So Wrong In So Many Ways

I read a story in today's paper about a sad situation (that happens way too many times around here to make me comfortable).  That story speaks to something broken in today's world.  Thus I chose Fracture as today's fractal (mainly because it seemed like the best choice.)  Now, on with the commentary.
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I live next door to "Horsetown USA" (aka Norco CA.--it says so on their web site) so there are obviously a lot of horses and horse stories here.  It also means, thanks to the local economic downturn that there are a lot of horse problems.  Most of them don't make a ripple in the press but one story hit today's Press Enterprise and it nearly broke my heart  Thanks to a generous family the story has a happy ending but it may well break your heart when you hear it.
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A friend told Beatriz Andert of Perris CA about a horse that was trapped in a pen on a foreclosed property.  She and her father took the poor creature some water and hay then went on to see what else they could do.  In the end they were able to contact a bank officer (who knew the horse was on the property) that allowed them to take the horse.  Sadie (the horse) was blind (not sure if that was a result of the neglect--the article wasn't clear), nearly crippled and literally starving to death.  Kudos and a heartfelt "thank you" to the Andert family for taking the horse in and nursing her back to health.
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Now the parts I can't figure out who is the most wrong and who is the most to blame.  Some of the blame has to fall on the family who had the horse: true, they were having hard times (and I do feel for them) but they chose to take on a living being.  That means they had certain obligations to the critter.  A lot more blame could be heaped on the bank people who KNEW an abandoned horse was on the property yet chose to do nothing.  That's just sick--but, then again, I suppose they can hide behind the fact that there are laws in place to "protect" the property (i.e. you can be prosecuted--at least here in California--for removing animals from property belonging to someone else) but there is still something horribly wrong with an individual who would knowingly leave an animal to STARVE.  Add to it the fact that it costs hundreds of dollars to euthanize and dispose of a horse body (and when you are financially strapped that's a lot of cash).  Last, but certainly not least, the last three horse slaughterhouses in the United States were closed in 2007 so that took away the last easy way to get rid of an unwanted or sick equine.  (Mind you, I'm not in favor of slaughtering animals but when it comes down to abandoning a horse to starve slowly or a quick death I think the choice is obvious.)
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Yes, there are horse rescue operations out there but they are few and far between.  Rescuing dogs and cats are hard enough (believe me I know) but keeping horses is MUCH more expensive and requires a lot more space.  This means that when times get hard there isn't a safety net for cash-strapped horse owners and guess who ends up suffering?  Guess this means a would-be horse owner has to think long and hard before buying an animal.  What else can be done?  Honestly I don't know: I'm just glad there are people like the Anderts family with both the space and heart to take care of animals in need.
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'nuff said.