Owners abandoning unwanted horses in Eastern Oregon

[stubtoe]

It's becoming a problem in Eastern Oregon due to the closure of the horsemeat processing facility in Illinois.



Old horses are being abandoned because owners can no longer afford to feed them.

I don't know, I'm not a horse owner, but this just seems wrong. I wouldn't do this to a cat or dog. I understand how hard it is to put an animal down, but there's got to be a better way.

[sandnsea]

1. I don't buy this

If you're a rural person who views your animal as a work tool, then putting them down will be no problem. Or putting down anybody else's horse either. I don't believe city people, who had horses at stables, are suddenly hauling them out to the country and unloading them. The real problem is the rural rancher sees money going down the drain when he has to bury an old horse instead of sell it.

[stubtoe]

2. Agreed, sandnsea. The contradiction is between the lines in the article.

Ar one point in the article, they talk about horses being like "pets" in America, you can't just put them down. Then in contradiction, they state urbanites as likely to view horses as companion animals, and ruralites viewing them as working animals, more unconcerned about sending them to slaughter.

So why are ruralites abandoning them? Money. like you pointed out.

This paper is interesting to read, because articles often unintentionally highlight ag's hypocrisies while shifting blame to the city folk.

That said, there's got to be a better way to deal with these old horses. This just gives me a headache. and a heartache.

[grasswire]

3. someone will be sorry...

....because surely horses will be more valuable again as oil gets more expensive. Does it cost more to feed a horse than to pay $10 a gallon for gas? I doubt it.

[LWolf]

4. Horses who have passed "middle age"

are expensive to maintain. I know; I've maintained many through a natural old age.

When arthritis kicks in, when they start to lose muscle mass and slow down, they aren't able to do much in the way of serious work. Some can make good "therapeutic" riding animals, some can be companions for younger horses still able to put in a days' work, and some can't.

I have an 18 yo mare in my barn right now. She is retired, because I've got a younger horse that needs the work. My old mare is still fit and energetic, and could do light or moderate duty for some years to come. For me. She doesn't respond well to others, though. It costs me too much to keep her fed, vaccinated, wormed, and up-to-date with hoof and dental work, yet I would no more sell her or put her down than I would my mom. She is the 3rd generation of a line of horses that have been in my family since 1945, and while she is a "working animal," she's also a family member.

Many people don't make the same choices I do; if the horse is too old for whatever purpose they keep a horse for, it has to go.

[stubtoe]

5. Good for you, LWolf.

I always felt that once we take an animal under our care, we're responsible for their well-being as long as they live.

A family member in Virginia is huge into horses and was aghast at the article. The very thought of an old horse being trucked to some unknown hell in a Mexico slaughterhouse, or being abandoned and left to its own devices, was abhorrent. Their belief is that the animal should be put down instead, if there is no alternative.

This is a sad and complicated issue. Thanks for your post.

[LWolf]

6. You're welcome.

:hi: