Unwanted Horses

[Robin]

Have been around for a long time. We are just hearing more about it because there is so many shelters out there getting maxed to capacity. The wonderful recession.

Hormonal women had a big impact with premarin
premarin mares and foals keeping the mare pregnant so these women had the medication needed to adjust hormones. What an impact and problem that was.

New registries for horse breeds need to stop. There was reasons some horses did not get registered. No Quality.

[Robin]

Selling a horse at a low value......

Opens the door for folks that really can not afford to really, provide proper care for the horse. Its not cheap. Lowering a price just so you can sell a horse opens that avenue and adds to the problem of in adequate care of an equine.

I guess thats where that saying comes from.

The cheapest Item in all of this was actually purchasing the horse.

[CountryLady]

An Excerpt for MHIB:

Maryland equine stables that operate as boarding, sales/breeding, rental, instructional, rescue or training stables are required to have an annual license from the MHIB (review the MHIB General Regulations to see if your stable qualifies). Horse racing (Thoroughbred, and Standardbred breeding, training, or layup stables), and farms using horses for cultivating the soil or herding livestock are exempt from MHIB licensing.

Do you think they need to start enforcing the LAW?

[jetmonkey]

Send them to Florida. People are eating them down there.

[fredsaid2]

Originally Posted by CountryLady

An Excerpt for MHIB:

Maryland equine stables that operate as boarding, sales/breeding, rental, instructional, rescue or training stables are required to have an annual license from the MHIB (review the MHIB General Regulations to see if your stable qualifies). Horse racing (Thoroughbred, and Standardbred breeding, training, or layup stables), and farms using horses for cultivating the soil or herding livestock are exempt from MHIB licensing.

Do you think they need to start enforcing the LAW?

I don't think they have the manpower to enforce the law. And if they did, what would ensuring stables are compliant do for the issue of unwanted horses?

[appendixqh]

I don't think the answer to a problem that legislation had a huge hand in creating, is more legislation. And I have to say I am pretty grossed out at the negative environmental impact of all these unslaughtered horses being injected. You talk about chemicals, you cant bury a lethally injected horse within something like 100 or 200 yards of a well without risking contamination to the well! I am even more disgusted with these horses being hauled out of the county to be slaughtered, the methods in Mexico are appalling!

You want a solution, Get a USDA inspected and monitored dry lot / rendering plant. Require the horses be held for 2 weeks if ID'd and 3 weeks if no papers. This incourages keeping the papers with the horses to aid in tracking. This also buys time for detox if you are worried about chemicals like wormers...and during this time offer the rescues and private buyers/owners to come in and ID, purchase any animal they choose at a small profit to the rendering company. Require the slaughter house to maintain a public site with the date each horse is recieved, and post the name, breed, sex, color, and planned rendering date. This humanely disposes of the unwanted horses, and gives a second chance window of opportunity for the horses before they are rendered. It also provides a tracking system to aid people looking for stolen horses, all while creating a profitable export and jobs for our state. Also insist that no horses with open wounds, and horses must be able to walk in and be reasonably comfortable. Any horse with excessive lameness or injury should not be accepted, or it must be euthanized/treated by the tending veteranian at the delivering persons expense. Now you have another way to enforce safe transport.

Just a thought...

[CountryLady]

Originally Posted by appendixqh

I don't think the answer to a problem that legislation had a huge hand in creating, is more legislation. And I have to say I am pretty grossed out at the negative environmental impact of all these unslaughtered horses being injected. You talk about chemicals, you cant bury a lethally injected horse within something like 100 or 200 yards of a well without risking contamination to the well! I am even more disgusted with these horses being hauled out of the county to be slaughtered, the methods in Mexico are appalling!

You want a solution, Get a USDA inspected and monitored dry lot / rendering plant. Require the horses be held for 2 weeks if ID'd and 3 weeks if no papers. This incourages keeping the papers with the horses to aid in tracking. This also buys time for detox if you are worried about chemicals like wormers...and during this time offer the rescues and private buyers/owners to come in and ID, purchase any animal they choose at a small profit to the rendering company. Require the slaughter house to maintain a public site with the date each horse is recieved, and post the name, breed, sex, color, and planned rendering date. This humanely disposes of the unwanted horses, and gives a second chance window of opportunity for the horses before they are rendered. It also provides a tracking system to aid people looking for stolen horses, all while creating a profitable export and jobs for our state. Also insist that no horses with open wounds, and horses must be able to walk in and be reasonably comfortable. Any horse with excessive lameness or injury should not be accepted, or it must be euthanized/treated by the tending veteranian at the delivering persons expense. Now you have another way to enforce safe transport.

Just a thought...

That's an idea. This is more like the response I was looking for. Not in the exact detail, but it is well thought out, keeping in mind many points of view.
Thanks.

[CountryLady]

Originally Posted by fredsaid2

I don't think they have the manpower to enforce the law. And if they did, what would ensuring stables are compliant do for the issue of unwanted horses?

Man power is a problem. Does anyone know where the money goes that is paid for getting licensed?

[CountryLady]

Originally Posted by Robin

So Country Lady are you asking to government to take part in helping the problem go away or fix it?

I think we all need to do our part and help put solutions out there to head off this potentially devastating situation. That includes working with the government to indentify the problems, to find solutions, implement them with out costing the taxpayer an exorbitant amount of money.

[CountryLady]

Originally Posted by Robin

Why do you want the county or state to get involved with disposal of the animal? Is that not the responsibility of the owner?

Cremation is another option.

Call College Park. They do it there. You can bury the remains on your property. or spread it on the field.

I think it cost me 400-500 to have it done.

This should be part of the owners package if they want to have the privilege of owning a horse/pony.

Properly disposed of animal carcasses would behoove us all.
• Composting
• Incinerating /cremation
• Open air burning
• Body rendering
• Burying
They all come with some draw backs.

Coming to a consensus with respect to how to go about it may prove difficult if the general public is not educated.


The MD Dept. of Ag has a state lab in College Park that does have the ability to cremate horses. I think they only use it after they perform a necropsy though. There website with the College Park Lab's contact information is:

Regional Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratories