Released on: March 22, 2008, 4:42 am

Press Release Author: Sara Gruen

Industry: Agriculture

Press Release Summary: The Hay Fund Needs Your Help!

Press Release Body: 3/14/08

Water for Elephants, Hay for Horses
By Sara Gruen

Last November, I needed to stock my barn with hay for my horses and goat. This was
my first time shopping for hay in North Carolina, and I was stunned to discover that
local hay prices were almost triple what I had paid in Illinois. It turns out to be
a simple question of supply and demand: last summer's drought destroyed pasture and
hay fields over large areas of the southern states. I was able to get the hay I
needed that time, but three weeks ago, I was not so lucky. I wanted a hundred bales,
but the dealer would only sell me twenty-five. She had to take care of her
established customers first. And then there was the price: It was more than four
times what I was used to paying.

One way or another I'll get hay for my own horses, but I realized this was a symptom
of a much larger problem. I had seen some articles in papers and heard rumblings
among horse groups, but because of my own experience, I started paying closer
attention.

What I discovered horrified me. With their owners unable to feed them, starving
horses in drought-stricken parts of the country are simply being turned loose on
back roads or in National Parks, or sent to "Saturday Night Specials"-auctions that
in most cases lead to horrible deaths in unregulated Mexican slaughterhouses. Equine
rescue organizations are overwhelmed, and forced to turn away needy horses for the
same reason the owners are trying to give them up: they have nothing to feed them.

A lifelong animal lover, I knew I had to do something. I was not alone. Within a
matter of days I had joined up with fellow novelist Beth Helms (author of the
newly-released Dervishes), and Dana Katselas, a screenwriter and producer, both of
whom own horses and had independently decided they also needed to do something. And
so, with the help of a handful of dedicated veterinarians at the Fairfield Equine
Clinic in Connecticut, the Hay Fund was born.

It was kismet. We wanted on-the-ground relief immediately, and we got it. Within
days we had a thousand bales of compressed hay on a big rig on its way to a horse
rescue in Tennessee. In subsequent weeks, we sent another thousand bales out-500 to
a horse rescue in Georgia, and 500 to be distributed by the Kentucky Horse Council.
Dana wheels and deals with hay brokers on our behalf, and as a result we end up with
good quality hay at the best possible price. The response to our efforts has been
wonderful, from the brokers to the truck drivers to the volunteers at the other end
who unload the hay.

Knowing help was on its way, our first recipient was able to take in additional
horses she would otherwise have had to turn away. Mary Hord of the Almost Home Horse
Rescue says, "I had a video playing in my head of the day that big rig was going to
pull in with all that hay. I can\'t tell you how it helps my heart to know there are
folks who are trying to help."

Lori Yonts, of Sunkissed Acres Rescue and Retirement, which recently took in 44
relinquished horses, says that without the Hay Fund's help "we would not have gotten
through this crisis."

For now, the need continues. Relief will come with the spring-and even then, only if
the spring is accompanied by rain.

We are a handful of people working with laptops and telephones. We have no overhead
other than what PayPal charges us. Every cent donated goes to the purchase and
delivery of hay to those areas in greatest need.

If you would like to contribute to the Hay Fund (all donations are tax deductible),
or simply read more about it, please visit www.fairfieldequine.com.

. . .

Sara Gruen is the NYT #1 bestselling author of Water for Elephants, Riding Lessons,
Flying Changes, and the upcoming Ape House (Spiegel & Grau, 2009).


Web Site: http://www.saragruen.com

Contact Details: Contact Sara Gruen through her agent. Information can be found on
her website.