For now, the SugArena will not turn away horses whose owners are victims of Hurricane Rita.

At an emergency meeting Monday, Acadiana Fairgrounds board members voted to continue stabling horses for free if displaced residents from the hurricane or those without means to keep animals request it.

SugArena officials usually charge $15 per day for each stall.

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The U.S. Army started bringing in rescued horses, a few with injuries -- some tangled up in barbed wire during the storm surge -- about 10 days ago.

The financial outlay for all expenses, so far, is about $14,000, according to SugArena Director Stacey Oubre. The electricity bill is usually about $3,000 per month, but it could jump to $5,000 because of Rita.

That includes estimates of camper hookups, water fees and wood-shavings for stalls, as well as a loss of money from stall fees. Already, two events have been cancelled, the four-day SugarFest Quarter Horse Show and this Friday's SugaSheaux. The Quarter Horse Show has been rescheduled for Thanksgiving Day weekend.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency possibly will reimburse some of those and future costs, including portions of stall fees and any overtime -- more than 40 hours -- for extra employees needed during the post-Rita relief effort. Electricity would not be included, nor would lost revenues, said Iberia Parish chief administrative officer Simone Champagne.

Champagne said she sympathized with the operators of the 5-year-old facility, which is parish-owned but operates independently and without taxpayer funding.

"There could be some reimbursement," she said.

"No one wants you to go into debt. We don't want you to overextend yourselves. We want you to continue with your functions."

One of the largest events, the Acadiana Barrel Race Association Bayou Classic, is set for Nov. 5 and 6.

Champagne explained that FEMA has allowed a 34-day window to account for all expenses. By that timetable, the parish can get reimbursed 100 percent of its initial outlay, including those FEMA-approved expenses designated to the SugArena.

But local and state officials -- as well as Gov. Kathleen Blanco's office -- are trying to beseech the federal government to extend that deadline. The parish had spoken with FEMA that morning.

After the storm, the government declared the SugArena an official Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association Emergency Evacuation Shelter.

As such, SugArena officials must receive animals when possible. The SugArena is released from all legal liability for each horse, according to government guidelines.

Even without the legal obligation, Oubre said they would have helped out anyway.

"We've always prepared for it, but we've never had a need for it. It's never hit so close to home," Oubre said after the meeting.

There are 99 horses on site at the facility just west of New Iberia. There are also four hogs, a few heads of cattle and one emu.

Most owners of the horses are accounted for, via embedded shoulder chips or tattoos on each animal. Only two of the 99 are not accounted for. Owners come in regularly to care for their horses, said Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin, of New Iberia's All Creatures Veterinary Clinic.

Gonsoulin, who is volunteering, asked whether he should refuse to house horses.

"We wouldn't do that, Shannon," board member Dino Fitch said.

Fellow member Karl Vincent agreed.

"As long as we can handle it," Vincent said.

A few more horses may show up from Calcasieu Parish and Cameron Parish, the latter where the hurricane made direct landfall near Johnson's Bayou and Holly Beach.

Just after Rita struck, SugArena's pet population peaked at about 300 animals, though dogs and cats have been placed elsewhere.

Phones have been "ringing off the hook" from people wondering whether future events will be cancelled, Vincent said. He also said he was "very uneasy" about some of the health issues of horses as they related to care. No horses have been euthanized, Gonsoulin said. The horse population should dwindle quickly once people get back on their feet, members said.

Volunteers, including veterinarians -- one Kentucky-based doctor was on site Monday -- as well as donations have helped keep costs down. Owners are urged, however, to pick up their horses as soon as possible.