Sad But Necessary Menu
It seems that horse lovers have painted themselves into a corner. They lobbied for legislation to end horse slaughter for meat export and now horses are being abandoned and set free because their owners can’t afford to keep them.
Horses are expensive to own and a lot of people that own them are not financially well off to begin with. With the weekly price hike on hay and grain horses are becoming an unaffordable luxury for a good percentage of horse owners.
Blame it on the high price of fuel. Blame it on ethanol production driving up the price of feed, or blame it on anything you wish. Horses are starving and living in misery and something needs to be done to reverse a bad decision. Even though we give them names and treat them like large pets, they are still live stock and reality may have us reexamining this in a practical sense. Yes, it is sad, but maybe they would be better off as a part of the food chain instead of suffering from starvation and neglect.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
8 Comments:
I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one. It seems like every week there's a news segment on horses being neglected, as well as so many other animals. There's been way too much human intervention into the natural order of things. We're going to 'save' oursevles into extinction one of these days.
I also agree.
(while I am trying to figure out if I can keep one in my back yard :))
Hey, that's a great price on the Cheval, where is that photo from?
Kris if only there was a way to put them all to work or let them roam free.
Weese, you need about two acres per horse. Your back yard may just be a snack. What you need is a goat.
Auntie, I found it while I was surfing for porn on Flickr ; )
There are too many people who consider little but what they want. They decide they want a horse and don't consider what it takes to keep that horse in good health or adequate living conditions.
Your analogy of the horse as pet is a good one. I've seen too many pet owners who should never have had one in the first place. Those who get a dog but are away from home 10-12 hours a day and keep the poor animal locked in a cage or small room while they're away. Or those who don't consider the cost of veterinary care or the price of food for the animal.
Not sure about what to do about horses when the owners have made such poor decisions. There must be a way to educate people who want to buy one to make them realize what a large commitment they're making before they leap into it. Prevention is usually more important than a cure.
I agree, Rich, but the heart wants what it wants. We know so many women who've wanted horses all their lives and finally get one when the kids are grown and gone. They buy animals they know little about with sometimes very bad consequences. Remember horse sellers are worse than used car sales people in regards to truth telling.
Buying a horse (unless you are an experienced rancher or a horseperson) is like adopting a kid. Well, you can't turn around and sell the kid if he throws you to the ground and steps on you, but you know what I mean. It's a long term committment of time money and lots of effort or you are going to have real problems on your hands some time down the road. I've adopted a few kids. Maybe I should have gotten a horse instead. It probably wouldn't have driven my truck into a ditch.
Darev, no, but maybe would have driven your bank account into the ditch.
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