GREENUP COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Many local horses are suffering due to the rising costs of care.

Veterinarians are seeing more and more horses verging on starvation, their ribs visible. Some are even dying. WSAZ NewsChannel 3 has received many e-mails describing horse horror stories, including one about an arthritic horse that asks, "Please save this horse from pain and torture."

Named "Babe," the horse lives on a Greenup County farm and is indeed suffering, according to Minnie Billups. She owns the property, but said she does not own Babe or another horse that suffers from extreme cataracts. Billups said her nephew dropped them off and she's too old and sick to deal with them.

"It's bad," she said. "They’re not my horses."

Babe has lived on the farm for more than 15 years and hobbles with a progressively worsening case of arthritis. Billups said she has been told Babe needs to be euthanized. It's a reality, however, that she can't face.

"That's God's business, and I don't think I can do that," Billups said.

The Ohio Horse Farm cares for many horses that are donated -- often by people who can no longer afford to properly care for them.

"Feed prices are going up," said Shawanda Holbrook, who is among the horse-care team at the Ohio Horse Farm.

She and Amy Hays, who also cares for horses at the Ohio Horse Farm, are very familiar with the energy and money involved in caring for horses. Veterinarian Valerie Anderson believes that's what led to the abuse of nearly 30 horses in Jackson County, Ohio, in April.

"The cost of hay is so high, plus the auctions aren't producing any money," Anderson said.

Hay prices have gone up $2 to $3 a bale since last year. In the winter, it can sometimes increase $4 or $5 a bale. Grain prices are up about 20 percent.