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Horse slaughter

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Faster horses said:
I know where you are coming from RoperAB. But I do think women can get away with things that men can't. If a man did the reporting it could turn into a fist fight.
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Its not really a confrontation that im worried about.
Its more of I feel sneeky about reporting. It just reminds me to much of PETA, SPCA etc. It just feels wrong if that makes sense? I would feel like a snitch. Plus I dont think reporting is really going to change anything long term.
Its sort of like say your friends with someone. They invite you over there. Then you see stuff that you dont like. Well I will just try to change it. Help them doctor or whatever. Or if something needs watering or feeding I just do it whether the owner is there or not. I dont ask, I just do it.
But for me to just go home and report them. Well it doesnt feel right. Its hard to explain :(

LOLs if im out riding and if I find clubs or rubber hoses around a corral I chuck them :wink:
 
I guess I look at it a little differant. In more than one way. And one of them is the scars on my son's stomach where a horse ran off with him threw or kinda threw a wire-hog fence gate... He is scared for life... No thank you.. I will not let anyone have the chance of getting hurt from this horse again... And there is only so many you can shoot before someone turns you in......
 
RoperAB said:
I dont agree with the slippery slope in this case.
Horses are all together different than livestock. Horses are way smarter than cattle. They injure themselves way easier as well.

This is what you should do. Contact a horse slaughter plant. Tell them your training to be a farrier and you want some horse feet<detached> to practice on.
This should get you in there.

You will see foundered,sometimes badly injured, scared horses fighting it out in close quarters. These horses are shoved together and grained up.
You will see scared Horses being lead into a bloody kill floor where they are lined up and shot one after another.
Even if you have a strong stomach you will have a hard time watching this. Horse slaughter is way different than the beef industry.
I say let the french eat snails instead of old Dobin!
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Have you been in a cattle slaughter plant? They are scared, shoved together, and being killed on a kill floor too. I thought I had a strong stomache and after being invited and visiting the packing plant and it's a large one I didn't eat beef for a couple months. It was very sanitary but it was the thought of thousands of dead animals. I do agree the horse slaughter is different when I visited the holding pens of a horse kill plant it was if they knew they sensed the doom. However with the kill plants it's a way to dispose of horses and make a profit. Not that I think I could lead my horse there.
 
North Platte Nebraska used to have a horse kill plant but it has since closed. My understanding is the kill horse market is much like the live horse market in this area and down. Last I knew they were either getting a truck load of kill horses and then shipping them to Texas or someplace in Canada. However with all the border trouble i'm not even sure they can get them into Canada anymore. :???:

I think people are emotionally attached to horses and a person has one for years and they work for you and some where along the way they become in a sense like a dog to most. However I do think that there needs to be the kill plants. There has to be a way to dispose of the rank no good horses that money had been invested in. A way to recover some of the cost.
 
CattleRMe said:
North Platte Nebraska used to have a horse kill plant but it has since closed. My understanding is the kill horse market is much like the live horse market in this area and down. Last I knew they were either getting a truck load of kill horses and then shipping them to Texas or someplace in Canada. However with all the border trouble i'm not even sure they can get them into Canada anymore. :???:

I think people are emotionally attached to horses and a person has one for years and they work for you and some where along the way they become in a sense like a dog to most. However I do think that there needs to be the kill plants. There has to be a way to dispose of the rank no good horses that money had been invested in. A way to recover some of the cost.
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There is. There called bucking horse sales. Broncs are worth quite a bit of money around here.
What this is really about is that after a horse has given somebody years of faithful service instead of putting that horse out to pasture for retirement some people would rather truck him off to a slaughter plant to get another $400 out of him.
If you cant afford to put him out to pasture give him a bucket of grain and a bullet in the brain. Its more humane than sending him to dinner with a french man.
 
Not all these horses can buck, though.

And what about a horse that is crippled, at say 6 years old?
What are you going to do with him? I wish there was an easy answer.
I don't like to think of horses going to kill either. But what I hate
worse is the crowding on trucks of those horses. Or putting them
in the bottom of a pot. It shouldn't be allowed. I've seen them put
stallions right in with the other horses, and that's not a good deal. I worry about old horses getting down in a truck. Some are so thin and weak you
know they aren't going to make it standing up.
Those are the ones that should never have to take that truck ride.

We just have too many horses in this country to absorb them all
any other way. I hate it, I really do.
 
Faster horses said:
Not all these horses can buck, though.

And what about a horse that is crippled, at say 6 years old?
What are you going to do with him? I wish there was an easy answer.
I don't like to think of horses going to kill either. But what I hate
worse is the crowding on trucks of those horses. Or putting them
in the bottom of a pot. It shouldn't be allowed. I've seen them put
stallions right in with the other horses, and that's not a good deal. I worry about old horses getting down in a truck. Some are so thin and weak you
know they aren't going to make it standing up.
Those are the ones that should never have to take that truck ride.

We just have too many horses in this country to absorb them all
any other way. I hate it, I really do.
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When I worked at the auction mart one guy dropped off a stallion in the middle of the night. It had one eye out at was all beat to pieces all over. That horse had to suffer and wait for 5 days until the next auction when he was bought by the slaughter plant. How long it had to wait after that to be put out of his missery is anybodys guess. The stallion was completely crazy and out of his mind. He kept trying to get out of his pen and he would get his front legs jammed into the timbers. What a job that was to get him free. Like you couldnt walk in that pen with him because he would come straight for you.
The answer is a bucket of grain and a bullet in the head if you cant afford a vet. Much better fate than the packers.
 
RoperAB said:
CattleRMe said:
North Platte Nebraska used to have a horse kill plant but it has since closed. My understanding is the kill horse market is much like the live horse market in this area and down. Last I knew they were either getting a truck load of kill horses and then shipping them to Texas or someplace in Canada. However with all the border trouble i'm not even sure they can get them into Canada anymore. :???:

I think people are emotionally attached to horses and a person has one for years and they work for you and some where along the way they become in a sense like a dog to most. However I do think that there needs to be the kill plants. There has to be a way to dispose of the rank no good horses that money had been invested in. A way to recover some of the cost.
Click to expand...

There is. There called bucking horse sales. Broncs are worth quite a bit of money around here.
What this is really about is that after a horse has given somebody years of faithful service instead of putting that horse out to pasture for retirement some people would rather truck him off to a slaughter plant to get another $400 out of him.
If you cant afford to put him out to pasture give him a bucket of grain and a bullet in the brain. Its more humane than sending him to dinner with a french man.
Click to expand...

Ok but isn't the goal of any business a profit??? If you look at ranching as a business a horse is a tool you use to get the job done. Doesn't it make sense to sell them for profit when you can't use them anymore?
 
CattleRMe said:
RoperAB said:
CattleRMe said:
North Platte Nebraska used to have a horse kill plant but it has since closed. My understanding is the kill horse market is much like the live horse market in this area and down. Last I knew they were either getting a truck load of kill horses and then shipping them to Texas or someplace in Canada. However with all the border trouble i'm not even sure they can get them into Canada anymore. :???:

I think people are emotionally attached to horses and a person has one for years and they work for you and some where along the way they become in a sense like a dog to most. However I do think that there needs to be the kill plants. There has to be a way to dispose of the rank no good horses that money had been invested in. A way to recover some of the cost.
Click to expand...
There is. There called bucking horse sales. Broncs are worth quite a bit of money around here.
What this is really about is that after a horse has given somebody years of faithful service instead of putting that horse out to pasture for retirement some people would rather truck him off to a slaughter plant to get another $400 out of him.
If you cant afford to put him out to pasture give him a bucket of grain and a bullet in the brain. Its more humane than sending him to dinner with a french man.
Click to expand...

Ok but isn't the goal of any business a profit??? If you look at ranching as a business a horse is a tool you use to get the job done. Doesn't it make sense to sell them for profit when you can't use them anymore?
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No a horse is much more than a tool. If I had to explain it, you would not understand.
I just cant relate to some people who own horses. I would walk on foot before I would just get on some nag. I would be imbaressed to ride anything that was not in good flesh.
My colts are in good flesh before I even start them under saddle. I wouldnt feel good about myself if I had to start them when they were not in top shape.
I know this is off subject but I just cant understand the mindset of some people. I would be imbaressed to be seen riding some half dead dude horses with no life in them that I see some "others" riding.
When people call me about a horse I have for sale. If the first thing they ask is about how bomb proof he is I just tell them the horse is sold because I know their type.
All my horses have "life" and are gentle when sold. But this should not be their first concern about buying horse if they are any kind of horseman at all.
They are just wanting something they can pull around and kick around and that hardly has any go. You would think they would be imbaressed?
 
I think after this year it's illegal to haul horses of any kind in a pot. Lots of rodeo guys are looking for straights to use. Not sure how a person would handle all the PMU colts and such-can't see just shooting them and burying them either. To be honest never have canned a horse here yet-I've had to shoot a few which isn't much fun either. Most of ours either are born and die here or if they're sold are sold while still alot of years left in them.
 
Northern Rancher said:
I think after this year it's illegal to haul horses of any kind in a pot. Lots of rodeo guys are looking for straights to use. Not sure how a person would handle all the PMU colts and such-can't see just shooting them and burying them either. To be honest never have canned a horse here yet-I've had to shoot a few which isn't much fun either. Most of ours either are born and die here or if they're sold are sold while still alot of years left in them.
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Isnt the PMU industry pretty much done for or on the way out?
Why cant PMU barns use other peoples horses? Example say Northern had some Mares bread. He could rent them to the PMU barn for a while? At least this way the foals are wanted.
There are so many well bread horses out there right now that it just doesnt make sense to breed horses with no real sale or demand for them.
Plus here is another thing. For years now on account of these PMU outfits the horse market has been flooded. What about the "real" horse breeders?
If the PMU industry was gone yah might end up getting a half decent $ for your foals.
The way it is around here, if you took a half decent QH weanling to a sale you might get $200 for him. Chances are its going to the packers.
If you kept it until it was two YO and then took it to a sale you might get $350 to $400 if you where real lucky.]
But like I said before the Packer in Fort Macleod is breeding his own mares now so the packers are going to be buying less and less all the time from the public. So its not like they are really doing a service by taking unwanted horses.
 
If the PMU industry was gone yah might end up getting a half decent $ for your foals.
The way it is around here, if you took a half decent QH weanling to a sale you might get $200 for him. Chances are its going to the packers.
If you kept it until it was two YO and then took it to a sale you might get $350 to $400 if you where real lucky.]
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Few people want young horses anymore-- As a good friend breeder told me onetime, we live in the age of "instant horse"...Most anymore want a horse that they can do anything and everything with the minute they get it - and thats bomb proof for the wife and kids.....
 
IL Rancher said:
Oka, here is asking a question that maybe I should know the answer to but I don't.. What is the PMU industry?
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Pregnant Mares' Urine, Premarin (PREgnant MARes' urINe); PMU for short.
Premarin (including Prempro, Premphase, Prempac, and Premelle), -is a drug made up of estrogens obtained from the urine of pregnant mares; was/is used to reduce the symptoms of menopause in women or women who have had a hysterectomy and also prescribed for osteoporosis and to reduce the chance of heart disease in women over 50. Now being replaced by synthetic or non PMU organic alternatives.

edited; in italics - what I forgot to type in
 
roper, You are truely adimant and passionate about this topic and I admire you for that.... Anyone listen to Trent Luse yesterday??? He talked about this very subject....
 
Speaking of unwanted broncs-I helped my friend work a big gelding a few years back-big old claw hammer head on him. It was worth your life to go in the pen with him. Anyway my friends Dad watched him for a bit he said- " You know if that was my horse I'd shoot him and buy two pigs to feed him too-and I don't like pigs either" lol. He was just a rotten son of a gun-wouldn't make a bronc too outlaw for that even.
 
Thanks for the kind words Katrina :oops: :oops:
Really though im a hateful and contrary SOB :lol:
But its hard not to be passionate about horses. Horses are all about dignity, elegance, freedom and passion.
These "dude" horses are man made. Horses truly are a mirror of whoever owns/ trains them. Horses dont lie, they tell it like it is.
Now all horses are different. Look at the one Northern described above.
To walk away from that horse is a missed opportunity to learn.
I horse like that will make you a better horseman. If nothing else even if you fail as a horseman with a horse like that, it will still make you a better horseman because you will appreciate the easy good minded ones "pretties" after that.
But to make "Top horse " out of a more spirited one is more rewarding. You will always apreciate that horse more. You will always take more pride in that horse because you know what went into getting him that way.
I havnt came across a horse yet that could not be turned into a real good ride. Generally the dishonest ones are man made.
Horsemanship is a personal challenge. Its about personal growth. Its about heart. Its not about brute strength,its about mental and emotional fitness. Its about heart and desire.
Its not something that your ever going to be finished learning. There is no end to the road, so you better enjoy the journey.
I know of no other creature on earth that has more heart than a horse.
A horse will actually work or run for you until it drops dead. Think about that. I mean you could saddle up and ask him to run and he would run until he dropped dead with a heart attack if you told him to do it.
He will work without feed and water until he drops dead with you in the saddle and he wont complain either.
Its only the man made ones that are dishonest. Horses have no hidden agenda or alterior motives.
I love everything that a horse is and the more spirited the horse, the more I think of him.
 
RoperAB said:
Thanks for the kind words Katrina :oops: :oops:
Really though im a hateful and contrary SOB :lol:
But its hard not to be passionate about horses. Horses are all about dignity, elegance, freedom and passion.
These "dude" horses are man made. Horses truly are a mirror of whoever owns/ trains them. Horses dont lie, they tell it like it is.
Now all horses are different. Look at the one Northern described above.
To walk away from that horse is a missed opportunity to learn.
I horse like that will make you a better horseman. If nothing else even if you fail as a horseman with a horse like that, it will still make you a better horseman because you will appreciate the easy good minded ones "pretties" after that.
But to make "Top horse " out of a more spirited one is more rewarding. You will always apreciate that horse more. You will always take more pride in that horse because you know what went into getting him that way.
I havnt came across a horse yet that could not be turned into a real good ride. Generally the dishonest ones are man made.
Horsemanship is a personal challenge. Its about personal growth. Its about heart. Its not about brute strength,its about mental and emotional fitness. Its about heart and desire.
Its not something that your ever going to be finished learning. There is no end to the road, so you better enjoy the journey.
I know of no other creature on earth that has more heart than a horse.
A horse will actually work or run for you until it drops dead. Think about that. I mean you could saddle up and ask him to run and he would run until he dropped dead with a heart attack if you told him to do it.
He will work without feed and water until he drops dead with you in the saddle and he wont complain either.
Its only the man made ones that are dishonest. Horses have no hidden agenda or alterior motives.
I love everything that a horse is and the more spirited the horse, the more I think of him.
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Horses are also my favorite animal, RoperAB. Many horses are majestic, beautiful, spirited, loyal and honest. Other horses are overweight, lazy, disdainful, and obnoxious. Some are athletic, treacherous, and just plumb dangerous to be around. There are many different types of equines, and they have as wide an array of personalities as do people.
Horses can be well trained and expensive. Pedigrees and bloodlines can make horses expensive. There are many great horses available cheap, because they do not have well-known pedigrees. There is an infinite variety of different types of horses, and they run the gamut from being quite expensive to being dirt cheap.

You are still quite young, and this I am guessing because of your dreams to make real good horses out of known broncs. I was that way for the earlier part of my life also, but the older I get and the higher that hospital bills become, the less I want to conquer every bronc that comes down the pike. Besides, I've knocked around horse country enough to realize that it isn't possible to make a silk purse out of every sow's ear bronc horse that comes along. Many a good cowboy thinks they can take a wild bronc cowgirl and turn her into a respectable ranch wife. Sometimes it works; many times it doesn't work. :wink: :) It is not a perfect world.

Many people who are passionate about their love for horses, are equally as passionate about not wanting horses to be sent to packing plants to be processed into horse meat. In my younger days, I would have felt the same way.

Older age may not have made me any wiser, but it has made me more logical and realistic. There has to be a way to do away with unwanted and unnecessary horses. Even though a horse has more majesty and beauty than most other animals, they will still die sometime from some cause, just like any other animal or human. Death in a packing plant doesn't make an animal any "deader" than they would be from an injury, a fall, a bullet, or lethal injection. Dead is dead.

What is wrong with selling a horse to a packer? Hungry people get horse meat for food. Hungry pets get horsemeat for food. Sure, the horse dies, but it wasn't going to live forever anyway. Best of all, the owner of the horse gets money from the sale of the horse. This would seem to be much more desirable than for the owner to have to pay a big fee for a veterinarian to put down the horse, and then pay a landfill service another big fee for disposal charges. The money received from the sale of the "weigh-up" horse could make a significant down payment on a replacement usable horse.

Not all horses would be required to be sold to packers. Special horses could still be euthanized in more dignified fashion and buried with a funeral service if so desired. The majority of horses are not "special horses". These run-of-the-mill ordinary horses, outlaws, cripples and rejects could be sent to the packers. If there is a good weigh-up market, the whole horse industry thrives. Without a good packer market, nice young desirable horses sell way too cheap. To my way of thinking, if packers are allowed to process horses for meat or pet food, it is a win-win situation for everyone. Without the packing industry, it is a lose-lose deal for all horse owners.
 

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