Acacia farm, spread over 20 acres of pastureland in the Snoqualmie River Valley, is home to eight horses with names like Huck, Titan, Maggy and Jam. On any given day, the horses can be seen grazing in open meadows or galloping about with a young rider at the reins.

Lisa Eppley, who has owned Acacia Farm for nearly seven years, has taught girls how to ride in the English style for more than 20. She's been riding since her parents bought her a pony named Ask Me when she was 6.

"I enjoy being able to share my passion for horses with little girls who feel the same way about them as I do," says Eppley.

And though she loves the business of teaching horsemanship to the young, it gets harder each year for her to justify staying in the business. "I have yet to get into the black with the farm," she says. "We're probably close to breaking even, but I struggle with it all the time. I ask myself if it makes sense to keep doing what I'm doing and oftentimes, I say no."

She's not alone. While the owners of the Emerald Downs Thoroughbred racetrack may give the impression that there's big bucks in the equine business, for the most part, it is not "a business where you can get rich," Eppley says.

AN EXPENSIVE BUSINESS

It's not that there aren't enough horses in Washington to make the industry viable. According to a study by the Washington, D.C.-based American Horse Council, there were just under 250,000 equine citizens in this state at the end of 2004, making the Evergreen State the 11th most horse-populated state in the country. Nationwide, there were 9.2 million horses four years ago.

Washington is home to a number of horse-related events. There are almost 80 U.S. Equestrian Federation-sanctioned events 40 WashingtonCEO 5.08 slated for this year. The Professional Western Rodeo Association annually hosts an average of 25 rodeos in the state and approves about 15 others.

Washington is home to several riding disciplines, each with its own association and scheduled events. There's the Northwest Reined Cowhorse Association and the Washington State Horsemen, not to mention numerous 4-H chapters and more.

So, if supply isn't the problem and demand isn't the problem, what exactly is the problem? Mainly, it's the rising cost of hay, diesel fuel, property taxes, liability insurance and even farrier fees that's making life difficult for the Puget Sound region's breeders, riding teachers and equine equipment shops.

Tina Diller, owner of Malia Arabians & Warmbloods, says the cost of alfalfa hay has gone from $6 per bale eight years ago to nearly $13 per bale now. That may not seem like a lot of money to some, but when you have 64 hungry horses on your farm going through 9 tons of alfalfa every 10 days, it adds up.

"Right now, the farm is in the red," says Diller, who has been breeding Arabian horses (think The Black Stallion) for 42 years. She and her husband own a 100-acre farm in Graham that used to yield 9,600 bales of hay per year. Diller used to sell half of that hay for additional income, but a group of four-legged interlopers has put a huge dent in that strategy.

"There's a big herd of elk here near our property that's eating about half of our hay," she says.

Then there's the rising cost of farrier fees. Farriers are blacksmiths that make and attach horseshoes. Diller estimates that her horses need their hooves trimmed every six to eight weeks, even if they're not being ridden. With a set of shoes costing $75 and the fee to nail them to a horse's feet $22.50, Eppley's farrier bills run $8,000 each year for her eight horses. Diller has 64.