Donations are pouring in for a horse sanctuary desperately low on hay but the owner said the need for more is still urgent. Free Spirit Sanctuary near Cochrane and home to horses destined for slaughter or abandonment, has just enough hay to last to the weekend. Multiple problems are to blame for this year’s woes– including an early snow fall, which resulted in both a lack of hay crops and horses entering winter feed mode earlier than usual. Founder Sandie Hucal said the sanctuary first found itself in hot water after their regular hay supplier did not produce any crops this year. As Hucal looked elsewhere for hay, she found low crop turnout across the province. The prices of the hay they find now are either up to double what she normally pays – roughly $160 per round bale compared to last year’s $80 – or else is sold quicker than she can get her hands on it. “I’m constantly looking at the Facebook feed group and the Alberta Agriculture has a website and kijiji ... you have to be sitting there. Some 50 bales came up and someone was already on their way to get them,” Hucal said. “Everybody is looking for hay so it doesn’t really matter if you’re a sanctuary. It’s first come first serve.” So far, more than $2,100 has been donated on the GoFundMe page created by Hucal, but it’s still a long way off the $10,000 goal. The sanctuary requires about 132,000 lbs of hay to make it to next summer. Depending on price, Hucal estimates this will cost between $14,000 to well over $20,000, which will have to be paid out in a lump sum. The price tag is even more troublesome this year since it has to be paid all at once where as last year, she paid each time a load was delivered. “Nobody’s (hay producers) doing holds either,” she added. In the past, Hucal had a relationship with a hay producer who would bring in several loads rather than all at once, which would give the sanctuary time to fundraise for the next load instead of paying for the whole year’s supply at once. “That’s a lot of money to come up with...Fundraising isn’t my forte,” Hucal said, though she has done a few small campaigns in the past as well as selling calendars to help supplement her budget for the feed. This year is the first for the sanctuary to be in a crisis. On top of feeding the sanctuary horses, Hucal has more animals on her home property, including seven more horses, four donkeys and several cows, goats and sheep, which are also low on hay . “It’s got to be one of the most stressful things,” Hucal said. To find out more or to donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/fss-urgent-winter-hay-fundraiser.
