I have never heard of so many abandoned horses of all breeds. I am not a rich person at all. Maybe middle class but I would never leave my horses or dogs unfed or watered. I would go without eating myself before my animals go without. Do any of the rest of you remember when there have been so many Arabians not being taken care of. Does anyone have an idea what is going on. I would type longer buy my fingers are numb. I am freezing.

Carla
waussies

Hi Carla,

Well I think there are a few things going on at once...
1) slow economy
2) high feed prices
3) people breeding horses who shouldn't be (JMHO) if you can't sell what you have, why are you breeding more????
4) slaughterhouses now closed here in the states

Well I think there are a few things going on at once...
1) slow economy
sucks

2) high feed prices
I like the saying of "Breed what you can feed"

3) people breeding horses who shouldn't be (JMHO) if you can't sell what you have, why are you breeding more????
I totally agree with you on this one Mrs E

4) slaughterhouses now closed here in the states
Bad move...would never send mine, but some folk just might not be as emotionally attached to their horses like I am and my horsey friend's are (ok that would include a majority of ABN-ers)

Don't forget drought and hay shortages-but that might fall under high feed prices. People who used to have adequate pastures are now having to buy hay if they can even find it. Sad situation

And sure--don't breed what you can't feed works from here on out, but not for the existing herds!

Okay guys I will go along with you on the financial reasons but unless you all are different the cheapest thing about a horse is buying him. Taking care of them has always been expensive. We cannot ignore animals because we are now broke. That would be like throwing our children out when we are short of money. It is not accepted nor should it be.

I agree on all points.

I read an interesting article about the slaughter of horses ending and the article was not for or against slaughter but brought up this exact point about unwanted or cared for horses that would end up at slaughter are now just being abused or neglected...It seems we have only traded one problem for another there and need to be thinking about how to best serve the animals we make.
There is always a whiplash effect and hopefully things will swing to a more balanced number again. Also with such great vetrinary care a lot of people have older horses around that they do not need to replce as soon, so those buyers are enjoying longer and more productive years with the horse they already have.

My post was not for or against slaughter, I was simply answering your questions.

I agree with you that animals shouldn't be ignored because you can no longer afford them, but this is the real world, not a fantasyland. If you consider how many children are neglected and abused should there be any wonder why it happens to animals??

Most people that I've heard of with large herds that are now having trouble feeding them got that way because they were breeding horses they couldn't sell and when times got tough they have no place to turn. I think there are people out there who would send a horse to slaughter before seeing it starve to death.

It is a sad reality.

Fact is that in the Great Depression, people gave away thier children because they could not afford to feed and care for them.
There is a town not far from me, in Sparta, Wisconsin that had an orphanage. Many buildings in a compound setting, where children were brought in on orphan trains and deposited to be housed and hopefully adopted to new families.

Here is an article that talks about those times.
 winter_03_kidder.pdf ( 485.46K ) Number of downloads: 39

It isn't just the price of feed--it is the availability of hay at any price. That is to say, you are lucky to find it--and when you do find it, you can just about count on its being horribly expensive. That, at least has been the problem here in Georgia. I am just glad I managed to purchase enough hay to get me through the winter, even if its quality isn't what I would like.

There are still plenty of horses going for slaughter but they are going over the border for it. Horse theft is closly tied to horse slaughter, as stealing a horse and selling him by the pound is a fast way for criminals to make a buck. Someone tried to steal one of my horses once so I am not sorry to see the end of horse slaughter here in the states. If it is harder to get a horse to slaughter, then that might deter some horse thieves.

Also, there is nothing to say that horses may not be euthanized. Certainly, if the animal cannot be sold and he will certainly starve to death, euthanasia would have to be considered as an option.

I think, in the long haul, we in drought-stricken areas should be looking to the future of the hay crop. The lack of irrigation systems on farms where hay is grown is a problem here. Also, I fear that government subsidy of corn might encourage farmers now growing hay to grow corn instead. It seems to me that some of that agricultural subsidy money could be spread around to the farmers growing other crops. After all, dairy and beef cattle also eat hay. At any rate, it is something I plan to write to my congressman about, since I live in an agricultural community and subsidy of crops is a big deal here.