEN – Shorty was in bad shape when he arrived at Nevins Farm last month. Malnourished and lethargic, the 2-year-old colt was so thin that his ribs and hip bones showed and his stomach was filled with parasites. He’s doing a little better now, but he has a long way to go. “It will take months to get him back to where he should be,’’ said Melissa Ghareeb, manager of Nevins Farm, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ only farm for barnyard animals.

The farm, already struggling to handle the animals in its care, is on course to receive a record number of horses this year. Thirty-seven have already been given to the MSPCA and the owners of eight others are scheduled to drop their horses off within the next few weeks. Officials say that Shorty – a quarterhorse-Welsh pony mix – and the others are victims of a tough economy that has led people to lose jobs and income and their ability to care for pets, especially ones so expensive to maintain.

Farm officials are scrambling to find foster or adoptive homes for the horses. To take on a horse, individuals must have more than an acre of property, a water source, and qualifications to help the animals, many of them in need rehabilitation and medical care. Individuals can also donate funds for medical care or participate in the equine center’s fund-raising events, including a beach ride Oct. 4.

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