OldDog/NewTricks
Well-known member
From:
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:19 AM
To: Reynnells, Richard
Subject: Horse Care and Slaughter
As a licensed professional trainer and rancher, horses are a interregnal part of my business. I love and admire them, care for them better than myself with the best of feed, barn, veterinary care and safe spacious rotated pastures that I can possibly afford. But they are not pets or children! It seems there is a trend going around of pet owners claiming that they are "parents" of their pets, which is encouraged by the pet food company advertisements, animal rights groups, animal activist groups and anyone wanting to sell something to or solicit donations from those pet owners, is very disturbing. Yes these animal rights groups who solicit donations claiming they are helping the unwanted horses have not sent, given to or by any other means, any money to any horse rescue group. Still it seems our uninformed, misguided Representatives in Congress think these animal activist groups know what's good for us and our horses.
Horses are a vital part of our and other ranchers operations in sorting, moving holding for medical treatment , cattle and without them the rancher could not bring reasonably priced beef to America's tables. We value our horses, but we do not think of them either as pets or children. They are agricultural animals, beasts of burden, they are just horses.
To promote the idea that they are our pets or we are the "parents" of these animals is to diminish the grand, unique and powerful creatures that they are. I believe it also leads to many of the problems we are seeing in the horse industry: spoiled, unused or underused, unruly, over weight horses, because their owners can't or won't limit their feed, have them work or exercise enough to keep them in shape or make them behave in a mannerly way. Horse owners of very unmannerly, unruly horses always claim the horse was abused by a man who previously owned the horse when in fact it was really just the opposite. The horse was not made to respect and mind its owner allowing it to miss-behave making this type of horse very dangerous.
Misguided , well meaning people, who apparently do not understand the impact of caring for 100,000 unwanted horses a year, at an average of $1500 to $2500 each per year have also stopped the slaughter of horses.
As much as we care about and physically care and well being of our horses, we cannot afford to feed an unsound horse for the rest of its life. Would any one keep paying for insurance, telephone and maintenance on a building that was falling in and unusable? There are also horses who are simply not safe to ride or even handle on the ground due to their lack of training, improper training, or physical conformation or mental state. For one to expect that these horses should be a yard ornament and be "supported" in some form instead of going to a useful purpose, such as slaughter for human consumption, is simply not realistic.
Our horses have worked on the ranch their entire lives, served us well and will retire here if possible. Although when they reach a stage where they cannot live a good life even euthanization may not be possible since most rendering plants have closed, its illegal to bury large animals which leaves only composting the animal (Purdue University, Bio-Science School). Without the slaughter option, there will be more and more horses that are abused by neglect or the inability of their owner to care for them or just composted on the ground to rot and give off a terrible stench. Otherwise just one more waste promoted by animal activist and created by congress .
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:19 AM
To: Reynnells, Richard
Subject: Horse Care and Slaughter
As a licensed professional trainer and rancher, horses are a interregnal part of my business. I love and admire them, care for them better than myself with the best of feed, barn, veterinary care and safe spacious rotated pastures that I can possibly afford. But they are not pets or children! It seems there is a trend going around of pet owners claiming that they are "parents" of their pets, which is encouraged by the pet food company advertisements, animal rights groups, animal activist groups and anyone wanting to sell something to or solicit donations from those pet owners, is very disturbing. Yes these animal rights groups who solicit donations claiming they are helping the unwanted horses have not sent, given to or by any other means, any money to any horse rescue group. Still it seems our uninformed, misguided Representatives in Congress think these animal activist groups know what's good for us and our horses.
Horses are a vital part of our and other ranchers operations in sorting, moving holding for medical treatment , cattle and without them the rancher could not bring reasonably priced beef to America's tables. We value our horses, but we do not think of them either as pets or children. They are agricultural animals, beasts of burden, they are just horses.
To promote the idea that they are our pets or we are the "parents" of these animals is to diminish the grand, unique and powerful creatures that they are. I believe it also leads to many of the problems we are seeing in the horse industry: spoiled, unused or underused, unruly, over weight horses, because their owners can't or won't limit their feed, have them work or exercise enough to keep them in shape or make them behave in a mannerly way. Horse owners of very unmannerly, unruly horses always claim the horse was abused by a man who previously owned the horse when in fact it was really just the opposite. The horse was not made to respect and mind its owner allowing it to miss-behave making this type of horse very dangerous.
Misguided , well meaning people, who apparently do not understand the impact of caring for 100,000 unwanted horses a year, at an average of $1500 to $2500 each per year have also stopped the slaughter of horses.
As much as we care about and physically care and well being of our horses, we cannot afford to feed an unsound horse for the rest of its life. Would any one keep paying for insurance, telephone and maintenance on a building that was falling in and unusable? There are also horses who are simply not safe to ride or even handle on the ground due to their lack of training, improper training, or physical conformation or mental state. For one to expect that these horses should be a yard ornament and be "supported" in some form instead of going to a useful purpose, such as slaughter for human consumption, is simply not realistic.
Our horses have worked on the ranch their entire lives, served us well and will retire here if possible. Although when they reach a stage where they cannot live a good life even euthanization may not be possible since most rendering plants have closed, its illegal to bury large animals which leaves only composting the animal (Purdue University, Bio-Science School). Without the slaughter option, there will be more and more horses that are abused by neglect or the inability of their owner to care for them or just composted on the ground to rot and give off a terrible stench. Otherwise just one more waste promoted by animal activist and created by congress .