Wrap Up

rescue gone wrong.......
I've written about 4 articles in an attempt to wrap up and update the 3 Rescue’s Saga, and scrapped them all. There is so much involved, with the egos, drama, issues, and lack of resolution, that it seems nearly impossible. I also know that there are those who are already tired of hearing about it. I bet the horses still living(?) at the Rescue are tired of their existence there. I had hoped to report a great outcome with the Authorities involved working together, and getting those poor horses, and the little donkey out of there. I had hoped to report that charges had been filed against the Rescue owner. I had also hoped to win the lottery last night. Alas, none of these things have happened. I understand that there are those who do not want to look at the fact that we can't seem to enforce the regulations in the state of Nebraska on the issues it seems to be suffering with, and help these horses. They don't want to draw the conclusion that if we can't even do this, such a huge undertaking as transport law enforcement will be a failure as well. If, as they say, "no one" wants to remove these horses, because they have no funding, or means to care for them, what will happen when they stop a trailer full of Slaughter bound horses? And yes, I know, there were those who think that this story should not have been written with any mention of the Slaughter issue. How can it not be? When Rescue is offered as the "humane" alternative to Slaughter, and the Humane alternative is increasingly looking a whole lot like long term torture, we need to talk. Does anyone agree that "having 100's of starving horses is much better than 150,000 plus dieing at a torturous hell hole slaughter house"? To me, this Rescue appeared to be a "torturous hell hole" in it's own right. And while we're talking about what we may agree with, can anyone, after reading the article about those poor horses, and seeing what they look like agree that "they don't meet their torturous death here, but you can still sell to a KB and off they go". How can we ever do what's right for the horses if there are people who will look the other way as long as Slaughter is not involved? Then there's the mindset that I wrote the article because of my "dislike" for Rescues". The reasons stated-
1) Rescues "potentially jack up the auction prices of horses". I don't know where this person has been, but the better the auction prices, the better the market. If the Rescues can shore up the market, why would I, or anyone else be upset? I think the poster is confusing our "dislike" with the profiteering by some Rescues that "save" horses at a very low dollar. They then tack on all of those extra charges and then "bail" those horses off to emotionally invested buyers in the name of love. We see that as a bit of a rip off, as they have discouraged these very same people from attending auctions themselves, where they could buy these horses at the very same low price they purchase them for. Reason #2- Rescues provide an ID trail for irresponsible owners "ratting" on them no matter what the "stage of ownership". I admit my confusion on this one. After a horse is sold, or given away, the person in possession of that horse is the owner. I admit, also, that I wasn't aware of this ID trail, and the "ratting" system. Maybe it explains why some of these Rescues aren't able to feed and care for the horses they have, though. Perhaps covering all of those trails, and "ratting" those irresponsible owners out leaves little or no time for care of the horses. Reason #3, and perhaps my favorite- Rescues make "shitty owners" look bad when they can fix, re-home or-the greatest gift, humanely euthanize a problem equine. Perhaps this statement speaks volumes about what the problem is, and has been. If this is the opinion the Rescues maintain about EVERYONE who has to give up a horse, how compassionate are they, really? I'd also like to point out that I don't see the Rescues in question doing a lot of any of the above. There won't be a lot of "fixing" done on a horse that can barely make it through the day due to starvation. Re-homing? I doubt it. While we're on the noble subject of Euthanasia, I want to bring up some comments that were made in reference to my article. I think they're something worth repeating. "Rescue keeps vets busy and well paid. Vets should support Rescue and not slaughter. rescues have vets on their property every other day of the week. One colt is getting ready to have $4000 surgery". "Slaughter doesn't pay vets a freaking dime". I suppose that would explain those vets who support the Anti stand. That "love for the horses" appears to be turning into a pretty penny for them. And Slaughter?-Well, you read it here. There were those reading what I wrote who took offense to it because of the lack of fairness they felt I showed to Rescue. I was told that my title was an attention grabber, and did a "genuine disservice to reputable, good rescues". It was further stated that "there is a lot of good out there, but as always the anti horse folks always want to focus on the negative".-I'd just like to take a second here to ask how constantly referring to us as "anti-horse" has a positive connotation? I did state that there are a lot of good Rescues out there. In this case, however, I wasn't discussing those. But I understand how those people feel. How often do you hear about all of the good we on the Pro horse side do from the "other side"? Exactly. It was asked where the "horse organizations" were in all of this. I guess responsibility is only for private owners and the AQHA. And finally, it was stated that "they're trying to re-open the Slaughter plants instead of trying to help the owner and Rescues that take in the horses they cast off." This seems like as good a place as any to wrap this up. To date, every agency in Holt County Nebraska has been contacted about this Rescue. There were some very good home offers for these horses, some from very good Rescues (see, I DO know about them!) with strong reputations for rehabilitation. Jerry Finch has even been contacted and asked to help. In the case of this particular Rescue, nothing has been done to date. Those rescues offering homes have been turned down, and the Rescue accused of the abuse has refused to do anything other that SELL some of the horses so she can keep the others. There has been no updates. How do we help someone like this? And more important, why should we have to? This whole story is an example of system failure on every single level. The Rescue itself, The Rescues "shuffling" horses into it, the Rescue that chose to support it, the Authorities involved, and sadly, those of us trying to help the horses. We can't ignore that this IS a Slaughter related issue, but that is not my choice. I said it before, and I'll say it now. Given the choice of those horses slowly starving to death, or having U.S. plants open and having them go there, I would choose the plants. This situation has been horrific since September 14, and remains so today. For the horses remaining in that Rescue, Winter is coming, and things aren't looking like they'll change. Perhaps in a few months we'll hear another story on the news about this place. I can guarantee you it won't be a good one. For now, at least on here, I'll move on. But I don't plan to stop watching what is going on in the Rescue world. Those of us who are truly Pro horse need to point out abuse and neglect, no matter where it occurs, and no matter how unfair others may think it is to do so. It's part of the job.
Written By RH2

* note from RM- we have seen some rescues referred to as hoarders by us “anti horse” folks. I found this site posted on a forum and wanted to share it with everyone who hasn’t read it yet. Please people, be aware of who and what you are giving your hard earned money donations to because enabling hoarders with cash and praise simply makes the problem worse. It certainly does not help any horses or the so called rescuer.
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/rescue.htm