In the past few weeks, you may have noticed more stories about people riding their horses to work. It's a slow go, for some. Roy Snelson rides 13 miles on two horses--four hours each way--to his job as a plumber in Missouri. He told a local newspaper he saves a couple of hundred dollars every month.

For some though, the price of feed has increased faster, and more steeply, than the price of gas.  In Northern California, for example, farmers and horse owners are paying about $14.95 per 100-pound bale, up from $11.95 last year. Other feed stores report prices for small bales rising from $12 to $20.

Boarding stables have passed the costs on to their customers. However, some horses are just being abandoned. In Idaho, the Humane Society told the Idaho Statesman it receives at least a call a day from people who can no longer afford to feed their horses. The Idaho Humane Society now plans to create a statewide network of horse advocates and a fund to help families struggling to keep their horses.