Hi, Paul! If you have your own barn, paddock and pasture, keeping horses is not really much more expensive than keeping any other pet. They do eat a lot, but horse feed is cheaper than dog food! Adoption fees range from $500 - $1000 or even more, depending on the amount of vet fees the rescue group had to spend on each horse.

Once you're done with your house, if you're interested, my wife and I can take you to the rescue center, and help you out to get you started. My first love is dogs, but I really love horses, too! They're wonderful animals, and can be very loyal friends!

Foundering is a disease that effects the feet. It can be caused by several things, such as excessive walking on a hard surface, but it's usually caused by a horses eating excessive protein in a short period of time, such as a horse getting into a grain bin, or a horse eating excessive new growth grass in the sping. Early new growth grass has a great deal of protein, and some horses can't handle it. The excess protein can cause a metabolic problem that manifests itself in the feet. The feet become hot to the touch, and the condition can cause the coffin bone, which is just abouve the hoof, to actually rotate, and deform the whole foot. In extreme cases the hoof can even come off! Horses usually recover, but other conditons, such as Cushings Disease (a tumor on the adrenal gland) can cause complications that can be fatal. Once a horse founders, you always have to be on the watch to prevent its recurrence.

OK, Richard, did I explain that right?