At the Woodburn Livestock Exchange, The Oregon Department of Agriculture auctioned off 11 horses at rock bottom prices on Wednesday.

"I bought a horse for $10!" said Chantel Kirwan, after purchasing a brown, emaciated mare with a few sores.

"My friend just told me the story about the horses and I thought I'd come down and see what was going on but I didn't expect to buy a horse," said Kirwan.

The 11 horses that went up for auction were found a week ago, abandoned in rural Clackamas County. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, they were malnourished, neglected and close to death.

"The horses were dumped along the road," said Jack Noble of the ODA. "They were taken with a trailer and left to fend for themselves."

Noble said he believes the owner abandoned the horses because of the growing cost of caring for them, due to the rising price of fuel and feed. He said more and more owners are choosing to abandon their animals instead of finding suitable homes for them.

"I think it's very said and it makes me want to cry," said Kristen Berkey, who'll be boarding Kirwan's horse at her 13-acre farm in Aurora. "I think if you get that far in need, you should ask for help, sell (your animal) on Craig's List, do something... it's not that difficult to get rid of a free horse."

Or close to free in the case of Wednesday's auction. Most horses sold for $5 to $10 and the top bid for a horse was $42.

"We need another horse like we need a hole in the head," said Ken Goodpaster who purchased his horse for $5, with no regrets. "You look at these guys and they've got to have something to eat!"

But even Goodpaster said it's not cheep to feed a steed.

"It's running over $200 a ton now for good hay," he said.

As the horses were auctioned off, Clackamas County Sheriff's investigators were still trying to uncover who abandoned them. Officials hope a green tag with a black 4-digit number found on most of the horse's rumps will lead them to the previous owners.

If found, Sheriff's officials say the owners would face animal neglect charges, but Noble said sadly, this is just one case.

"As fall sets in, I'm afraid we'll see more," said Noble.