More horses in New Hampshire and Maine are ending up in need of rescue and rehabilitation as more family budgets buckle in the struggling economy.

"We get calls, to be honest, almost on a daily basis from people who can't afford their horses and want to relinquish them," said Beverley Hanson, executive director of the Equine Protection of North America farm in Epping.

She said the facility is at capacity with 13 horses that have experienced different degrees of neglect, including malnourishment, or severe medical problems.

The nonprofit relies exclusively on donations, and donations are down, Hanson said.

She estimated it costs $80,000 annually to care for the horses and support the farm, and "we are always short," she added.

Meanwhile, the farm's barn needs a new roof, fences need repair and someone is needed to mow overgrown grass. Horses also need veterinary care that cost thousands of dollars, Hanson said.

One horse, "Ice Man," is blind and required eye surgery to give him two prosthetic eyes. Another horse, "Blessed," needed cheek bone surgeries so a cyst could be removed from his sinus, she said.

"Joy" had been so abused that she lost 400 pounds, Hanson said. Thanks to the work of EPONA's 20 volunteers, Joy weighs 900 pounds now, but no longer can be ridden because she suffered neurological damage.

"She is very sensitive to touch. But she is a very sweet horse," Hanson said.

Hanson doesn't blame horse owners who abandon animals after they experience tough times during the economic downturn.

"Some people go into it with the right intentions," she said. "But life happens to people. People lose their jobs, they lose their house, and they can't do it."

But as difficult as it is to care for these horses, Hanson and volunteers like Sarah Curley, a 20-year-old student from Dover, say it's very rewarding.

Hanson said she fondly remembers "Charlie," a large draft horse who was 30 and headed for slaughter in Canada.

"We took Charlie, but unfortunately he passed away this spring," Hanson said.

She recalled that Charlie was happy and loved by all the volunteers. Before he was rescued, Charlie was living in a junk yard. Charlie enjoyed his last few months at EPONA and loved being around other horses, she said.

Curley describes her volunteer work as "kissing, hugging, grooming." She started working at the farm two years ago and was nervous.

Now, she said, "no horse phases me."

Hanson said some horses they rehabilitate could make great "paddock pals" if a horse owner needs another animal to keep riding horses company.

But they are hard to place because most people want horses they can ride, she said.

Maine and New Hampshire agriculture officials say the economic downturn is putting a great deal of pressure on state and nonprofit horse rescue operations to care for a growing number of horses.

Lorraine Merrill, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, said the situation is worsening.

"The real challenge is that horses have lost their value and people can't give them away," she said. "Nationally, it has continued to get worse."

She said the option of sending horses to slaughter also has all but dried up in the U.S. because animal rights advocates succeeded in getting Congress to outlaw the practice.

Some owners have chosen to send their unwanted horses to Mexico or Canada for slaughter, but that option also may disappear if Congress closes that window, she said.

Norma Worley of the Maine State Animal Welfare Department said Maine also is seeing a rise in the number of horses that need to be rescued.

"We certainly are seeing an increase in complaints of malnourished horses, and it certainly seems to be tied to the economy," she said.

Janet Tuttle, owner of Rockin' 7 Equine Rescue in Lisbon Falls, Maine, said she has 33 horses and can't accommodate any more.

"I've turned away 35 of them in the last two months," Tuttle said.

To care for the horses, she said she pays $567 per week for grain and needs 100 bales of hay per week, which costs $3.25 per bale. She also pays another $300 per month for sawdust and wood shavings for each horse's stall.

Like EPONA in Epping, Tuttle said she needs $85,000 to $90,000 in donations to run the farm and cover veterinary bills. Donations are also down, which may jeopardize the nonprofit's survival.

"I am definitely, definitely scared this year," she said. "This is the worst year I've ever experienced."

She has owned the farm for 35 years and transformed it into a nonprofit horse rescue in 1993.

"I think it's going to take a long time for this to get better," she said.

Cook/Citizen photo Beverly Hanson, executive director of Equine Protection of North America in Epping, said Ginger, a 27-year-old horse, used to live with a family in southern New Hampshire. The family lost its home and farm and no could longer afford to care for the horse.

Beverly Hanson, executive director of Equine Protection of North America in Epping, said "Ice Man" had to have his eyes surgically removed and replaced with prosthetics. He is one of 13 horses her organization cares for. Cook/Citizen photo