(MCT) — The lush green pastures that usually provide a summer's worth of food for Robin Broughton's horses have dried up, leaving only nubs of parched grass that poke out of the cracked earth. Her riding arena is so dry and dusty that it has lured a large snapping turtle to lay eggs there.

But the drought's harshest impact on many horse owners is the hefty cost of hay, which in some areas has become a scarce commodity because of the severe dry weather.