Re: RC: Horse Savaging (CONTROVERSIAL RESPONSE)

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Hi Lif
I told Jennifer essentially the same thing and will back you 100% if
flamed. I did mention that if there was a place, such as you described,
where there was no danger to others, that there are some extreme
measures which could be tried (e.g.. thrown down with legs tied and
towel over eyes for a few hours etc.) which have worked for some;
however, I agreed that the risks seem to outweigh the possible cures and
the horse has made his choices; let him accept the consequences. (And
actually, I am a "tree hugger", too)
Bette
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of TLA Halynov
http://www.stormnet.com/~woa
I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it
gets to the end, the faster it goes. Smell the roses!


Lif Strand wrote:
> 
> At 09:13 PM 3/13/00 -0800, Jen wrote:
> 
> > He's a real nice riding horse, put together like a brick privvy and
> > just about the smartest thing I've come across (too smart).
> 
> So how nice is he?  He's a gelding so can't pass his niceness or
> smartness on, so he has no value there.  As a riding horse I wouldn't
> say "nice" is quite the same qualifier as "excellent", "exceptional",
> "worth keeping him alive for", so there's not as much value there.
> And as for his smartness... well, when you equate smartness with
> strategies to keep oneself alive, I'm not so sure this horse is so
> very smart after all.
> 
> The horse's problem could be emotional in which case I'd say that if
> you have a place with double fencing, with chain link and concertina
> wire, electric zappers etc. (in other words, a place that you might be
> able to keep a pack of rabid wolves in, for instance) then you would
> have the luxury to deal with those problems.
> 
> The horse's problem could be medical.  I guess you could have him
> tested for abnormal hormone levels - the only horse I know of
> personally that acted like that was a young stallion who was tested,
> found to have soaring levels of testosterone (I mean WAY high) and he
> was put down.  But what would the point be?  Is he worth the cost of
> hormone therapy (if there is even such a thing?)  Maybe he's got a
> tumor in his brain.  Is he worth brain surgery?
> 
> You see where I'm going with this:  The problem is that one time you
> have an accident.  I'd guess (not being an attorney or anything) that
> if the owner is an attorney (who probably the court system would say
> has no excuses), and if you are taking money for training (so you're a
> pro and have no excuses), since you both live in CA you are looking at
> a time bomb.  I'd get rid of that time bomb in a flash.
> 
> Personally - and go ahead, flame me all you want, Ridecampers - I may
> be a tree hugger but I  wouldn't hesitate to chop down a tree that was
> going to fall on my house.  If the tree was say that giant sequoia
> (what's it's name?  General Sherman?  General Grant?) with
> incalculable value, and it's roots were uprooting my house, well in
> that case I'd have to admit that that irreplaceable tree was worth
> more than my replaceable house - but this horse, even though he is a
> living being with intrinsic value in his soul, is a criminal and his
> life is not worth more than yours, the owner's or some innocent person
> who gets savaged by him.
> 
> So my solution would be to face reality, and shoot him in the head,
> with a butcher standing by to make him into dog food.  From experience
> I can tell you this is a hard thing to do (and hard, too, to find a
> butcher who will process horse meat) but it is the RESPONSIBLE thing
> to do.  When the safety of other people is in question, the
> RESPONSIBLE thing to do is always the right thing to do.  Lif
> 
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