Are there really unwanted horses?
This horse's name was Abnerflgldy. He is the grandson of Secretariat. He was one of the many unwanted horses that came thru Cajun Country Ranch Animal Rescue and found a forever home
There are those people that are against the horse slaughter industry (antis) that believe that there is not any such thing as unwanted horses in the US. According to the Webster dictionary unwanted means not needed. The Unwanted Horse Coalition says that the unwanted horse represent a group of horses within the domestic equine population that are no longer needed or useful, or their owners are no longer interested in or capable of providing financial or physical care. Unwanted horses generally range from being normal, healthy horses of varying ages and breeds to horses that are unattractive, horses that fail to meet their owner’s expectations for their intended use, horses with non-life threatening diseases, horses that have behavioral problems, or horses that are mean or dangerous. In many of these cases these horses have had multiple owners and have been shipped from one sale barn, stable, or farm to another without finding a permanent owner or long-term care. But a faction of the anti-slaughter camp refuses to acknowledge the existence of any unwanted horses. They propose that the notion of unwanted horses is simply a convenient myth developed by the pro-slaughter lobby.
For a slide show of the types of horses found in the slaughter pipeline click here
For the purposes of this discussion let us assume that an "unwanted horse" means it is unwanted by the horse's current owner, who is willing to take the least available economic return for the horse in order to dispose of the animal quickly. This does not mean the horse is unwanted by the public - as long as the market is able to find an owner that does want the horse.
So now that we have defined fairly what an “unwanted horse” is what should be done with them no matter how small the number? Well, the owners don’t want the horse for what ever reason and the antis do it should be simple right? Call a rescue or anti slaughter group and send your horse there. Not so easy.
According to USDA statistics there are 80,000 to 100,000 horses that are “unwanted” each year. The AAEP says that it takes up to $5,000 a year to care for a horse.The American Association of Equine Practitioners estimates that an additional 2,700 rescues would have to open to support all the horses. That is a lot of money and a lot of rescues that will increase each year as the number of horses in rescues increase and age. Rescues have limited space and resources to care for the horses and many are already full and not taking in any more horses.Many rescues are having a hard time finding homes for the horses that they already have in their rescue. Some of the rescues here in Oklahoma are even saying now that they are full up and can not take in any more horses and are looking for increased donations to care for the horses. The antis, while many are horse lovers and sincerely concerned, don’t have the space, resources, or skill to care for the unwanted horse that is ill, neglected or potentially dangerous.
Horses because of their basic needs are harder to rehome and have a smaller group of potential new homes. Not just anyone can adopt or keep a horse (A New Yorker can not keep it on her patio!) Horses in general are large animals that have the potential to injure or even kill an inexperienced owner. Horses require people that have basic horse skills that are becoming rarer in this technological world. Horses require a level of commitment that many are not willing to give. Finding a horse sitter while you jet off to the Bahamas is not that easy or cheep!
The antis say instead of sending the horse to slaughter why not just humanely euthanize it? That solution too has its difficulties. There is the cost of having the horse euthanized (anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars) then the cost to have the body disposed of properly. In many places it is illegal to bury your horse on your property so you will have to find and contact a company to haul the body of the horse to the proper place to bury or burn it. Many owners do not have the money to do this. So if the owner decides to take it into his own hands and kill the horse he could be facing criminal charges.
So are there really “unwanted” horses?
Yes there are horses that are unwanted. The old, infirm, and dangerous ones for sure and the ones that are an insurance and economic liability and simply need to have their lives ended.
So what to do with the ones that do not fit that description and their owners no longer care to keep them? Well that will be the subject of my next article.
For more reading:
Sensible debate over horse slaughter
A million horses
Some to rescue some to slaughter
For a slide show of the types of horses found in the slaughter pipeline click here
For the purposes of this discussion let us assume that an "unwanted horse" means it is unwanted by the horse's current owner, who is willing to take the least available economic return for the horse in order to dispose of the animal quickly. This does not mean the horse is unwanted by the public - as long as the market is able to find an owner that does want the horse.
So now that we have defined fairly what an “unwanted horse” is what should be done with them no matter how small the number? Well, the owners don’t want the horse for what ever reason and the antis do it should be simple right? Call a rescue or anti slaughter group and send your horse there. Not so easy.
According to USDA statistics there are 80,000 to 100,000 horses that are “unwanted” each year. The AAEP says that it takes up to $5,000 a year to care for a horse.The American Association of Equine Practitioners estimates that an additional 2,700 rescues would have to open to support all the horses. That is a lot of money and a lot of rescues that will increase each year as the number of horses in rescues increase and age. Rescues have limited space and resources to care for the horses and many are already full and not taking in any more horses.Many rescues are having a hard time finding homes for the horses that they already have in their rescue. Some of the rescues here in Oklahoma are even saying now that they are full up and can not take in any more horses and are looking for increased donations to care for the horses. The antis, while many are horse lovers and sincerely concerned, don’t have the space, resources, or skill to care for the unwanted horse that is ill, neglected or potentially dangerous.
Horses because of their basic needs are harder to rehome and have a smaller group of potential new homes. Not just anyone can adopt or keep a horse (A New Yorker can not keep it on her patio!) Horses in general are large animals that have the potential to injure or even kill an inexperienced owner. Horses require people that have basic horse skills that are becoming rarer in this technological world. Horses require a level of commitment that many are not willing to give. Finding a horse sitter while you jet off to the Bahamas is not that easy or cheep!
The antis say instead of sending the horse to slaughter why not just humanely euthanize it? That solution too has its difficulties. There is the cost of having the horse euthanized (anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars) then the cost to have the body disposed of properly. In many places it is illegal to bury your horse on your property so you will have to find and contact a company to haul the body of the horse to the proper place to bury or burn it. Many owners do not have the money to do this. So if the owner decides to take it into his own hands and kill the horse he could be facing criminal charges.
So are there really “unwanted” horses?
Yes there are horses that are unwanted. The old, infirm, and dangerous ones for sure and the ones that are an insurance and economic liability and simply need to have their lives ended.
So what to do with the ones that do not fit that description and their owners no longer care to keep them? Well that will be the subject of my next article.
For more reading:
Sensible debate over horse slaughter
A million horses
Some to rescue some to slaughter