Out of business

by Leanne
(MA)

My fiance and I have made a living off of privately training and selling family horses for years, and we've come to the sad realization that since the Horse Slaughter Protection Act, we can no longer "stay a float" doing what we love to do because the market has become over flooded with horses--most of them being retired, injured, and neglected.

My fiance' has run a family owned large boarding facility and has sold horses since 1986. He has told me that in all the years he has sold horses he has never seen the market practically non-existent. After doing some extensive research on slaughter, and seeing some of the most gut-wrenching photos and footage I have ever seen in my life, I have made the decision to be strongly opposed to horse slaughter.

However, there are several good points brought to my attention that raises an eyebrow:

* Because of this bill and the down economy people are neglecting and abandoning their horses, leaving them to starve and suffer in pain.

*People that get their horse humanely euthanized will not go through the process of sending the horse out and having the body properly disposed of, because it costs about $200 (besides the vet visit). This causes shallow graves dug up in stable yards that contain rotting horse carcasses pumped full of barbiturates and paralytic drugs for other animals to harvest on.


* Furthermore, shelters and a sanctuaries have reached full capacity and affording to adopt a horse in these trying times are not realistic.

What do we do? We are backing ourselves into a corner! Also, Isn't it cruel, to try to save a horse who is otherwise hog healthy but has a leg injury that makes even being a "lawn ornament" incredibly painful, and the only alternative be that he is injected with bute 3 times a day? How is that fair?

I think that we are being to picky about saving horses with severe injuries, and in turn are worsening the chances of saving a horse that doesn't have a debilitating injury and deserves a spot in a shelter because it will have a better chance of adoption.

If we are going to make a difference and fight to put an end to slaughter, than we need to recognize how this affects the "horse world." We need alternatives to problems such as the ones I just stated, and protect the horses rights.

I am out of business and I am sad for that, but it makes me even more sad and angry to see that we fight, and we fight, and we fight, but the only thing that drives our reasoning is passion, not logic. There should be a balance!