There is a growing issue with Americas Unwanted Horses, it is not going away and it is up to us to come together to find solutions and fight this appropriately.
We are not talking about kittens and puppies, but large companion animals that live long lives. Horses require expensive and long term maintenance. Between basic feeding requirements, supplements, farrier, teeth, deworming, routine veterinary care and emergency expenses... owning a horse is NOT something to take lightly! The yearly foal additions [see website for data] that come from breeders across the USA, including consistent producers of the "Equine Industry Byproduct" (unwanted foals), are a huge contribution to the problems we are seeing today.
We must ask ourselves-What could we do to reduce the yearly foal production numbers? What should be done for the foals and horses suffering in the slaughter pipeline? How can we reach out and educate not only horse lovers, but anyone who cares about the treatment of any animal? What will it take for this to be taken more seriously? Where are the laws to represent our values of decency and a humane mindset? Kindness towards animals should be the least of our worries, but unfortunately there is a lot of work to be done to bring to light the reality of a brutal end for many.
When I tell people there is a horse slaughter industry, many times one of the first questions is usually, What is wrong with the horses? I tell them that these are perfectly good and healthy horses most of the time, even professionally trained horses. Many have been neglected, yet with some TLC they go on to become wonderful companions! The core issue is how these equine end up discarded in the first place, whether circumstances or ignorance, we cannot just pass the problem down the line. The fact is, no horse in America is safe when meat buyers can make money by sending them over into Mexico or Canada, and when horse owners are sending them off to auctions or low-ballers (often meat buyers in disguise).
Every horse rescue dedicated to saving horses from the pipeline is stretched thin. Often horses saved from kill pens and auctions will be in need, either in poor condition, injured, aged, or have come down with an illness of some kind. Horses that should have been humanely euthannized, are sent into the pipeline to suffer- Why are their owners not held accountable for the responsibility they had accepted? Unfortunately, the expense of horse ownership is high, especially if long term boarding is required.
Would it be possible for retirement sanctuaries to be set up by pure bred registration associations? Would it be possible to require that breeders accept some level responsibility for the lives they helped bring into the world? How can the stream of "grade" and "untraceable" horses be reduced? Is it possible that keeping highly-regulated slaughter facilities in the US could stop horses from ending up on crowded trucks heading into another country to meet their ends? I hate the idea of horses dying just as much as the next person, but the fact is that it happens every day.
Through centuries of hard work, battles and plows, they deserve better- the choice now is in how we treat them, how we will honor their Hooves of Glory!
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