BluegrassForeclosure.com

It’s just not houses being affected here in Kentucky, but horses as well.  Many horses are financed through lending and other means, just like taking a mortgage out on a house.  Now many banks are calling in the notes on the horses.

From the BloodHorse.com: “Financial institutions long thought of as allies of the state’s $4-billion equine industry have been forced to become less friendly to clients already struggling against oppressive economic dynamics.

Lending programs from banks servicing the historic equine industry of Central Kentucky have plummeted by 60% in the last two years, according to David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, from an estimated $1 billion in 2007 to a current level of about $400 million. . . .

[B]anks are becoming increasingly spooked by the always-volatile Thoroughbred industry, which has recently seen a 40% to 50% decline in auction sale prices—a key for loan collateral appraisal value. Adding to banks’ wariness is not only the length of time it takes for a breeder to yield a sales result from a mating, but possible pitfalls along the way that can hurt a foal’s value.