Because horses are one of the more costly animals to keep, and not usually considered a “pet” like cats or dogs, with the downturn in the economy, they are being hit very hard. In Montana and other mountain states especially, people that cannot afford to keep their horses are turning them loose, hoping that they will find their own food and run with the wild horses. In other states, horse owners are keeping their horses till the very last minute, many of them skin and bones, and then taking them to auctions, hoping to at least get some meat market money for them. Those horses are then transported to either Mexico or Canada and slaughtered, in most cases, very inhumanely.
I wanted to clarify for those people a couple things. First off, the horse in your back yard is domesticated. It cannot survive in the wild. Not only is it not adept at finding its own food, it also cannot hold its own against those wild horses who are use to fending for themselves, and will probably be killed by those horses in their efforts for survival. This is not an option.
For those that are holding on and then taking your horses to auction, is .15 a lb really worth making your horse suffer through starvation. I can tell you, it isn’t. If you have exhausted every single means of finding a home for your horses, rescues, friends, family, your veterinary office, the internet connections you can find, everything, and you are going to just let it wither away till you finally drag it to auction, where it will be taken to the slaughter house and die a very inhumane death, at least have enough compassion for your horse to have it humanely euthanized.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am NOT in favor of euthanizing any healthy pet, at all. However, I also hate to see pets suffer and their final end be killed inhumanely. I also think as a pet owner that when push comes to shove and you’ve made up your mind that you must get rid of a pet or have it put down, you will find a way to either keep feeding it or a place to send it to someone that will care for it. I know there are some cases where people just can’t afford to feed their horses anymore, that feeding their families takes priority, I understand that, but remember, that horse has been a dedicated family member to you too, and you do owe it to them to make a humane decision on what happens to them.
If you can foster a horse or would be willing to become a horse owner or add to your stable, please contact the various horse rescues and let them know as they are in dire need of people willing to help out. If you can’t take a horse but can afford to sponsor one, also let them know, your help is badly needed.
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