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Living in a country that has both the problem of little space for extra 
beings of any kind (unless they are lizards) and little in the way of 
monetary resources to maintain aging horses, humans, whatever, I have a 
hard time condemning people who choose to put a horse down.  Riding 
horses here are the pleasure of the relatively rich and if they are 
sold due to unsoundness they end up in a hack stable with rotten care 
or they end up pulling a cart.  It is a painful tribute to the heart of 
horses that I have seen them hauling loads with problems that should 
have had them three-legged lame.  Arabs don't eat horse.  Sometimes 
there is something in the news about some butcher who is selling 
donkeys unbeknownst to his customers and retribution is swift and 
nasty....Egyptian jail is no joke.  There is also a belief that God 
calls us in our time, and that goes for horses and dogs as well.  Well, 
I think that sometimes God calls US about our animal friends because 
the line is clearer.

I don't sell horses...ever.  I've been asked to but I won't, so I also 
don't buy horses no matter how pretty they are and I don't breed more 
than I can handle.  Right now the population is 6 at my place, all the 
way from a yearling colt to a 28+ mare who mostly holds the paddock 
down and looks pretty.  You make the choices that you are able to....my 
horses are very lucky.  I also was lucky enough to place a rather 
ornery Appaloosa/WB jumper with a good friend of mine in jumping.  
Tatoush takes good care of Jack, but he knows that if/when he isn't 
able to, Jack comes back to me.  He's a karmic debt.

Maryanne
Cairo, Egypt

On Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003, at 02:09 Africa/Cairo, Jonni Jewell wrote:

> Thankfully, we in North America, usually have access to enough "space" 
> to
> house our horses as they go into their less useful years. From my
> understanding with the situation in Japan, land and horse housing is 
> at a
> premium. There is NO extra space to house a horse after they feel it 
> is no
> longer productive. Remember, our horses are also our companions. For 
> many in
> the race horse industry, it is a "tool". And if the tool no longer is
> productive, they find another that is. A very sad industry at times.
> Jonni


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