CountryLady
luvmyponies
Yes most of you are right, breeders need to take part, some do and unfortunately some don’t. But horse owners need to take part as well. Because, frankly, the horses we ride and care for come from a breeder. As horse people we ALL need to address the problem before it gets out of hand. Yes there have always been unwanted horses. But the industry fears that the numbers will increase drastically due to the economic downturn.
The QH and TB communities have decreased the number of breedings in the past year partly due to supply and demand, but also partly due to the economic down turn. BUT is it enough?
I know a few small time breeders and one in particular sells their foals with a buy back clause. I don’t know of any large breed that does this. A lot of individuals will sell their horses with a buy back clause also. But I have heard that on this forum people get looked down on for inquiring about the welfare or transfer of ownership of a previously owned animal. The very first pony I owned, my mother sold it to get a more suitable larger pony so that my older sister could continue to ride. We had both share the pony until then. I made the new owners promise to sell my pony back to me when they were ready to sell him. They did some three years later and that pony lived a useful long life until he finally died of old age. I didn’t have the full grasp, at that tender age, of the UNWANTED HORSE, but I knew my responsibility to my faithful friend.
The rescues are becoming over run. Most only take the neglected & abused cases. It seems that everyone wants to turn over their near 30 yr old horse to the rescues. Imagine that. Also the severely injured or lame horses, those are unable to be ridden , or are unable to preform some other useful duty, show up often at the rescues.
Some people treat horses like a commodity, some people treat the horse like companions and some people look at the whole horse and see both, but where do we draw the line?
Do we want the government to deem our horse farms agricultural or not? There are always going to be people out there that DO NOT understand what it means to be agricultural. This is one of the areas where EDUCATION goes a long way. I think my old (now deceased) neighbor said it best when he said, “ city people want to move out to the country and live like the country folks do, but when they get here (in the country) city folks have a problem (don’t understand) living like the country folks do.
A few more links:
Horse Slaughter Awareness Campaign - PA Rendering Companies and Cremation Facilities
Untitled Document
Dead Animal Removal
Humane Horse Remains Disposal Options | The Humane Society of the United States
Humane Horse Remains Disposal Options | The Humane Society of the United States
Beef industry faces some of the same issues:
Wrangling Over Rendering
MORE SOLUTIONS, ANYBODY?
The QH and TB communities have decreased the number of breedings in the past year partly due to supply and demand, but also partly due to the economic down turn. BUT is it enough?
I know a few small time breeders and one in particular sells their foals with a buy back clause. I don’t know of any large breed that does this. A lot of individuals will sell their horses with a buy back clause also. But I have heard that on this forum people get looked down on for inquiring about the welfare or transfer of ownership of a previously owned animal. The very first pony I owned, my mother sold it to get a more suitable larger pony so that my older sister could continue to ride. We had both share the pony until then. I made the new owners promise to sell my pony back to me when they were ready to sell him. They did some three years later and that pony lived a useful long life until he finally died of old age. I didn’t have the full grasp, at that tender age, of the UNWANTED HORSE, but I knew my responsibility to my faithful friend.
The rescues are becoming over run. Most only take the neglected & abused cases. It seems that everyone wants to turn over their near 30 yr old horse to the rescues. Imagine that. Also the severely injured or lame horses, those are unable to be ridden , or are unable to preform some other useful duty, show up often at the rescues.
Some people treat horses like a commodity, some people treat the horse like companions and some people look at the whole horse and see both, but where do we draw the line?
Do we want the government to deem our horse farms agricultural or not? There are always going to be people out there that DO NOT understand what it means to be agricultural. This is one of the areas where EDUCATION goes a long way. I think my old (now deceased) neighbor said it best when he said, “ city people want to move out to the country and live like the country folks do, but when they get here (in the country) city folks have a problem (don’t understand) living like the country folks do.
A few more links:
Horse Slaughter Awareness Campaign - PA Rendering Companies and Cremation Facilities
Untitled Document
Dead Animal Removal
Humane Horse Remains Disposal Options | The Humane Society of the United States
Humane Horse Remains Disposal Options | The Humane Society of the United States
Beef industry faces some of the same issues:
Wrangling Over Rendering
MORE SOLUTIONS, ANYBODY?
