[RC] Desperate Times for Horse Owners and for Horses - Karen Everhart
As we all read with interest the various perspectives on this subject,
I think it is important to remember just a few facts:
1- For the most part, slaughtered horses are not used for
dog food or glue;
2- For the slaughterhouse owners, the business is highly
profitable, making literally millions and millions of dollars off the
various products from the slaughtered American horse;
3- Horse meat is not used to sustain life for the
impoverished or malnourished, but for the very wealthy, as it is a delicacy, or
for carnivores at many zoos;
4- One reason America's horses are sought after for
slaughter by foreign owned slaughterhouses, rather than "houses" in the end-user
countries, is because we DO NOT produce horses as a meat animal so we do
not regulate the various medications and treatments (think Bute or Ivermectin,
etc) that we subject our horses to. So, our horse meat is cheap, though
often toxic for human consumption;
5- Throughout the history of horse "ownership" (if we can
call it that), Man has turned horses loose when he no longer wanted them or
could not feed them. So the reports of said behaviors ARE NOT NEW.
Hence the domesticated blood in the "wild horses";
6- Just a few decades ago there were over a MILLION wild
horses. Today, it is estimated that approximately 33,000 roam free with
another 30,000 in holding facilities. Where are the other 900,000 plus
animals? Many were/are adopted or slaughtered, others were killed for
sport, still others died of dehydration or starvation because their water
supplies and pastures are "sold" by the government for cattle production;
7- In the early part of this decade, an
American Horse Council survey estimated that there were 9.2 million domesticated
horses in the U.S. Today, it is estimated that there are over 10
million. Where did they come from? Better yet, where will they
live?;
8- Except for the truly "wild" horse, most horses are
bred with human intervention i.e. putting a stallion (or semen) together
with a mare, or allowing a stallion to run with a band of mares, etc. SO,
it is safe to extrapolate that man is responsible for the explosion in the
numbers of domesticated horses;
These facts, and so many more, place the burden of responsibility squarely
on the backs of "horse people". We made the mess. We have a
responsibility to clean it up without the horse paying the price for our
foolishness. I applaud Madeline Perkins for stepping up and trying to use
her resources to make a difference. If EVERYONE did SOMETHING, at the
level that one can, there would be no horse having to endure that
final ride to the slaughter house and the push into the kill box.
Karen Everhart MEd Co-founder and Executive Director Rainbow Meadows
Rescue and Retirement, Inc. Serving the equine companions who have so loyally
served us... www.rainbowmeadowsranch.com 620-725-3402
Owner/Operator Horse Calls - Equine Management Solutions Centered
Riding Instructor Distance Horse Conditioning and Training www.horsecalls.com 316-648-5082
