MISSOULA - “Without hay, we just can’t care for the horses that we’ve dedicated our entire sanctuary to,” stated River Pines Board Member Hannah Vasquez.
The sanctuary is over capacity with the number of horses in their care.
Founder Shari Montana told MTN, “57 horses [are] on our waiting list. And we’re only supposed to have 20 and we’re at 24.”
Their hay shed is running low due to increasing costs.
“Normally it would hold about 30 to 35 tons of hay and right now I think there are three bales in there, Montana said, noting that the horses need about five to seven tons of hay each per year.
Montana continued, “Since before COVID, we were paying about $175 to $200 per ton, and this year, well, I just paid $300 for 35 tons — 300 a ton.”
If they can’t raise enough money for hay, then the sanctuary says they will have to make some tough decisions.
“If we can’t raise enough money for hay this year then we’ll have to think about euthanizing some of our older horses or figure out a way to make sure they get the care they deserve," Vasquez explained.
However, if funds are raised, Vasquez said, “I think as a board we’ve all talked about then being able to give back to the community. And be able to supplement the private horse owners who can’t afford to care for their horses.”
To donate to the River Pines hay fund visit their Go Fund Me.
Additionally, River Pines is currently helping rehabilitate a formerly malnourished miniature horse.
“The first picture I got was from one of my board members who saw his photo on Facebook. I just started crying and I said we’ll take him," Montana said sadly.
Sunny, a 20 year old miniature pony came to River Pines Horse Sanctuary in Missoula after being on the brink of death.
“The people who owned him were in dementia and Alzheimer's and didn’t remember they had animals,” Montana explained.
Sunny went months without food and water and survived by eating snow.
When neighbors discovered him, Montana said, “They found this little guy next to a dead horse and he was all kind of snuggled up.”
Sunny was going to sleep every night in feces next to a dead horse. He was matted. His hooves were grown out so much that he could barely walk.
Montana held her fingers up in a small circle, " when they found him, his waist in front of his hips was just big enough to put your fingers around. And he was already in organ shut down.”
A woman fostered Sunny for a few months and helped with his recovery. Then he came to Shari Montana and River Pines.
“He’s already probably gained 50 pounds here, at least, in 6 weeks,” Montana happily noted.
Montana says Sunny is full of heart and looking forward to when he is back to full strength.
