Fences break, animals get spooked and trample down fences, gates get left open. Happens more often with cattle and sheep though.
We are not neccessarily just a small town. We had a population of 7,714 at the 2000 census. We then had a huge oil and gas boom in about 2006 in which we almost doubled in size, then the drilling almost slowed to a stop during the election year.
We were in Vernal over Labor Day to fish Steineker. Haven't been there since I was a kid. Couldn't believe how much it had grown.
...and it continues to grow! I have three sets of house plans on my desk that need lumber take-offs done. Plus, there will soon be a new project with 48 apts in five units. There is a new Senior Center being built, the new City offices are nearing completion, and the mortuary is building a new site, their current place has gotten to be too small.
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"Some of the greatest inventions have come by extraordinary imaginations".
With the economy the way it is, some people are just taking their horses out in the desert and dropping them off if they can't afford them anymore.
What upsets me even more is this, it is usually the families who have a horse because they "wanted one", then they outgrew their use. Or like you said, they can no longer afford to take care of them. With hay prices over $150.00 per ton, people have been cutting back where ever they will. A ton of hay doesn't last that long.
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"Some of the greatest inventions have come by extraordinary imaginations".