Palatine Stables is seeking permission to build its first hay barn that would expand the amount of feed available to serve horses living on the property and provide other benefits.

Horses have been the victims in multiple animal abuse cases in the Valley in recent weeks. All across the Valley, horse owners are struggling to feed their stock because of the rising cost of hay.

Equine charities are the latest to face massive feed bills due to poor crops of hay ... The Horse Trust’s hay bill nears £25,000 Horse & Hound 1 October, 2010 17:44.

The feed and a several loads of hay are among the first to be donated for the horses, some of them starving. The feed will be given only to the neediest horses under a veterinarian's supervision ...

In perfect conditions — where the hay has been baled at less than 12% moisture and is very dry — it is safe to feed straight away, but this isn’t often the case, as Tim Moxon of TM Agri ...