It seems as if every time something is written that some don't like, or something that gets under the skin of others, we get around to this question. Sometimes, I confess, I feel a little guilty that I may not be doing enough. But for the most part, I don't feel bad at all. I'm from the "old school" of Pro Horse people. I don't know how popular we are-though I can guess:), but I'm one of the ones who actually own horses. That alone takes up a lot of my time.I get up in the morning, and have a list of chores to do. The horses need fed, and groomed. The stalls need cleaned. There are usually some type of horse related errands to be run, or vet or farrier visits to be taken care of. Then there's hay to put up. And I've been known to ride. It's a well kept secret in the Modern Day Equine World that a horse can, indeed be ridden, and does, in many cases, enjoy it. I do "give back" to the equine Community, though. Currently, I'm working with a "newbie" to the horse world, and her horse. He's a good boy, but a bit stubborn. She's going to be a good horse owner, but has a few things to learn about horsemanship.(Yes, I'm teaching her to RIDE!) It's a lot of fun working with them. I also take care of 2 horses for an elderly couple. That's just a freebie. They don't get around too well, so I feed, muck, groom, and make sure they have all the supplies they need so they can keep their horses at home. I know it doesn't sound as honorable as giving to all of those emergencies that arise on an almost daily basis, but the couple that has been able to keep the horses is sure happy, and I don't mind. And yes, I do support Rescues, but only a couple that I know are good ones with a proven track record. I do what I can, whenever I can. By the time I get done with all of this, my day is pretty well spent. I don't have a lot of time to visit other places, donate to the Emergency of the Day, or volunteer, or make phone calls to ask other Rescues questions. I don't even usually keep my family up to date on what I'm doing! In fact, I'm often amazed at those who have the time to spend what appear to be large amounts of time online chatting about every little occurrence in their daily lives. The choice to write for this Blog was a tough one, but I believe in the message. I'm grateful to those who can point me in the direction of a good story, or link. I'm on here more than I ever dreamed I'd be anyhow, keeping up with legislation and issues that affect me as a horse owner. I don't really buy into the "We Are the World" theory of "Equine Stewardship". I think things were a lot better for the horses when those who owned them were expected to be responsible for them. I don't knock those who DO have the time to put into volunteer work, mass e-mail for the cause, or who can spend hours on end on line posting about the good things they do. Many of them aren't horse owners, and have a lot of free time to devote to those things. I do not. A lot of us do a lot of good things. Not all of us have time to get on line and discuss it, though.So, next time you ask what I'm doing-if I don't answer right away, don't assume I'm not involved. I may just be out doing it instead of telling you about it.
RH2
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Just Thinking “Out Loud”……
I haven’t weighed in on the Monday opinion page for awhile. Reading comments on the Straight Talk With A Killer Buyer, the responses to a request for an auction report, and talking with some acquaintances of mine about the way things are, started me thinking.
I was talking with an acquaintance a couple nights ago about a private auction we were both familiar with. Someone he knew had taken some decent young horses to the sale and although he “topped the sale” he brought them all home. I seem to have failed in the past to make my point about responsible marketing and how it plays into responsible ownership. I feel this consignor is an example of the point I am trying to make. Although his young horses sold for well over scale price he was not willing to accept the price. He very simply and quietly chose to accept his responsibility, exercise his right to refuse the final bid, pay the fees, and take his horses home. The ultimate drawback to responsible ownership but sometimes you just have to anti-up and make your stand.
How can any of us pro-horse, anti-horse, pro-slaughter, no kill animal shelter, whatever your camp or preference, begin to salvage this train wreck if we don’t take a stand against the prices offered? No, it won’t be pleasant and it won’t get us out but sometimes the principle outweighs the cost. The whole help me help the horses mentality rescue/hoarding climate is at total odds with pride of ownership, producing something to be proud of, and being fairly paid for it.
I have spent more time than I should writing, researching, and trying to put to words the way I feel about the horse/livestock industry, the people involved, and the stock they care for. I feel I am still at a loss about how to convey to those who will never truly understand what it feels like to pay the bills with the quality, training, and marketability of your livestock or the feeling we have for our animals. This lady summed it up very well in her comment to the Jockey Club written on the American Horse League website.
In My Opinion
It began in the days of Carry Back, my infatuation with horse racing, maturing into a lifelong love as Secretariat and Seattle Slew left their indelible hoofprints on Belmont’s homestretch. Years, occupied by grooming, mucking stalls, late nights foaling, pedigrees memorized, and every last dime spent, all marked by the first Saturday in May. But now this love is challenged with the realization our industry leaders are sleeping with the enemy. They’ve been swooned by notions of endless green pastures for the lifetime of my friend Flicka and the promise of one little girl for every horse. Rising to the battle cries of “rescue”, “retire” and “adopt”, racing had aligned itself with a movement named animal rights. Disguised as animal welfare, it has all the trappings of everything good for the horse, while jeopardizing racing’s very existence. It is a movement that manipulates the truth to line its bed with the millions donated by an innocent public held hostage by emotions and good intentions. It is a movement that would see horse racing, and for that mattter, all horse sports, extinct. When will the racing world stand up for itself and protect those of us who have invested a lifetime of service to its well-being? When will our association question the unintended consequences of giving its support to animal rights groups that have no financial responsibility to our sport’s participants or our horses’ well being? This steadfast partner to the “Sport of Kings” is willing to forgive our industry, but this alignment with animal rights must be terminated. End this affair now! And, an apology would be nice
Her partner, sums it up very well in this commentary in the Thoroughbred Times.
Dear Thoroughbred Times,
I fully support the ideas on horse "recycling" put forth by William Backer in his commentary, "A pain-free, stress-free death".
The push by animal rights groups to close the horse slaughter plants in this country has removed the bottom from the horse market. This fact has effectively shortened the lives of thousands of horses. It just isn't cost effective or practical to feed and train a horse one cannot sell.
Evidenced recently at Keeneland's "marathon" sale, buyers have lost confidence in an industry marching in step with animal rights ideology. Keeneland officials court foreign buyers, including those willing to bid on less commercial pedigrees. Nearly every horse exported from the United States will eventually find its way to the knacker's yard. Other countries know they don't have the land or money to retire every horse. If we "recycle" horses here, we can at least make sure it's done humanely. We have lots of people in racing patting themselves on the back because they "rescued" geldings that made half a million dollars. But, whose looking out for the grade weanling that fetched $3.00 at the local auction? His situation can and will worsen if H.R. 503 and SB 727 pass.
I started to leave the names of these good knowledgeable horse people in my writing because I am proud to be associated with them. I decided against it. I think the story in the Straight Talk blog should explain why…Here is how one of those $3.00 yearlings spent the winter…… I am going to borrow the Bob Smith alias from the Straight Talk blog…….this took place in the ranch country of the west…..not too far from Karen Sussman and Dayton Hyde……
Bob Smith, was called to a neighbor’s place to look at a horse that was thought to be suffering from colic. Upon arrival at the property, he saw several thin horses in the pen and one yearling lying on the ground. “All he was, was hair and bones. I thought he was dead.” Bob remembers. “I told the guy that he didn’t have colic, that he had starved to death. Then I saw he was alive. I couldn’t believe it. That colt opened up his eye and looked at me and he had the biggest, kindest eye.”
Bob went home but was too mad to relax. He called his neighbor and they went over with his trailer. When they went to pick him up he was froze down. “He didn’t weigh anything when we loaded him in the trailer.” Bob pauses, thinking of that day. “When we got him home, I got some warm water and started dribbling it in his mouth. He started working his mouth and his cheeks were full of frozen horse manure.” Anger still tinges his voice when he thinks of the colt’s desperate effort to survive.
“When I saw that, I knew I couldn’t give up on him. He was still trying to live. We were giving him warm water every hour. We couldn’t feed him more than a handful at a time because we knew his guts were all dried up and we had to make sure it was all working right.” Bob continues, “We got him warm and kept watering him but we thought he might die anyway. He was in terrible shape.”
It was eleven long days and nights of round the clock care before the colt was able to get up and stay on his feet. Warm water and small amounts of feed got his system working and he slowly started gaining strength. “We call him Lazarus ‘cause he rose from the dead,”
I would like to give credit to a friend of mine for the original version of this story….Again in the interest of privacy……Ironic, isn’t it? When discussing this issue we have to protect ourselves from the good and righteous? Ironic, the pro-slaughter/anti-horse “rhetoric” in the first two clips were written by the same Bob Smiths saving the colt in the third clip……Not really so ironic, if one were to do a little drifting around with real horsemen/stockmen.
RH1
I was talking with an acquaintance a couple nights ago about a private auction we were both familiar with. Someone he knew had taken some decent young horses to the sale and although he “topped the sale” he brought them all home. I seem to have failed in the past to make my point about responsible marketing and how it plays into responsible ownership. I feel this consignor is an example of the point I am trying to make. Although his young horses sold for well over scale price he was not willing to accept the price. He very simply and quietly chose to accept his responsibility, exercise his right to refuse the final bid, pay the fees, and take his horses home. The ultimate drawback to responsible ownership but sometimes you just have to anti-up and make your stand.
How can any of us pro-horse, anti-horse, pro-slaughter, no kill animal shelter, whatever your camp or preference, begin to salvage this train wreck if we don’t take a stand against the prices offered? No, it won’t be pleasant and it won’t get us out but sometimes the principle outweighs the cost. The whole help me help the horses mentality rescue/hoarding climate is at total odds with pride of ownership, producing something to be proud of, and being fairly paid for it.
I have spent more time than I should writing, researching, and trying to put to words the way I feel about the horse/livestock industry, the people involved, and the stock they care for. I feel I am still at a loss about how to convey to those who will never truly understand what it feels like to pay the bills with the quality, training, and marketability of your livestock or the feeling we have for our animals. This lady summed it up very well in her comment to the Jockey Club written on the American Horse League website.
In My Opinion
It began in the days of Carry Back, my infatuation with horse racing, maturing into a lifelong love as Secretariat and Seattle Slew left their indelible hoofprints on Belmont’s homestretch. Years, occupied by grooming, mucking stalls, late nights foaling, pedigrees memorized, and every last dime spent, all marked by the first Saturday in May. But now this love is challenged with the realization our industry leaders are sleeping with the enemy. They’ve been swooned by notions of endless green pastures for the lifetime of my friend Flicka and the promise of one little girl for every horse. Rising to the battle cries of “rescue”, “retire” and “adopt”, racing had aligned itself with a movement named animal rights. Disguised as animal welfare, it has all the trappings of everything good for the horse, while jeopardizing racing’s very existence. It is a movement that manipulates the truth to line its bed with the millions donated by an innocent public held hostage by emotions and good intentions. It is a movement that would see horse racing, and for that mattter, all horse sports, extinct. When will the racing world stand up for itself and protect those of us who have invested a lifetime of service to its well-being? When will our association question the unintended consequences of giving its support to animal rights groups that have no financial responsibility to our sport’s participants or our horses’ well being? This steadfast partner to the “Sport of Kings” is willing to forgive our industry, but this alignment with animal rights must be terminated. End this affair now! And, an apology would be nice
Her partner, sums it up very well in this commentary in the Thoroughbred Times.
Dear Thoroughbred Times,
I fully support the ideas on horse "recycling" put forth by William Backer in his commentary, "A pain-free, stress-free death".
The push by animal rights groups to close the horse slaughter plants in this country has removed the bottom from the horse market. This fact has effectively shortened the lives of thousands of horses. It just isn't cost effective or practical to feed and train a horse one cannot sell.
Evidenced recently at Keeneland's "marathon" sale, buyers have lost confidence in an industry marching in step with animal rights ideology. Keeneland officials court foreign buyers, including those willing to bid on less commercial pedigrees. Nearly every horse exported from the United States will eventually find its way to the knacker's yard. Other countries know they don't have the land or money to retire every horse. If we "recycle" horses here, we can at least make sure it's done humanely. We have lots of people in racing patting themselves on the back because they "rescued" geldings that made half a million dollars. But, whose looking out for the grade weanling that fetched $3.00 at the local auction? His situation can and will worsen if H.R. 503 and SB 727 pass.
I started to leave the names of these good knowledgeable horse people in my writing because I am proud to be associated with them. I decided against it. I think the story in the Straight Talk blog should explain why…Here is how one of those $3.00 yearlings spent the winter…… I am going to borrow the Bob Smith alias from the Straight Talk blog…….this took place in the ranch country of the west…..not too far from Karen Sussman and Dayton Hyde……
Bob Smith, was called to a neighbor’s place to look at a horse that was thought to be suffering from colic. Upon arrival at the property, he saw several thin horses in the pen and one yearling lying on the ground. “All he was, was hair and bones. I thought he was dead.” Bob remembers. “I told the guy that he didn’t have colic, that he had starved to death. Then I saw he was alive. I couldn’t believe it. That colt opened up his eye and looked at me and he had the biggest, kindest eye.”
Bob went home but was too mad to relax. He called his neighbor and they went over with his trailer. When they went to pick him up he was froze down. “He didn’t weigh anything when we loaded him in the trailer.” Bob pauses, thinking of that day. “When we got him home, I got some warm water and started dribbling it in his mouth. He started working his mouth and his cheeks were full of frozen horse manure.” Anger still tinges his voice when he thinks of the colt’s desperate effort to survive.
“When I saw that, I knew I couldn’t give up on him. He was still trying to live. We were giving him warm water every hour. We couldn’t feed him more than a handful at a time because we knew his guts were all dried up and we had to make sure it was all working right.” Bob continues, “We got him warm and kept watering him but we thought he might die anyway. He was in terrible shape.”
It was eleven long days and nights of round the clock care before the colt was able to get up and stay on his feet. Warm water and small amounts of feed got his system working and he slowly started gaining strength. “We call him Lazarus ‘cause he rose from the dead,”
I would like to give credit to a friend of mine for the original version of this story….Again in the interest of privacy……Ironic, isn’t it? When discussing this issue we have to protect ourselves from the good and righteous? Ironic, the pro-slaughter/anti-horse “rhetoric” in the first two clips were written by the same Bob Smiths saving the colt in the third clip……Not really so ironic, if one were to do a little drifting around with real horsemen/stockmen.
RH1
Friday, October 16, 2009
Straight Talk With A Killer Buyer……Making Sense of It All….
This Article Was Originally Printed In Quarter Horse News …….
I found it on the Million Horse Links site. It is titled Straight Talk With A Killer Buyer……Making Sense of It All…..I assume since it available on a public website link I am not breaking any copyright rules……
This could be a story written from the personal perspective of any number of horse buyers I am familiar with in any given area of the country. This article rebuts the idea slaughter is still business as usual. So as John, Vicki and the crowd tell us, any spike in abuse only proves THEIR side. Mr. Smith explains this first hand from someone who has been there through the whole mess in person.
Editor’s Note: It’s the policy of Quarter Horse News to not use anonymous sources in articles. However, we are making an exception. “Bob Smith” is a businessman, a trader with over 20 years of hard-learned experience in buying and selling horses. He also has a ranch and he buys and sells cattle. He is afraid to allow his name to be published. This is because he often buys horses, some of which he transports to slaughter plants. Many times, he has received threats and even had guns pointed at him by people who believed he was violating the rights of horses and endangering their welfare. The organized views of slaughter ban proponents are heard loud and clear, on Web sites, in newspapers and magazines and on broadcast segments. This time, we’re going to hear a little about the situation from the other side of the issue. Be sure to visit http://www.quarterhorsenews.com/ to view an extended version of this Straight Talk with photos and additional quotes. It’s a fact that horses are still going to slaughter. From the period of January to May, comparing 2007 to 2008, exports of live horses to Canada are up 68 percent and to Mexico there has been an 84 percent increase. These increases are explained by the ban on horse slaughter in the United States (for the full story, please see the two-part horse slaughter update written by Rebecca Overton on http://www.quarterhorsenews.com/ or the June 1 and June 15, 2008, issues of Quarter Horse News).
Making Sense Of It All…..There are hundreds of people in the United States who make their livings buying and selling horses, some of which go to slaughter. Some call them “killer buyers.” It’s not a nice designation, but it’s the plain truth. “Bob Smith” is a killer buyer. Of course, most of the horses he buys and sells end up as riding horses, breeding stock, pasture ornaments and family pets. But there is a percentage – he figures about 30 percent – that end up going to slaughter.
Smith used to transport his slaughter horses to Illinois and Texas. Now, he regularly makes trips to Canada. Those hauls take anywhere from 30 to 40 hours and require at least two days to complete. The horse slaughter ban has made it tough on Smith’s business, especially in light of increased fuel costs. But Smith contends that the real victims of the ban are, ironically, the horses.
Market supply. There’s been a documented decrease in the value of the lower- and middle-level horses in the past year. Smith attributes this to the horse slaughter ban and the resulting oversupply of horses at the bottom end. “It’s crazy because the horses are poor,” he said, pointing out that he has seen a drop-off in the number of healthy, well-conditioned horses at the local sales. “People don’t care no more. It’s worse now than what it was when the plants were open, 10 to one. “Sometimes you’ll give the horses away after you pay the commission because they won’t bring $15, $20 apiece. By the time you pay the $20 Coggins test, the $10 yardage and 8 percent commission, you’re back in the hole.”
Smith acknowledges that prices are holding for the nicely bred, well-broke, useable horses sold at well established or well-publicized sales. It’s at the local or regional sales – the ones held on the same day every month, every week – that horses, even the broke ones, are bringing significantly lower prices.
“This is where it all starts from. If you look, 90 percent of them end up at the local auction. I bought 14 horses last night for $900. Most of those horses cost $35 - $40 each. “If they were worth anything, why are people turning horses out in the national forests and in the coal mines? They dump them at our place. We get two to four horses a week – just thrown out. We don’t know where they come from. We’d rather not have them. You lose money on them.
“We had a blind horse dumped at our place. I called the Humane Society to come and get it. It took them three weeks. The matter of fact was that they had to give it away before they could come and get it.”
For the draft-breed horses, Smith says the value has dropped significantly. “Those horses that go by the pound, there’s no outlet for them and you’re seeing a lot more of them in poor shape. A Belgian horse isn’t worth a dime when he gets where he’s going. You cannot buy him for $10 here and truck him up there [to Canada]; it won’t pay your gas. It’s not worth fooling with him.”
Irresponsible breeding, Smith sees a lot of sick, undernourished and unsound horses at the sales. But he believes that even more stay home. “People won’t sell them because it costs money. They’d rather starve them to death. Because when you take them to market, you’ll owe $30 to $75. Used to be that even if your horse was thin, you got something for him. They won’t sell them. They’ll just keep them out in the pasture. Would you sell him if you had to owe the sale barn when you got done?”
Sales have been cancelled this year and Smith has noticed a drop-off in the number of horses being auctioned. But he has not noticed a coinciding slowdown in the breeding. “I’ve sold more studs now to breed this year than I did when the slaughter plants were open. You’ve got old Molly out there in the pasture; you want to raise you a colt. Why go to the auction to buy you a horse when you raise one out of Molly there? They have 20 to 30 horses out there and they’re not worth nothing. They just keep them out there and let them keep breeding. “It’s got worse. I don’t know why, but it has.” The inhumanity Transporting a horse to a slaughter plant, where he used to meet his end with a captive bolt, is not nice.
Making Sense of It - The Straight Talk with a killer buyer about his impressions of how the horse slaughter ban has impacted domestic horses. Katie Tims Quarter Horse News • August 1, 2008
Question is, was it humane?
“The people against the slaughter plants have never been to the horse auction,” Smith said. “They’ve got the picture of Black Beauty. If they’d come here, they’d understand. They’d see the poor horses. They don’t see it, they don’t want to see it, they ain’t going to see it. If they’d see it, they’d tell you to open the plants tomorrow.”
When slaughter plants operated domestically, Smith had to meet humane treatment standards on the horses he delivered to the facilities. “We had to fill out a form on each horse that it had no cuts, no bruises. We had to have compartments for the studs, to keep them separate. No one inspects them at all now.”
Smith believes that it’s the slaughter ban proponents who are responsible for the horses’ diminished situation. “They condemn everybody else for being inhumane, but we’re not. There is an inhumane way to handle everything. You know, it’s about as inhumane to leave that horse out there in that pasture and not fool with him, not care for him, as it was to bring him here and sell him for slaughter.
“That horse was watched over to the end. The captive bolt was more humane than choking a horse down enough to stick a needle in his vein. Most people have never seen that, but they’ve seen all the videos of horses being stabbed. That’s not the way it was here in the United States. The USDA used to watch over the whole process.”
Smith is tired of being portrayed as an evil person who abuses horses. “The horse trader does care about horses. It’s the way he makes a living. The horse trader will come to a local sale and take better care of the horses than the public does. That’s my opinion. Sometimes, accidents do happen. It’s that way with anything – with your horses, with your cows, with your dogs.”
Horse traders, Smith insists, understand the reality of the situation while animal rights advocates catch only glimpses. He says they don’t see the horses before they get to sale, the ones kept at home for too long because they’re not worth selling. “People have no idea of what’s going on. They think they’re helping the horses, but they’re just killing them.
“If the Humane Society and PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] care so much, why don’t they come get those poor horses at the sale barns? Why don’t they pick them up? Those are the ones that need saving. If they want to help those horses, there are places to go get them. Go get those things. Instead of waiting for the horse to sell for less than the consignment fee and yardage, go give the man $20 for a Coggins test. They could have more horses than they ever dreamed of.”
An emotional issue, Smith’s words say it all. “You have no market value at all for a poor horse and you get in trouble with them. Any time you load a poor horse up and take him somewhere, you’ve got the PETA people all over you. Even the horse that comes from a bad home and you’re trying to get him to a good home, they still get on you.”
Sometimes, it gets a little more personal. “There are crazy folks. They’ll shoot guns. You pull up in your driveway at home and they’ll be sitting there at midnight or in the morning. That’s the truth of it.”
At the sales, people try to get recorded goods to support claims of mishandling and abuse. “When we’re loading horses at night, they’ll hide over there with video cameras,” Smith said, pointing to bushes about 50 yards from the loading chute at a sale yard. “I see them over there, I just ignore them. And that’s not even on the slaughter horses but it’s on the broke horses, as well. It’s horses in general.”
One time in Greenville, Miss., Smith had a woman driving a station wagon force him over to the side of the road. His truck was loaded with quarantined horses diagnosed with equine infectious anemia.
“She pulled a .38 on me, right in the middle of town,” Smith said. “She had a badge and said she was with the Humane Society, one of the boss ladies of it. “She took me to the agri-center and they had a Quarter Horse show going. I had to go, she had a .38 pointed at my head. She unloaded the quarantine horses off the truck into the agri-center with all the other horses. Then she turned around and went out there, bought shavings and bedded the floor of the trailer down with shavings. “She loaded the horses back on the trailer and she said she was going to check me back at the state line. There was another guy that was there and he took me to the back roads. I took a dirt road to the Greenville bridge and went right into Arkansas. It made no sense.
I didn’t change a word, but thought it might bear repeating.
RH1
I found it on the Million Horse Links site. It is titled Straight Talk With A Killer Buyer……Making Sense of It All…..I assume since it available on a public website link I am not breaking any copyright rules……
This could be a story written from the personal perspective of any number of horse buyers I am familiar with in any given area of the country. This article rebuts the idea slaughter is still business as usual. So as John, Vicki and the crowd tell us, any spike in abuse only proves THEIR side. Mr. Smith explains this first hand from someone who has been there through the whole mess in person.
Editor’s Note: It’s the policy of Quarter Horse News to not use anonymous sources in articles. However, we are making an exception. “Bob Smith” is a businessman, a trader with over 20 years of hard-learned experience in buying and selling horses. He also has a ranch and he buys and sells cattle. He is afraid to allow his name to be published. This is because he often buys horses, some of which he transports to slaughter plants. Many times, he has received threats and even had guns pointed at him by people who believed he was violating the rights of horses and endangering their welfare. The organized views of slaughter ban proponents are heard loud and clear, on Web sites, in newspapers and magazines and on broadcast segments. This time, we’re going to hear a little about the situation from the other side of the issue. Be sure to visit http://www.quarterhorsenews.com/ to view an extended version of this Straight Talk with photos and additional quotes. It’s a fact that horses are still going to slaughter. From the period of January to May, comparing 2007 to 2008, exports of live horses to Canada are up 68 percent and to Mexico there has been an 84 percent increase. These increases are explained by the ban on horse slaughter in the United States (for the full story, please see the two-part horse slaughter update written by Rebecca Overton on http://www.quarterhorsenews.com/ or the June 1 and June 15, 2008, issues of Quarter Horse News).
Making Sense Of It All…..There are hundreds of people in the United States who make their livings buying and selling horses, some of which go to slaughter. Some call them “killer buyers.” It’s not a nice designation, but it’s the plain truth. “Bob Smith” is a killer buyer. Of course, most of the horses he buys and sells end up as riding horses, breeding stock, pasture ornaments and family pets. But there is a percentage – he figures about 30 percent – that end up going to slaughter.
Smith used to transport his slaughter horses to Illinois and Texas. Now, he regularly makes trips to Canada. Those hauls take anywhere from 30 to 40 hours and require at least two days to complete. The horse slaughter ban has made it tough on Smith’s business, especially in light of increased fuel costs. But Smith contends that the real victims of the ban are, ironically, the horses.
Market supply. There’s been a documented decrease in the value of the lower- and middle-level horses in the past year. Smith attributes this to the horse slaughter ban and the resulting oversupply of horses at the bottom end. “It’s crazy because the horses are poor,” he said, pointing out that he has seen a drop-off in the number of healthy, well-conditioned horses at the local sales. “People don’t care no more. It’s worse now than what it was when the plants were open, 10 to one. “Sometimes you’ll give the horses away after you pay the commission because they won’t bring $15, $20 apiece. By the time you pay the $20 Coggins test, the $10 yardage and 8 percent commission, you’re back in the hole.”
Smith acknowledges that prices are holding for the nicely bred, well-broke, useable horses sold at well established or well-publicized sales. It’s at the local or regional sales – the ones held on the same day every month, every week – that horses, even the broke ones, are bringing significantly lower prices.
“This is where it all starts from. If you look, 90 percent of them end up at the local auction. I bought 14 horses last night for $900. Most of those horses cost $35 - $40 each. “If they were worth anything, why are people turning horses out in the national forests and in the coal mines? They dump them at our place. We get two to four horses a week – just thrown out. We don’t know where they come from. We’d rather not have them. You lose money on them.
“We had a blind horse dumped at our place. I called the Humane Society to come and get it. It took them three weeks. The matter of fact was that they had to give it away before they could come and get it.”
For the draft-breed horses, Smith says the value has dropped significantly. “Those horses that go by the pound, there’s no outlet for them and you’re seeing a lot more of them in poor shape. A Belgian horse isn’t worth a dime when he gets where he’s going. You cannot buy him for $10 here and truck him up there [to Canada]; it won’t pay your gas. It’s not worth fooling with him.”
Irresponsible breeding, Smith sees a lot of sick, undernourished and unsound horses at the sales. But he believes that even more stay home. “People won’t sell them because it costs money. They’d rather starve them to death. Because when you take them to market, you’ll owe $30 to $75. Used to be that even if your horse was thin, you got something for him. They won’t sell them. They’ll just keep them out in the pasture. Would you sell him if you had to owe the sale barn when you got done?”
Sales have been cancelled this year and Smith has noticed a drop-off in the number of horses being auctioned. But he has not noticed a coinciding slowdown in the breeding. “I’ve sold more studs now to breed this year than I did when the slaughter plants were open. You’ve got old Molly out there in the pasture; you want to raise you a colt. Why go to the auction to buy you a horse when you raise one out of Molly there? They have 20 to 30 horses out there and they’re not worth nothing. They just keep them out there and let them keep breeding. “It’s got worse. I don’t know why, but it has.” The inhumanity Transporting a horse to a slaughter plant, where he used to meet his end with a captive bolt, is not nice.
Making Sense of It - The Straight Talk with a killer buyer about his impressions of how the horse slaughter ban has impacted domestic horses. Katie Tims Quarter Horse News • August 1, 2008
Question is, was it humane?
“The people against the slaughter plants have never been to the horse auction,” Smith said. “They’ve got the picture of Black Beauty. If they’d come here, they’d understand. They’d see the poor horses. They don’t see it, they don’t want to see it, they ain’t going to see it. If they’d see it, they’d tell you to open the plants tomorrow.”
When slaughter plants operated domestically, Smith had to meet humane treatment standards on the horses he delivered to the facilities. “We had to fill out a form on each horse that it had no cuts, no bruises. We had to have compartments for the studs, to keep them separate. No one inspects them at all now.”
Smith believes that it’s the slaughter ban proponents who are responsible for the horses’ diminished situation. “They condemn everybody else for being inhumane, but we’re not. There is an inhumane way to handle everything. You know, it’s about as inhumane to leave that horse out there in that pasture and not fool with him, not care for him, as it was to bring him here and sell him for slaughter.
“That horse was watched over to the end. The captive bolt was more humane than choking a horse down enough to stick a needle in his vein. Most people have never seen that, but they’ve seen all the videos of horses being stabbed. That’s not the way it was here in the United States. The USDA used to watch over the whole process.”
Smith is tired of being portrayed as an evil person who abuses horses. “The horse trader does care about horses. It’s the way he makes a living. The horse trader will come to a local sale and take better care of the horses than the public does. That’s my opinion. Sometimes, accidents do happen. It’s that way with anything – with your horses, with your cows, with your dogs.”
Horse traders, Smith insists, understand the reality of the situation while animal rights advocates catch only glimpses. He says they don’t see the horses before they get to sale, the ones kept at home for too long because they’re not worth selling. “People have no idea of what’s going on. They think they’re helping the horses, but they’re just killing them.
“If the Humane Society and PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] care so much, why don’t they come get those poor horses at the sale barns? Why don’t they pick them up? Those are the ones that need saving. If they want to help those horses, there are places to go get them. Go get those things. Instead of waiting for the horse to sell for less than the consignment fee and yardage, go give the man $20 for a Coggins test. They could have more horses than they ever dreamed of.”
An emotional issue, Smith’s words say it all. “You have no market value at all for a poor horse and you get in trouble with them. Any time you load a poor horse up and take him somewhere, you’ve got the PETA people all over you. Even the horse that comes from a bad home and you’re trying to get him to a good home, they still get on you.”
Sometimes, it gets a little more personal. “There are crazy folks. They’ll shoot guns. You pull up in your driveway at home and they’ll be sitting there at midnight or in the morning. That’s the truth of it.”
At the sales, people try to get recorded goods to support claims of mishandling and abuse. “When we’re loading horses at night, they’ll hide over there with video cameras,” Smith said, pointing to bushes about 50 yards from the loading chute at a sale yard. “I see them over there, I just ignore them. And that’s not even on the slaughter horses but it’s on the broke horses, as well. It’s horses in general.”
One time in Greenville, Miss., Smith had a woman driving a station wagon force him over to the side of the road. His truck was loaded with quarantined horses diagnosed with equine infectious anemia.
“She pulled a .38 on me, right in the middle of town,” Smith said. “She had a badge and said she was with the Humane Society, one of the boss ladies of it. “She took me to the agri-center and they had a Quarter Horse show going. I had to go, she had a .38 pointed at my head. She unloaded the quarantine horses off the truck into the agri-center with all the other horses. Then she turned around and went out there, bought shavings and bedded the floor of the trailer down with shavings. “She loaded the horses back on the trailer and she said she was going to check me back at the state line. There was another guy that was there and he took me to the back roads. I took a dirt road to the Greenville bridge and went right into Arkansas. It made no sense.
I didn’t change a word, but thought it might bear repeating.
RH1
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The county Fair is the place to be!
RH2 wrote this piece and sent it to me the week that I was at our county fair. I must admit to "loosing" it in my emails at that time :( Being a 4-H leader in our horse program and being very active in working at all the different events I was a little busy and distracted at the time. I enjoyed reading this and very much related to it. I feel we owe our readers something positive and enjoyable once in a while :) While I find my time at the fair grounds to be exhausting by the end of the week I also find the whole experience with the kids and animals to be worth the exhaustion. I'm sure some of our readers can relate and I hope all of you enjoy this piece as much as I did.
rm
The County Fair Is The Place To Be!
A few weeks ago, I attended our County Fair. We have some pretty active Equine groups in our area, so there are a lot of Horse related events to attend. And the bonus is they're all free! Whether you're a fan of English or Western Riding, Driving, Miniature Horses, Draft Horses, Halter Class, Eventing, Team Penning, the new Ultimate Ranch Race, or just want to see all the different breeds, the Fair's the place to be. It's been a few years since I've attended, so I was a little surprised at the Western Pleasure classes. I think there wasn't a saddle and bridle set valued under $3000 out there. And the outfits were those you'd normally see in sanctioned shows. There were two kids out there in Jeans, pressed shirts, with their everyday working saddles and bridles, and boy were they cute! That's why I really enjoy the classes. I also like to see them try new things. Whether it be the egg and spoon race, the key hole, or Team penning, the Fair gives riders and their horses the chance to expand their horizons a little. All ages are welcome, and everyone is cheered on. I'm a huge fan of good sportsmanship. I also enjoy just walking through the barns. The 4-H groups do a really great job of educating these children. Not only is horsemanship taught, but proper care. At our fair, you'll never see a horse with so much as a mud spot or a hair out of place. These kids take such an immense pride in their horses, and it shows. During the day, the wash racks are always in use, and everyone's always busy grooming, checking tack, cooling their horse out, or preparing for the next event. You can see the pride of ownership in the evening too. While you can walk through the barns and see the kids happily sitting around talking and laughing, you'll notice each and every horse groomed and stalled with plenty of hay and water. I'm proud to see these kids as our future horsemen and women!If you haven't had a chance to, you should attend an Ultimate Ranch Race demonstration. What a great time! The riders and their horses complete a timed obstacle course that tests the ability and trust of both horse and rider. The stands and arena were packed to see this, and the horses and riders competing did an awesome job! The youngest rider I saw was 14, the oldest horse 20, so this is truly an event for everyone. Your success depends on how well you've trained your horse, and you don't need any fancy training and riding equipment. Anyone can set up a course at home. We're getting ours together, and can't wait to get to work on it. As always, the weekend flew by, and the reminder that Winter is coming came at the end of it. I've got my list in hand of the "to-do's" to get the barn, pasture, and run ins ready before the snow flies. But I've also got my mind set on that race next year at the fair-something to look forward to!
Written by RH2
rm
The County Fair Is The Place To Be!
A few weeks ago, I attended our County Fair. We have some pretty active Equine groups in our area, so there are a lot of Horse related events to attend. And the bonus is they're all free! Whether you're a fan of English or Western Riding, Driving, Miniature Horses, Draft Horses, Halter Class, Eventing, Team Penning, the new Ultimate Ranch Race, or just want to see all the different breeds, the Fair's the place to be. It's been a few years since I've attended, so I was a little surprised at the Western Pleasure classes. I think there wasn't a saddle and bridle set valued under $3000 out there. And the outfits were those you'd normally see in sanctioned shows. There were two kids out there in Jeans, pressed shirts, with their everyday working saddles and bridles, and boy were they cute! That's why I really enjoy the classes. I also like to see them try new things. Whether it be the egg and spoon race, the key hole, or Team penning, the Fair gives riders and their horses the chance to expand their horizons a little. All ages are welcome, and everyone is cheered on. I'm a huge fan of good sportsmanship. I also enjoy just walking through the barns. The 4-H groups do a really great job of educating these children. Not only is horsemanship taught, but proper care. At our fair, you'll never see a horse with so much as a mud spot or a hair out of place. These kids take such an immense pride in their horses, and it shows. During the day, the wash racks are always in use, and everyone's always busy grooming, checking tack, cooling their horse out, or preparing for the next event. You can see the pride of ownership in the evening too. While you can walk through the barns and see the kids happily sitting around talking and laughing, you'll notice each and every horse groomed and stalled with plenty of hay and water. I'm proud to see these kids as our future horsemen and women!If you haven't had a chance to, you should attend an Ultimate Ranch Race demonstration. What a great time! The riders and their horses complete a timed obstacle course that tests the ability and trust of both horse and rider. The stands and arena were packed to see this, and the horses and riders competing did an awesome job! The youngest rider I saw was 14, the oldest horse 20, so this is truly an event for everyone. Your success depends on how well you've trained your horse, and you don't need any fancy training and riding equipment. Anyone can set up a course at home. We're getting ours together, and can't wait to get to work on it. As always, the weekend flew by, and the reminder that Winter is coming came at the end of it. I've got my list in hand of the "to-do's" to get the barn, pasture, and run ins ready before the snow flies. But I've also got my mind set on that race next year at the fair-something to look forward to!
Written by RH2
Sunday, October 11, 2009
HR 503 - Discuss Away…I Don’t Think the Issues Can Be Summed in Discussing One Bill……But…..
We recently had a request to discuss HR 503. I have no desire to do that. I have been discussing it and all its variables to death since this was current information.
H.R. 503, A bill to amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption.
This item is from the 109th Congress (2005-2006) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.
H.R. 503 would amend provisions of the Horse Protection Act of 1970 related to the slaughter of certain equines. The bill would establish a pilot program in Kentucky and New York to prohibit certain activities associated with the slaughter of horses or other equines for human consumption. Due to exceptions included in the bill, this prohibition would not directly affect current equine slaughter activity in those or other States. The bill also would require the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to availability of appropriated funds, to compensate equine owners for any economic loss due to such prohibitions. In addition, the Secretary would be required to assume responsibility for any equine-in any State-that is unwanted by an owner. [This summary and cost estimate refer to an early version of the bill. See comments below for more information.] Cost per average household: $1.75.
This was taken from the http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/109_HR_503.html . I only brought this up to show the estimated preliminary cost per household to pass this thing when we started down the road to where we are now. Again 41 Mustangs seems kind of relevant.
More recent information is available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-503
1/14/2009--Introduced.Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to three years for possessing, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving any horse, horse flesh, or carcass with the intent that it be used for human consumption. Reduces the prison term to one year if the offense involves less than five horses or less than 2,000 pounds of horse flesh or carcass and the offender has no prior conviction for this offense.
This website lists the last action on this bill as March 16, 2009 when it was referred to none other than the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
http://maplight.org/map/us/bill/79783 reports that the following organizations have taken a stance on this bill:
Oppose: American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Association
Support: Veterinarians for Equine Welfare, Animal Welfare Institute, National Horse Protection League, Habitat for Horses, American Horse Defense Fund, Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota People
I was kind of confused once again. It happens to me often when I start researching the horse slaughter issue. I could have sworn the list of those opposed to HR 503 and in support of the "Support the H.O.R.S.E. Act" - The Humane and Optimal Restoration and Sustainability of Equines per the website http://www.unitedorgsofthehorse.org/ included the above mentioned Native American Tribes. I didn’t find it there although that is an interesting website discussing many things which John Holland and Vicki Tobin are adamantly trying to tell us are not statistically happening. My personal favorite is the mare with her brand skinned off. I am sure she wasn’t abandoned on purpose someone is just making that up.
I did find a website http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resolutions/doc/DEN-07-100_with_sigs_amended_dc.pdf document seeking an amendment to HR 503 by the National Congress of American Indians to allow the tribes to slaughter horses on the reservations.
The National Indian Congress is in support of an AMENDMENT to HR 503 not HR 503 itself.
The word amendment must have gone unnoticed to those maintaining the Maplight website. This is an excellent example of the lack of comprehension skills, misinterpretations, or just plain it LOOKS better my way double speak which is so common. Have I mentioned how much that bothers me? Read it correctly, print it correctly, provide sources documenting your facts or don’t come to the party. Hmm, maybe I have mentioned how much those little “misconceptions” bother me.
The link to this and much more information is available at http://www.amillionhorses.com/links.htm .
This site also has a link to a sight outlining the AMVA requirements for operating rescues. There is a link to a website on how to use the body score system to determine a horse’s condition. These were mentioned as things we needed to educate people about….so educate away….It’s all there for anyone who would take the time to look, I assume the people needing “educating” can look as well as I can. Apparently not, judging by some of the photos and comments outlined in the previous blogs.
And back to the website http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-503 related bills are listed as:
Other Legislation with the Same Title
The list below shows legislation in this and previous sessions of Congress that had the same title as this bill. Often bills are incorporated into other omnibus bills, and you may be able to track the status of provisions of this bill by looking for an omnibus bill below. Note that bills may have multiple titles.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-727 Introduced
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-6598 Dead
Crowd-Sourcing Users tracking this bill are also tracking...
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-305 (16 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-727 (15 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr111-191 (2 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1054 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr111-355 (1 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/users/questions.xpd?topic=bill:h111-80 (1 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-529 (4 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1055 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1579 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1076 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1018 (9 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2480 (2 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-556 (4 users)
Subject Terms
This bill is related to other bill and resolutions in these subject areas as identified by the Congressional Research Service:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Animal+protection+and+human-animal+relationships
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Crime+and+law+enforcement
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Crimes+against+animals+and+natural+resources
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Criminal+procedure+and+sentencing
I am at a loss as to how some of these are even remotely relevant to the horse industry. I think it may be an insight on the type of people driving the “popular” sentiment factor in this debate but……
discuss away….read away……..
If we believe all being passed around the anti-slaughter forums in regard to EU passport system to be implemented in April 2010 HR-503 or any other anti-slaughter legislation is a moot point. Any discussion of it here or in Washington is a waste of time. Wasting time here isn’t such a big deal but wasting time in Washington tends to waste taxpayer money. Therefore in the interest of the federal deficit and many other pressing issues I wish Vicki, Alex, John, and the like would clue these people in so they can stop lobbying legislation which will soon be meaningless.
RH1
H.R. 503, A bill to amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption.
This item is from the 109th Congress (2005-2006) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.
H.R. 503 would amend provisions of the Horse Protection Act of 1970 related to the slaughter of certain equines. The bill would establish a pilot program in Kentucky and New York to prohibit certain activities associated with the slaughter of horses or other equines for human consumption. Due to exceptions included in the bill, this prohibition would not directly affect current equine slaughter activity in those or other States. The bill also would require the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to availability of appropriated funds, to compensate equine owners for any economic loss due to such prohibitions. In addition, the Secretary would be required to assume responsibility for any equine-in any State-that is unwanted by an owner. [This summary and cost estimate refer to an early version of the bill. See comments below for more information.] Cost per average household: $1.75.
This was taken from the http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/109_HR_503.html . I only brought this up to show the estimated preliminary cost per household to pass this thing when we started down the road to where we are now. Again 41 Mustangs seems kind of relevant.
More recent information is available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-503
1/14/2009--Introduced.Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to three years for possessing, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving any horse, horse flesh, or carcass with the intent that it be used for human consumption. Reduces the prison term to one year if the offense involves less than five horses or less than 2,000 pounds of horse flesh or carcass and the offender has no prior conviction for this offense.
This website lists the last action on this bill as March 16, 2009 when it was referred to none other than the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
http://maplight.org/map/us/bill/79783 reports that the following organizations have taken a stance on this bill:
Oppose: American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Association
Support: Veterinarians for Equine Welfare, Animal Welfare Institute, National Horse Protection League, Habitat for Horses, American Horse Defense Fund, Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota People
I was kind of confused once again. It happens to me often when I start researching the horse slaughter issue. I could have sworn the list of those opposed to HR 503 and in support of the "Support the H.O.R.S.E. Act" - The Humane and Optimal Restoration and Sustainability of Equines per the website http://www.unitedorgsofthehorse.org/ included the above mentioned Native American Tribes. I didn’t find it there although that is an interesting website discussing many things which John Holland and Vicki Tobin are adamantly trying to tell us are not statistically happening. My personal favorite is the mare with her brand skinned off. I am sure she wasn’t abandoned on purpose someone is just making that up.
I did find a website http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resolutions/doc/DEN-07-100_with_sigs_amended_dc.pdf document seeking an amendment to HR 503 by the National Congress of American Indians to allow the tribes to slaughter horses on the reservations.
The National Indian Congress is in support of an AMENDMENT to HR 503 not HR 503 itself.
The word amendment must have gone unnoticed to those maintaining the Maplight website. This is an excellent example of the lack of comprehension skills, misinterpretations, or just plain it LOOKS better my way double speak which is so common. Have I mentioned how much that bothers me? Read it correctly, print it correctly, provide sources documenting your facts or don’t come to the party. Hmm, maybe I have mentioned how much those little “misconceptions” bother me.
The link to this and much more information is available at http://www.amillionhorses.com/links.htm .
This site also has a link to a sight outlining the AMVA requirements for operating rescues. There is a link to a website on how to use the body score system to determine a horse’s condition. These were mentioned as things we needed to educate people about….so educate away….It’s all there for anyone who would take the time to look, I assume the people needing “educating” can look as well as I can. Apparently not, judging by some of the photos and comments outlined in the previous blogs.
And back to the website http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-503 related bills are listed as:
Other Legislation with the Same Title
The list below shows legislation in this and previous sessions of Congress that had the same title as this bill. Often bills are incorporated into other omnibus bills, and you may be able to track the status of provisions of this bill by looking for an omnibus bill below. Note that bills may have multiple titles.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-727 Introduced
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-6598 Dead
Crowd-Sourcing Users tracking this bill are also tracking...
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-305 (16 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-727 (15 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr111-191 (2 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1054 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr111-355 (1 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/users/questions.xpd?topic=bill:h111-80 (1 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-529 (4 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1055 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1579 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1076 (3 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1018 (9 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2480 (2 users)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-556 (4 users)
Subject Terms
This bill is related to other bill and resolutions in these subject areas as identified by the Congressional Research Service:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Animal+protection+and+human-animal+relationships
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Crime+and+law+enforcement
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Crimes+against+animals+and+natural+resources
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Criminal+procedure+and+sentencing
I am at a loss as to how some of these are even remotely relevant to the horse industry. I think it may be an insight on the type of people driving the “popular” sentiment factor in this debate but……
discuss away….read away……..
If we believe all being passed around the anti-slaughter forums in regard to EU passport system to be implemented in April 2010 HR-503 or any other anti-slaughter legislation is a moot point. Any discussion of it here or in Washington is a waste of time. Wasting time here isn’t such a big deal but wasting time in Washington tends to waste taxpayer money. Therefore in the interest of the federal deficit and many other pressing issues I wish Vicki, Alex, John, and the like would clue these people in so they can stop lobbying legislation which will soon be meaningless.
RH1
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
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
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
Monday, October 5, 2009
AQHA Breeder, Sanctuary Saint, Producer of Several Hundred Foals a Year, Rescue Operator Who Really Cares, etc……………
It would seem these titles are being used to describe several different people. They are not. It would seem to refer to the sides of the recent debate raging in the horse industry. It is not.
I was in the horse industry in 1988. It was the back end of the decade of a long blood bath of cheap horses, combined with a crappy economy, I referred to in the Market Opinion Piece which caused so much fervor.
I am trying to make several points today. The horse problems now are in no way a new thing. Ranchers, trainers, and breeders are not the only ones getting paid for producing too many horses, while other horses have a problem finding homes. This phenomenon didn’t just occur in the last 5 years. The animal rights community has been talking in crossed points for many years. Maybe we’ll turn up another idea or so on the way.
This is an article originally printed in the New York Times about the “other” Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota in 1988. I didn’t write it. I am only guilty of copy and paste.
Born free, then captured by lasso and caged in pens, some 150 wild horses have been released to gallop along the rocky ridges and steep canyons of the Black Hills, safe from the rope and the rifle.
This wild horse sanctuary, an 8,300-acre range at Hell's Canyon about 10 miles southwest of here, was dedicated today as the first such preserve sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management. The horses, some held in pens, for years, had been passed over in the Federal program for adopting horses, chiefly because they were too old to be tamed.
''This is essentially an old-age home for wild horses,'' said Donald H. Heinze, wild horse specialist for the Bureau. ''They can roam freely here and live out the rest of their lives.''
In a scene that could have been taken from a drawing in a history book, except for the absence of the Sioux Indian, the horses race along the rugged terrain of the high plains, rest in the shadow of Ponderosa pine, drink from the waters of the Cheyenne River, and feed on the grassy cover of the upland prairie, amid the deer, elk, sharp tail grouse and wild turkeys.
Boredom in Feed Lots: “'It wasn't fair to condemn these horses to a life of boredom in feed lots,'' said Dayton O. Hyde, who runs the entire range.
More than 300 South Dakotans turned out for today's opening ceremony, which featured appearances by Robert Burford, head of the Land Bureau, and Gov. George Mickelson.
The motley, mixed-breed horses, with shaggy manes and untrimmed tails, strike poses that are ruggedly beautiful. These horses will be later referred to as “having the longest and purest of bloodlines” on Cheyenne Canyon websites offering mustang foals for sale. But these wild horses, commonly called mustangs, have not been manicured in the style of a domestic horse. ''These wild horses - they'd rather die than let you groom them,'' said Mr. Hyde, a 62-year-old rancher who is an environmental writer.
Plan to Reduce Surplus: The sanctuary grew out of the Government's plan to reduce what it considers a surplus of wild horses on public land throughout the West. Cattle ranchers contend that wild horses are overgrazing these lands and depleting food for livestock. About 43,000 wild horses roam the West, a figure the Bureau wants to trim by about 12,000 through adoptions and resettlement in sanctuaries.
About 7,000 wild horses are now being held in a feed lot in Bloomfield, Neb., under conditions that animal rights groups have condemned as deplorable. It is some of these horses that the Bureau intends to release on private lands, like the former cattle ranch recently purchased by Mr. Hyde's nonprofit foundation, the Institute of Range and American Mustang. About 400 horses have also been released about 100 miles east of here, on a range called Mustang Meadow, part of the same sanctuary. Mr. Hyde's foundation receives $1 a day per animal from the bureau. Let’s do the math on that. Mr. Hyde is going to receive $1.00 a day for 550 horses for three years. $550.00 x 365 days a year x 3 years = $602,250.00. This breaks down to roughly $72.50 an acre or $24.10 an acre per year or $365.00 per year per animal unit, pretty handsome sum for custom year around care in 1988. He also retained possession of said livestock and their produce. In all other custom grazing/care/feeding arrangements title of the livestock and the income from the sale of their produce remains with original owner.
The population of wild horses grew rapidly after 1971, when Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which forbids harming the animals. The law was the culmination of an anti-cruelty drive by Velma Johnston, a Nevada rancher called ''Wild Horse Annie,'' who was outraged by the capture of wild horses by ''Mustangers'' who sold them to slaughterhouses.
Roundups in Early 1970's: Since Government wranglers began rounding up the animals in the early 1970's, more than 80,000 stallions, mares and burros have been adopted and taken to homes throughout the country. The horses cost $125; the burros cost $75. In the near future the Cheyenne Canyon mustang foals will cost much more than that and will compete for the same market niche. To his credit, it seems Mr. Hyde has been much better at marketing than the BLM over the past 21 years.
Humane groups, who charge that the Bureau is unduly influenced by cattle interests, have long called for wild horse sanctuaries. But they have criticized the selection of the South Dakota sites, where they say vicious winter winds will kill scores of horses.
''The blizzards that kill livestock will also kill the horses,'' said Elizabeth Pelletier, executive director of the Wild Horse Alliance, based in northern California. See what I mean about the “crossed points” thing??? Even “back then” they couldn’t figure out which side of the fence to talk from.
Federal subsidies for the Black Hills sanctuary will end in three years, when Mr. Hyde's group takes responsibility for raising funds. The Foundation intends to raise the cash chiefly through tourism; visitors will pay a fee to be driven among the horses to take pictures. Mr. Hyde also plans to build a museum that would chronicle the history and importance of the horse to American and Indian cultures
''Look at that,'' marveled Mr. Hyde, pointing to a horse racing freely across the upland prairie, with the setting sun casting an amber glow across the sandstone ridge in the distance. ''That's what it looked like 300 years ago.''
A version of this article appeared in print on Thursday, October 6, 1988, on section a, page 18, of the New York edition.
He has funded and grown the sanctuary in various ways. I don’t begrudge anyone making a living or making a profit. The movie deals, the tourist dollars, the tax exempt donation, raising and selling APHA and AQHA foals or horses, are not a problem for me.
Here’s my problem with the whole program. Mr. Hyde and Susan Watts state in their promotional websites they obtained their first mustang stallion in 1994 and mention at least three different stallions producing foals for them. This year, 2009, is the last year you will be able to buy a piece of the American west in the form of a mustang foal due to the changing climate of the horse market. The site also has a page for “birth control” programs which I did not read. I didn’t care enough to read it. After hearing for 5 or 6 years about the stupid ******* breeders/ranchers pumping out foals when there is no market, reading about Mr. Hyde and Ms. Watts recently implementing birth control in their mustang herd just didn’t impress me. Unless I am mistaken, the BLM had an ongoing problem of no market for mustangs all during the time Mr. Hyde and Ms. Watts were raising them. (Or all during the 21 years spanning 1988 until 2009.) That’s what the research I read while doing the 41 Mustangs blog would have us believe. Like any other savvy horse business people, Cheyenne Canyon Quarter Horses and Paints/Wild Horse Sanctuary used the boom time of the 90’s to make money on the mustang foals in the same manner as the rest of us “greedy” folks. It would seem the “responsible” approach would have been to “market” the overpopulation of mustangs from the BLM ranges to fill this niche--not breed more.
Crossed points again????
One last time I have no problem with the program, except the continued breeding of the mustangs that needed a sanctuary in the first place. http://wildmustangs.com/horseshelpingkid.html
BY RH1
I happen to share RH's opinion on breeding mustangs or any animal that is in a rescue or is gathered and put into "sanctuaries" due to an over population of them in their natural habitat. I did a quick search on "mustang breeders" and it was mind boggling the number that popped up. Here are just a couple
http://www.pryorhorses.com/pmmba.htm
http://web.dmoz.aol.com/Sports/Equestrian/Breeds/Mustang/Breeders/
http://www.raresteeds.com/Breeds/spanish_mustang.htm
Something that really amazes me is the fact that they continue calling these animals "Mustangs" after generations of captivity! WTH? Mustang means wild horse and horses bred, born, and raised in domestic captivity are no longer wild horses.
RM
I was in the horse industry in 1988. It was the back end of the decade of a long blood bath of cheap horses, combined with a crappy economy, I referred to in the Market Opinion Piece which caused so much fervor.
I am trying to make several points today. The horse problems now are in no way a new thing. Ranchers, trainers, and breeders are not the only ones getting paid for producing too many horses, while other horses have a problem finding homes. This phenomenon didn’t just occur in the last 5 years. The animal rights community has been talking in crossed points for many years. Maybe we’ll turn up another idea or so on the way.
This is an article originally printed in the New York Times about the “other” Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota in 1988. I didn’t write it. I am only guilty of copy and paste.
Born free, then captured by lasso and caged in pens, some 150 wild horses have been released to gallop along the rocky ridges and steep canyons of the Black Hills, safe from the rope and the rifle.
This wild horse sanctuary, an 8,300-acre range at Hell's Canyon about 10 miles southwest of here, was dedicated today as the first such preserve sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management. The horses, some held in pens, for years, had been passed over in the Federal program for adopting horses, chiefly because they were too old to be tamed.
''This is essentially an old-age home for wild horses,'' said Donald H. Heinze, wild horse specialist for the Bureau. ''They can roam freely here and live out the rest of their lives.''
In a scene that could have been taken from a drawing in a history book, except for the absence of the Sioux Indian, the horses race along the rugged terrain of the high plains, rest in the shadow of Ponderosa pine, drink from the waters of the Cheyenne River, and feed on the grassy cover of the upland prairie, amid the deer, elk, sharp tail grouse and wild turkeys.
Boredom in Feed Lots: “'It wasn't fair to condemn these horses to a life of boredom in feed lots,'' said Dayton O. Hyde, who runs the entire range.
More than 300 South Dakotans turned out for today's opening ceremony, which featured appearances by Robert Burford, head of the Land Bureau, and Gov. George Mickelson.
The motley, mixed-breed horses, with shaggy manes and untrimmed tails, strike poses that are ruggedly beautiful. These horses will be later referred to as “having the longest and purest of bloodlines” on Cheyenne Canyon websites offering mustang foals for sale. But these wild horses, commonly called mustangs, have not been manicured in the style of a domestic horse. ''These wild horses - they'd rather die than let you groom them,'' said Mr. Hyde, a 62-year-old rancher who is an environmental writer.
Plan to Reduce Surplus: The sanctuary grew out of the Government's plan to reduce what it considers a surplus of wild horses on public land throughout the West. Cattle ranchers contend that wild horses are overgrazing these lands and depleting food for livestock. About 43,000 wild horses roam the West, a figure the Bureau wants to trim by about 12,000 through adoptions and resettlement in sanctuaries.
About 7,000 wild horses are now being held in a feed lot in Bloomfield, Neb., under conditions that animal rights groups have condemned as deplorable. It is some of these horses that the Bureau intends to release on private lands, like the former cattle ranch recently purchased by Mr. Hyde's nonprofit foundation, the Institute of Range and American Mustang. About 400 horses have also been released about 100 miles east of here, on a range called Mustang Meadow, part of the same sanctuary. Mr. Hyde's foundation receives $1 a day per animal from the bureau. Let’s do the math on that. Mr. Hyde is going to receive $1.00 a day for 550 horses for three years. $550.00 x 365 days a year x 3 years = $602,250.00. This breaks down to roughly $72.50 an acre or $24.10 an acre per year or $365.00 per year per animal unit, pretty handsome sum for custom year around care in 1988. He also retained possession of said livestock and their produce. In all other custom grazing/care/feeding arrangements title of the livestock and the income from the sale of their produce remains with original owner.
The population of wild horses grew rapidly after 1971, when Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which forbids harming the animals. The law was the culmination of an anti-cruelty drive by Velma Johnston, a Nevada rancher called ''Wild Horse Annie,'' who was outraged by the capture of wild horses by ''Mustangers'' who sold them to slaughterhouses.
Roundups in Early 1970's: Since Government wranglers began rounding up the animals in the early 1970's, more than 80,000 stallions, mares and burros have been adopted and taken to homes throughout the country. The horses cost $125; the burros cost $75. In the near future the Cheyenne Canyon mustang foals will cost much more than that and will compete for the same market niche. To his credit, it seems Mr. Hyde has been much better at marketing than the BLM over the past 21 years.
Humane groups, who charge that the Bureau is unduly influenced by cattle interests, have long called for wild horse sanctuaries. But they have criticized the selection of the South Dakota sites, where they say vicious winter winds will kill scores of horses.
''The blizzards that kill livestock will also kill the horses,'' said Elizabeth Pelletier, executive director of the Wild Horse Alliance, based in northern California. See what I mean about the “crossed points” thing??? Even “back then” they couldn’t figure out which side of the fence to talk from.
Federal subsidies for the Black Hills sanctuary will end in three years, when Mr. Hyde's group takes responsibility for raising funds. The Foundation intends to raise the cash chiefly through tourism; visitors will pay a fee to be driven among the horses to take pictures. Mr. Hyde also plans to build a museum that would chronicle the history and importance of the horse to American and Indian cultures
''Look at that,'' marveled Mr. Hyde, pointing to a horse racing freely across the upland prairie, with the setting sun casting an amber glow across the sandstone ridge in the distance. ''That's what it looked like 300 years ago.''
A version of this article appeared in print on Thursday, October 6, 1988, on section a, page 18, of the New York edition.
He has funded and grown the sanctuary in various ways. I don’t begrudge anyone making a living or making a profit. The movie deals, the tourist dollars, the tax exempt donation, raising and selling APHA and AQHA foals or horses, are not a problem for me.
Here’s my problem with the whole program. Mr. Hyde and Susan Watts state in their promotional websites they obtained their first mustang stallion in 1994 and mention at least three different stallions producing foals for them. This year, 2009, is the last year you will be able to buy a piece of the American west in the form of a mustang foal due to the changing climate of the horse market. The site also has a page for “birth control” programs which I did not read. I didn’t care enough to read it. After hearing for 5 or 6 years about the stupid ******* breeders/ranchers pumping out foals when there is no market, reading about Mr. Hyde and Ms. Watts recently implementing birth control in their mustang herd just didn’t impress me. Unless I am mistaken, the BLM had an ongoing problem of no market for mustangs all during the time Mr. Hyde and Ms. Watts were raising them. (Or all during the 21 years spanning 1988 until 2009.) That’s what the research I read while doing the 41 Mustangs blog would have us believe. Like any other savvy horse business people, Cheyenne Canyon Quarter Horses and Paints/Wild Horse Sanctuary used the boom time of the 90’s to make money on the mustang foals in the same manner as the rest of us “greedy” folks. It would seem the “responsible” approach would have been to “market” the overpopulation of mustangs from the BLM ranges to fill this niche--not breed more.
Crossed points again????
One last time I have no problem with the program, except the continued breeding of the mustangs that needed a sanctuary in the first place. http://wildmustangs.com/horseshelpingkid.html
BY RH1
I happen to share RH's opinion on breeding mustangs or any animal that is in a rescue or is gathered and put into "sanctuaries" due to an over population of them in their natural habitat. I did a quick search on "mustang breeders" and it was mind boggling the number that popped up. Here are just a couple
http://www.pryorhorses.com/pmmba.htm
http://web.dmoz.aol.com/Sports/Equestrian/Breeds/Mustang/Breeders/
http://www.raresteeds.com/Breeds/spanish_mustang.htm
Something that really amazes me is the fact that they continue calling these animals "Mustangs" after generations of captivity! WTH? Mustang means wild horse and horses bred, born, and raised in domestic captivity are no longer wild horses.
RM
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