“The greatest deterrent
to freedom are men and women of zeal, well-meaning, but
without knowledge or understanding.”
~Justice Louis Brandeis~

"People are so quick to defend their own agendas, but they so often fail to realize we must protect the rights of all if we are to continue to have any rights of our own."
~Jenqu~


Ranch meaning, in general, any real world dwelling probably not involving full care board. Kind of a rural voice of real horse owners, trainers, traders, auction owners, rodeo contractors, etc.. all of us who have taken a verbal beating and called greedy ass hats. Back at the Ranch contributors, moderators, subjects, and so on, are pro-horse, pro-owner, and pro-slaughter.
Back at the Ranch was formed by a group of like minded horse / livestock owners. It is a place for us to try to educate, a place to vent our frustrations with the current equine industry, a place to share humor and snark, and in general try to open the eyes of the public who seem to be anti-agriculture.We do have a section for comments of course, and if you would like to email us you can do so directly or through the contact us form. We like to hear from our readers. I hope you enjoy reading our blog as much as I enjoy managing it.
Sincerely,
Ranch Manager
manager_back_at_the_ranch@yahoo.com

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Comprehension and Comments

From the number of comments we've been receiving, Particularly in one Monday opinion piece “here’s what I think” there are those visiting here who either A) can't comprehend what they are reading, B) Don't bother to read because they just want to have their say and don't care about anyone else's opinions C) Read the Articles and agree or disagree, so comment on what is written (YAY!!!!) or D) Just want to post something that they hope is going to get a rise out of someone. I like C the best, but was aware when we started this we'd more than likely get more of A, B, and D.When you're dealing with an issue as volatile as Slaughter, you know you're going to get all kinds of people involved, and your hope is that at least a few are going to be reasonable, and able to have a civil discussion. So far, that has not seemed to have happened with us, and I'm sorry to see that. I know some Anti Slaughter people who are dedicated, opinionated, and would not give some of those who have posted on here the time of day because, frankly, they feel they are a detriment to their cause. I can't say I've ever met anyone on the Pro side I feel that way about.I'm not sure what it is that causes some of those who are involved in the Anti side of this issue to act the way they do. A perfect picture of some of the behavior can be seen on a recent post by one of the Blog owners. The Blog was an opinion piece that while discussing Slaughter, was also of an overview of the market in general, breeding practices due to the economy, the value of the horse, it's place as livestock versus pet, what effect legislation may have on our future, and the importance of training. In short, it was a well written piece that touched on many points that all horse owners should be concerning themselves with. This article was written on August 11th, and to date comments are still being posted.What is unfortunate is that there are not too many that have even addressed what the Article had to say. Very early on, the subject of the upcoming EU regulations was brought up, and the comment section took on a life of it's own after that. I do think the regulations are important, and worth discussing, but it was obvious that those posting were in such a hurry to point out to us (who they feel are way behind and do not know about this) that our dreams of horse killing are about to fall down around us, that they failed to read or comprehend the information in the Article. And that's a shame. We missed a chance to have some good conversations on some really good, pertinent topics. The conversations soon deteriorated into the same finger pointing, and the same accusations. We were even lucky enough to have a visit from John Holland himself! Unfortunately, he didn't seem to read the Article either. Any opinion posted by the Pro side was dismissed as lies, or spin. And those from group D did not disappoint....they never do! The Anonymous posters, while always entertaining, seem to take away from what we are trying to accomplish. When a person posing as a Veterinarian tells one of the Blog owners to "STFU", how much validity can that person possibly expect their opinion to have? Sure, it's kind of funny, in a 5th grade kind of way, but in my opinion, this is a serious issue, and we're here to try to sort things out, and try to come to a common ground. And just because you SAY you're a Vet, or a CPA, or whomever, posting behind an Anonymous ID doesn't hold much credibility. Really, I could post as President Obama under an Anonymous ID, but it doesn't make it true. We're just starting out, and as John Holland pointed out, our Blog site is not quite up to date in some areas. I'm sure we'll get there. Personally, I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we're less concerned about all of the bells and whistles than we are about trying to get the word out to others about our views issues that pertain to the Pro horse side. We don't have any problem with saying we're a work in progress and always ready to learn. We can admit we don't have all of the answers, and are always looking for more information. We'd love to have some open minded, civil discussions. We understand that probably won't happen, but we're going to keep trying.For those who decided to pick up and go home after the August 11 comment wars, I can't say I'm sorry to see all of you go, but I do know you miss out when you refuse to open your minds to the opinions and thoughts of others. We will remain at a stalemate until we can at least talk. There are some really good ideas and thoughts being posted on here. If you close your minds to them simply because you feel they are coming from the "wrong side" the horses, as always, lose in the end.
See you Back At The Ranch.
Written by RH2

8 comments:

  1. By Posting Anonymous, it keeps the Anti's from showing up at your door and making your life hell. I raise and sale good AQHA horses and have many here. some will end up going to slaughter because of a bad leg or just not what people want and if so that is fine because then they are worth something to someone else even if it is dinner.
    But the last thing I need is someone showing up here and turning my horses loose (has been done) or thinking they are doing the poor little horses a favior by cutting fences down and then I have two studs fighting and one needs to be put down. Or then there is the person knocking on my door telling me that he just hit a horse on the road.
    I would love to see Slaughter come back in the US because then WE would be the ones that say how it is done.. How the horses are trucked to the plant.. how they are fed and watered and cared for and yes... killed.
    If done right there is no pain.. no scared.. no nothing.. just "bang".. drop dead. and horses are scared when you put them in a round pen for the first time but yet people do it. does that mean that we have to stop training?
    So I am sorry that I post under Anonymous but well I cant aford for some ding dong that thinks all horses need to be kept on the sofa and turned into lap dogs to come and make not only my life hell but the horses here as well.
    Anonymous in Montana

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  2. I understand and agree with you. I think that it's unfortunate that some feel the need to keep their identities anonymous because of possible damage to their property and horses by those who do not agree with them.
    The anonymous posts that are annoying come from posters who comment and pose as vets, etc. We're fairly certain they are most likely Anti Slaughter people who don't want to give their names, or who just want to come on and insult, yet appear to be an authority figure. I don't know too many vets who would tell someone to "STFU", and expect to be taken seriously.

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  3. Oh you would love to see horses butchered alive, a fact we seem to ignore.

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  4. (((Oh you would love to see horses butchered alive, a fact we seem to ignore.)))
    OH Lin there you go twisting peoples words again. No one said anything of the sort. Stop being such a child.

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  5. Anonymous (first one) I understand not wanting to give a full name but a user Id would be safe and we could then address each other without confusion. If you don't want to go to the trouble of setting up an ID you could always make one up and then "sign" your posts with it.
    I won't remove the anonymous option but it would be helpful to be able to address a person by some sort of name :)

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  6. First anonymous.....I understand exactly where you are comming from....in writing this blog I try to keep names out for exactly that reason....but you are exactly the type of person we had in mind when we started this thing....those who do the best they can by their horses everyday. We believe these are the type of people who really need to come together....We don't spend all that much time behind the computer screen researching the lastest horror site or EU ruling as it MIGHT affect us. We are to busy trying to make our horses worth more alive than dead...that takes time, effort, and skilll.....we have always looked at the slaughter market as a secondary thought....it is what happens when all else goes south....and while we understand it....keep a running tab....on the numbers and prices......we tend to pay more attention to our live horses as I said earlier that takes time....

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  7. Lin, I've read your comments on here, and while I get the gist of the running theme, I wish you had something more to contribute to the discussion.
    Did you read your comment before posting it? It doesn't make a lot of sense.....

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  8. RH1, thank you for posting something i've said for a long time. those of us who own horses spend a lot of time with them. the quality of their day to day lives is of the utmost importance to us. while we understand that slaughter is a last resort choice, and want to have that option, we do not want to have to spend the amount of time dealing with it that we have in these last years. it takes away from our time with our horses. those on the anti slaughter side who don't own horses don't understand this. their time is filled with letter writing, arguing, posting on the forums, donating to rescues, and in some cases sponsoring horses. but that does not compare to actual horse ownership.
    i spend more time that i ever thought i would online now just trying to keep up with everything in an effort to hang onto my rights as a horse owner. i'd much rather be enjoying my horses!

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