EAST GRANBY, Conn. -- Officials at Second Chance Ranch in East Granby said a crippling increase in rent has thrown them into crisis mode.

Officials said Tuesday that they thought the ranch, a sanctuary for rescued horses, had found a permanent home in East Granby.

Now, they said, they're looking for a new place because their rent was recently increased by 80 percent.

The 16 horses currently housed at Second Chance Ranch were brought there for a variety of reasons, ranch officials said, from abuse and abandonment to simple owner turn-ins.

The ranch provides physical, emotional, medical and training needs through donations and volunteers.

"Anything they need, they'll go through and get the horse what they need and prepare them for transfer into a permanent home," volunteer Liz Bennett said.

The ranch operates on 34 acres in town. Until now, the ranch paid $1,000 per month in rent, but the landlord, for a variety of reasons, recently decided on the increase.

"If your bank said to you, 'We're going to raise your mortgage by $800 a month,' could you stay in your house?" Bennett asked.

Now the organization, which was established in 1996, needs to find a new home by July 1.

Officials said there have been offers of assistance, and that there are some possible placements, but they said the hope is that a new home can be found for the whole operation.

"There is anger," Bennett said. "There is frustration. They thought this was going to be their oasis a year ago, and as it turns out, it's just a horrible, horrible situation."

For more information, visit the Second Chance Ranch Web site.