We hear quite a lot about shelter pets in need—in fact, June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. And we’ve all been drilled about how important it is to have your pets spayed and neutered, to adopt your dog or cat from an animal shelter rather than purchasing it, and how to care for our furry friends properly. But cats and dogs aren’t the only shelter animals in need of some TLC these days.

We don’t often think about horses in shelters. When you think of a horse, you think of a massive, gorgeous creature galloping freely through a field, likely loved and cherished by his or her owner. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

With the economic downturn combined with a rise in the price of hay, grain, medical care and boarding, caring for a horse simply isn’t within people’s budgets as much as it once was.

Some horse owners also claim that the 2006 federal law against selling horses for slaughter (and human consumption) in the U.S. has made it harder to pay for their horses. Many owners expect to sell their horses to the meat market at the end of the horses’ lives, making a few hundred dollars to curb expenses like euthanasia and remains disposal.

(I would think that real horse lovers, naturally, would support the bill. How many people would sell their dogs, after all, to be eaten rather than have them euthanized or buried in the backyard?)

Many older horses requiring medical care that owners can no longer afford are ending up at horse rescue operations, like the Shadarobah Horse Rescue in Indiana. There have been 42 horses sent to horse rescues in the state so far this year already—compared to 19 last year.

Another problem is overbreeding. Many people who can’t afford horses to begin with breed them in hopes of selling them. When the new foals don’t sell, strapped-for-cash breeders are then left with even more mouths to feed—something they couldn’t afford to do in the first place.

Vuanetta Barnhill, founder of the Chocolate Box Horse Rescue, says, “The world is full of unwanted horses right now because of the economy… Don’t breed, don’t breed, don’t breed! If you can’t afford one horse, don’t make more you don’t have homes for.”

If you’re looking for a horse for your family to enjoy as a pet, please consider adopting a horse from a rescue operation. Any donations of time, money or resources are also helpful for these magnificent creatures in need.