Where am I going with this? Well, times are tough, and that man and his wife 
couldn't bear the thought of their kids being homeless, on the streets or starving to death so he ended the "madness" as it were. Well... let's change he roles a bit here... what if that was you? You have NO money, no hay, and your horses are hungry. There is no end in site and giving them away is NOT a quick fix or even an option because everyone is flooding craigslist with free and cheap horses... Where do you turn?
couldn't bear the thought of their kids being homeless, on the streets or starving to death so he ended the "madness" as it were. Well... let's change he roles a bit here... what if that was you? You have NO money, no hay, and your horses are hungry. There is no end in site and giving them away is NOT a quick fix or even an option because everyone is flooding craigslist with free and cheap horses... Where do you turn? Unfortunately this ISN'T that far fetched of a hypothetical situation anymore, this IS happening to people and their horses. What are your realistic options... Would you Steal? Shoot your horse? Sell your horse to a meat buyer? Turn you horse out and let it run "wild"? Just abandon them? You get one choice... or you get to see your horses starve and die...
Am I being a sadist? Or grotesque? No, I'm being a Realist. And it's tough out there right now... YOU are at a crossroad... Make your move...
16 comments:
wow. Thats a sad story. Sometimes it DOES feel like there is no end in sight, but I think there is always SOMETHING you can do. SOMEone you can ask for help. I've only got ONE horse (right now, thank goodness) and even still, sometimes it's difficult to stay "stress free." I don't splurge on things I don't need, basically my expenses are met (including horse board :P) but the future still looks shady. IF it came down to the situation, where there were NO options, NO places to go, and NO one that could take my horse (friends/family) I think I would probably euthanize him. I couldn't bear the thought of him going hungry, or of him being inhumanley treated (aka meat sale) or of him ending up in the wrong hands. BUT does ME euthanizing him make me MORE selfish? In that I am responsible for his health, his well being and his happiness? Does that make me CRAZY, to just end it for him (IF there is REALLY nothing I can do?), would it be FAIR to him? It would make me feel like I shouldn't have had a horse in the first place, and that in itself is a sad and depressing thought. As I'm sure we all know, horses are a luxury, ANY animal is a luxury. Taking their lives into your own hands makes you responsible. There are already horses being abandoned/"set free" (and a million other kinds of animals)and its a very troubling situation. NOW I'm going to be racking my brains ALL DAY wondering about this stuff. I've already decided that if anything HAPPENS TO ME (i.e. I DIE tomorrow) that my horse will go back to my parents place, and that hopefully he can either live out his life on pasture, OR have my old coach/parents neighbour can place him in a good home. ( i honestly think its something EVERYONE should think about/plan-because you never know)
its a depressing reality and a good point to make.
We have already planned... And if it gets to that point, Blossom will be going back to the rescue first. and if things still continue to go down hill, we would put our horses done. Really hard thing to think about. But I would rather put them down then think of them slaughtered for meat. Don't take me wrong, I have nothing against it if it is done humanely (stupid concept). But I would rather have my horses that I have spent so much time with put in the ground then to think of them being on someones plate.
Really depressing topic Trex. More so after reading THIS. I felt like crying after that article just because that place is not to far from me and I had no idea. *puts head on desk* Can I go cry now?
See and that's what I'm talking about ND~ SPARING your animals from a fate like that... Sick, just sick...
Oh, TrexX, I'm trying to keep happy thoughts going here..
I looked at the sad story from Fargo...
Happy Thoughts, Happy Thoughts, and best of luck to all of us, we are going to need it.
i would become a stripper lol. honestly i don't really know. first i would put major on a lot cheaper board. there are some people in my church that has some fields and if i really needed to i would ask to keep him there. i would probably take off his shoes. i would do anything to keep my horse and if i absolutly couldn't i would try to sell him. he's an awesome show horse but can have a bit of a temper if the rider doesn't know his buttons lol. and if i couldn't sell him i would consider leasing him out, giving him to a rescue, and my absolute last option is auction. i would take him to the auction in WA for registered horses. he really is a nice horse so i think he could get a good home. it's just really sad to think about stuff like that
no actually i don't feel right about auction at all. you just don't know who is there. i would probably put him down. i'd rather him go peacefully with me in the place he was born and raised knowing that he was happy than letting him slip through my fingers and always wonder where he is and if he is ok. if i ever found out that he was abused or starved i wouldn't ever forgive myself.
Just got off the phone with my husband about the horses in the paper. Wish we had a place we could quarantine off and save at least one of them. But we don't. I plan on trying to find out who took in the horses and offering some helping in caring for them. The poor things. What in the hell was he doing with 30plus horses anyways? Oh wait, I know, HE WAS BREEDING THEM. Fucking idiot.
Sorry for my language. I feel like whenever crap like this pops up, makes ND look even MORE like a bunch of idiot hillbilly rednecks...
*goes off to grumble in the corner*
If I lost my job, I could not support my horse. I would ask around and try to find him a real home and failing that I would euthanize him. I don't want my boy going to a slaughterhouse.
Tough question. I have two horses. I would euth one (she is blind, old, crippled - a horse I rescued 5 years ago) and sell everything I had to keep the second one. I have several friends with pasture that would share.
http://paullinnthoroughbredcheater.blogspot.com/
Sadly we are seeing so much of this lately. I cannot even tell you the number of calls I get. I always have an emergency fund, and three months of expenses saved. That gives me some time to make those tough decisions. But when it comes down to it I would euthanize before ever turning loose, sending to auction, sending to slaughter, or starving them. I have access to emergency pasture as well. But there are a lot of people who have no other option. There is a huge need for a euth. clinic here, similar to what NorCal did. I am seeing to many starving or dead horses...
Mmmm. Pretty easy choice for me - if there was NO possible way for me to feed her (and I mean, I'd likely sell myself for sex for this horse), she'd be euthanized (probably shot if I can't even afford to feed her).
The thought of selling her is a flat out NO. She has this spirit that I just can't see a lot of horse people understanding. I would give up my dreams if it meant I had to sell her. Maybe I'm unrealistic about it, but that single animal is my entire life. I love her more then I think I could love my own runny nosed offspring (I hate kids).
Even if the inevitable happened, unless I could find her a home with a STRICT contract regarding care, she'd be euthanized. I would not be able to live my life wondering whos hands she'd fallen into it. It would gnaw at me every single day.
If I didn't have $$ for feed, I doubt I would have $$ for the vet. One gun and three well placed bullets is probably where I would turn. I'd hate to see my 'girls' die, but if I had no way to find them a better situation, that would be my choice.
I can't comment on this one. It's too tough of a decision. I'm sure that's part of the attitude that gets people in situations like this.
As for the Edgely horses, this is part of the fallout from the loss of slaughter. It's like a market correction. Guys breed a bunch and sell them at an auction not caring where they go. Well now they have nowhere to go because it's not economical to "feedlot" them to fatten for more cash, fuel is still pretty high, hay is high, and you must have a vet inspection certificate on them to cross the border even if it is for immediate slaughter or to feed before slaughter.
I think we are going to have to get used to seeing this kind of crap until the horse market has corrected in whatever way it can. I'm not happy about it. I would like to see more of the euthanasia clinics to see if that would help.
There would be some hard decisions made.
Unfortunately - my animals come after my kids. So if things were tanking for us, the kids would have to be looked after first. I cannot be a person who is on welfare to support my kids, but is keeping a horse (there was someone at my old barn who did that - 2 parents, 1 kid, no job, 2 boarded horses...that they got while unemployed).
Horses are luxury items - and although I love mine, I am not sure what I would do. However, I would do my damndest to make sure he is "marketable" and well trained, so that he would at least be a usable horse to someone.
Thankfully I live in Britain so that situation is a long way off. If however it suddenly became that way over here, there are a number of options i'd take. a. ask my friend who has her own land if I could graze my mare their for free, b. Loan her out, c. become a gypsy traveller, d. set her free on dartmoor, e. euthanise. I'd never be able to hand her over to anyone without knowing I could get her back and euthanasia is my last option - only if there was no chance whatsoever of saving her.
I had to make this heartwrenching decision myself just last August. After working for my boss for close to five years, making awesome cash, and starting a thriving little side busiiness, I decided to fulfill my life-long dream of owning my own horse. I found the perfect horse for me, a 16.2, 8yo Perch/Qh. Green, but knew the basics... Worked out a lease-to-own deal with his owners, and embarked on what I thought was going to be my happy ride into the sunset. Fast forward 8 months, and business at my office has dropped off to the point where my employer can no longer afford to pay me, so I get laid off. Then, due to my private clients living closer to the belt, my thriving side business dries up. Add to that some poor decision making of my own, coupled with a crappy job market, and I am suddnly trying to bail out a sinking ship. Long story short, after many sleepless nights, and many tear filled days, I called the previous owner to ask if she would take him back. Thankfully she did, but it made my short lived dream come tru coming to an end non the less heart wrenching.
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