The people who were in sympathy against humane slaughter didn't do the horse world much of a favor. Maybe THEY should pay the entire bill for keeping 30,000 plus unwanted horses..... There simply aren't enough people to adopt all the unwanted horses in the western U.S.
The Mustang's plight is caused by diminished land. The Mustangs are being croweded out of the open range they were once allowed to have because the government wants "revenue." The general public does not want to see revenue made off these innocent lives. In the meantime, the mustang "overpopulation" might get a reprieve from Mrs. Pickens. I believe I read that castration was part of her plan. Even if she pulls it off, the once free-roaming horse herds will never be the same. Revenue rules. It is the end of an era. Amen
As for the overpopulation of the domestic horses, that thought might hold some weight if everyone operated under the assumption that the breeders who are overproducing horses for the market will always continue to do so. However, I hope that the breeders are getting the message! I realize that it sometimes takes quantity to produce quality, but the Horse Racing "Industry" (QH, TB, Standardbred and Arab), plus the Show-Barn "industry" will hopefully get the meassage!! Maybe THEY should pay the entire bill for all the domestic unwanted horses of those breeds. That would put a significant dent in the unwanted numbers! Imagine if Horse Racing were outlawed l. . . (no reward for breeding quantity to get quality) . . . Imagine if there were no "Halter" classes in horse shows . . .(no reward for breeding deformed animals) . . . Imagine . . . a country with horses in demand, instead of excess. . . If we stopped exploiting living beings for personal profit (horse racing), there would be no motivation to overbreed for the hopes of huge financial rewards. The general public would find car racing or other things to bet on. The "backside" laborers would find other jobs, and life would go on. Imagine . . .
To expect one solution, or for solutions to happen in one horse generation would be naieve. So we horse people need to step up to the plate to get this generation of horses through with dignity. And the number of horses in the next generations will hopefully diminish!! We can all see our country becoming overpopulated with humans, the majority of whom are not horse oriented. There is simply less land and less demand for horses. And horse owners have been operating under outdated "traditions" when making horse- management and breeding decisions, and now it's all come to a head.
Endurance-horse people are the most responsible horse owners in the country, IMO. We are not the cause of any of the current dilemma. Yet we feel the pain. We do what we can to help every horse that comes into our lives. We sometimes reach out to help horses that would never have come into our lives. What more can we do, but . . . Ride on!
