I have a hard time sharing my opinion on this topic of horse slaughter. It's a very personal topic to me & yet so many of my closest colleagues have opposite views. I recently got into an online debate about it which left me feeling that I need to just put my opinion out there. I don't know if writing this will make a bit of difference because it seems that so many are stuck on one side or another. My hopes are that I can shine a light on why I think the slaughter plants should never be opened again.
My convictions go right to the heart of the unwanted horse problem. The year before the horse slaughter plants closed in 2006, over 100,000 horses were processed in America. To give you an idea of how many horses that is, that's about the same number of people that live in Topeka. That number boggles my mind because that's just the number of horses slaughter & not the exact number of unwanted horses for that year! Since the closings, it's estimated that the number of unwanted horses has doubled.
This brings me to my point of- WHY THE HELL ARE WE BREEDING THIS MANY HORSES???
When the plants did close & later the economy tanked, I couldn't believe how many craptastic breeders were coming out of nowhere trying to dump their mediocre breeding herds in the market. It reminded me of rats abandoning a sinking ship. It seemed like wherever I looked, some no-name farm was abandoning their stock. Oh, and what stock they had! Unregistered foals, stallions with little pedigree, & broodmares that hadn't worked a day in their life. Just what every horseman needs right? A straight-shouldered, out of shape, rank broodmare to break out at 12 years old! If only I had a dime for every ad I saw that was labeled "Good project." I could put that money into funding our struggling rescues!
This brings me to me next point. Some horse rescues were already having a hard time before the economy tanked. Now the times are much more difficult. My heart breaks for them because I wish I could do more than I can. I hear all the time "The rescues are struggling because the slaughter plants closed." Yes, the rescues are struggling because we as a horse industry are not doing enough to help! Why should we leave the responsibility of the unwanted horse problem up to the rescues? Are they the only ones capable of feeding, providing shelter, or have the ability to love these animals? I mean come on! Really?! It's not that difficult to take in one of the approximate 200,000 unwanted horses. You just have to a) Have a horse-friendly facility, b) take care of them & c) not be a scumbag!
It seems to me like maybe rescue horses get a bad rap which keeps people away from adopting. I think those conflicted about adopting would be surprised just how many nice horses are in rescues. Here's a great example:
Meet Magic or Elkin Magic as researching the brand on his neck has found. Yes, I say researching because after the Arabian Rescue Mission pulled Magic out of the kill buyer's pen at an east coast auction house, they had a little fact finding to do. The research tells us is that Magic was bred from wonderful, old Polish Arabian bloodlines. You can see here that someone cared enough to publish his breeding online. Also, it turns out that someone also thought he was nice enough to breed. Yes, Magic is a papa to a nice filly with a show record! Not only was Magic used for breeding but someone took the time to break him out. His foster farm discovered that Magic is a solid riding horse that even neck reins to the softest touch. In fact, he was so nice they used him as a therapy horse for children with special needs. We don't know exactly how Magic made it from A to B & probably never will. Magic is now adored by all & will live out his days as a beginner rider mount here at our farm.
So I've pointed out what I feel are the two major elements of the unwanted horse problem but where's the solution?
Here's my thoughts- Be Responsible! What if every horseman became more educated about the horse industry so they can do their part in solving the unwanted instead of leaving it to the bloody hands of the processing plants? This is a big problem in our industry & doing little is not going to solve it. When a sink floods you don't just remove the water do you? You shut off the faucet & clean up the mess! This is my hope. That together we'll all do our part for these animals we are so passionate about & take care of the mess we have all neglected.
Before I get down from my box, I'd invite you to look at Magic's picture. Would you want the hundreds of thousands like him to die if we continue to ignore the heart of the problem & let the slaughter plants re-opened? He missed that fate when someone took responsibility & saved him from the slaughter truck. I don't want to even think about where he would be if no one was there for him. Thanks for reading...
*Steps down off soap box*
