56 Abandoned Horses In Need Of Home

These days it's hard for many families to put food on the table and harder still for horse owners to feed their animals. In Marion County, 56 horses were turned over to an adoption agency on Thanksgiving weekend by families who could no longer afford to take care of them.

It once was Marion County's bread and butter, but, for some, breeding race horses has become a starving industry.

"It's getting tougher every day. The thoroughbred business is taking a kick in the teeth at the moment," horse rescuer Rosie Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez helped rescue 56 neglected horses, most of them left on a farm in Williston. Rescuers say the breeder who owned the animals apparently could no longer afford to take care of them; he abandoned them and moved out of the country.

"They can't sell them, they can't race them. They just leave them to fend for themselves, which is what happened to these guys,” Pinellas County resident Tracy Hobbs said.

Tracy Hobbs and her daughter Hannah came all the way from Pinellas County to bring a load of feed and hay.

"You drove three hours to bring this here. Why?" WFTV reporter Berndt Petersen asked.

"Because we want to help these horses that are in need," Hobbs said.

The non-profit Horse Protection Association, based in Marion County, now has custody of the animals and desperately needs food for them and foster families.

"I couldn't believe it. I told my mom, we're getting in the truck. We need to adopt some horses," one person told Eyewitness News.

Hay and feed can run $10 per day per horse. Rosie Gutierrez remembers, just a few years ago, when some of the thoroughbreds could sell for thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars each. But now they'll be lucky if they can give them away.

"It's not a matter of believing. It's a matter of reality. Unfortunately, this is the reality," Gutierrez said.

If anyone is interested in adopting a horse or would like to help the thoroughbreds, contact the Horse Protection Association of Florida.