Why does horse rescue cost so much?

Why does horse rescue cost so much? And why are rescues always asking for donations? These questions are both simple and complicated to answer. Simply, horses cost a lot of money to keep in general and not many people get into horse rescue because they are wealthy. So where does this simple answer become complex? Aside from the majority of people running rescues not being independently wealthy and spending all of that wealth on the horses, rescues are taking on the more expensive horses. Rescues aren't full of easy keeper, standard maintenance who are so neat in their stalls they rarely need additional bedding. Rescues are full of the horses that have been tossed away by society because they're too old, sick, too high maintenance, not "earning their keep", etc. We're taking the horses that someone has already determined is too expensive for them to want. Standard maintenance horses cost a decent amount. Now add on additional vet visits, medications, specialized diets, and intensive farrier work. It adds up. It adds up even more when it's not just one horse with this great of a need but a whole barn full. When you take on ownership of a horse, or any animal, you're taking on responsibility for their lives. Too many people view horses as an industry where the horses themselves are just a tool. Horses get cast away when they are deemed as no longer "useful", much like an old tool get thrown away and replaced with the latest model. The problem is that horses are not a tool, they are living, breathing, feeling animals. We owe them more than this. Rescues take in and take responsibility for the lives that others cast away. You failed your horse the day you discarded them. Their lives depended on you, and now they depend on us. We are here to give them the loving, safe landing they should have found with you. Yes, some horses come to us when the owner has no other options and is afraid that to bring them anywhere else, but unfortunately that is not why the majority of horses end up at a rescue. Until horse owners all take the responsibility seriously, rescues will always need to be here to take as many of the cast aways as we can. Which means we will continue to ask for donations because if everyone who reads this gave $5, that could make a huge difference in the lives of one of these wonderful horses.