The slowing economy means many people are cutting corners; in some cases, it leads to heartbreaking results.

Something that's becoming more common is the neglect of horses. They're expensive to keep, and tough to sell. Because of that, many horses are going hungry, and in some cases, literally starving to death.

Take Wrangler, for example: his ideal weight would be about 900 pounds, but right now, he's closer to 600.

"There are always ones that still shock me when they come in, just wondering how they've survived this long in the condition they're in," said Jennifer Malpass, regional director for the Equine Rescue League, a group that takes in neglected horses and tries to rehabilitate them.

The group has been busy lately.

They used to take in about 100 horses per year, now, that number has more than doubled.

"Last year it was the drought. This part of 2008 it's the economy," said Malpass. "People are just not able to keep up with the care of their horses as well as they could."

Malpass says the horse trade has mirrored the economy, and at the same time, hay prices have doubled and feed prices have gone up as well.

"If they only have a couple, they can usually do OK in budgeting in those costs," said Malpass. "If they have more than that -- 5, 10, 15, those costs just explode."

Malpass' family says they weren't sure what to think when she got involved with the Equine Rescue League four years ago, but they're used to it now.

"It's really sad that people have neglected them," said her daughter, Lexi. "But it ends up as a happy ending for most of them, and it feels really good to help them."

Some of these cases are pretty severe. Princess, a foal who's recovering at Malpass' barn, had actually been left for dead in a ditch when she and her mother, Queen, were rescued.

"We were worried she wouldn't take the baby back, but she did," said Malpass.

She says watching the mother-daughter pair run around her front yard makes it all worth while.

The Equine Rescue League relies on donations, which is making things tough; they have more horses to care for, and donations have slowed down with the economy.

To help out, visit their website here: http://www.userltriangle.org/