Did anyone watch "Inside Edition" tonight?

[palabeco]

Pat,
Thanks for your info, I do have pasture and good fencing and shelter. I also can harvest hay. The biggest expense is the purchase of the horse. The other expenses involved are small amounts at different times ;$50 here and $100 there. IDK, but I would think that those racehorses were very pampered and mild mannered , and would be good as personal pets so to speak.

 

[Windy Ridge]

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And both are taken care of much better than chickens, I'd bet. Chickens are not protected by the Humane Slaughter Act like other "food" animals are.

 

[joanm]

I did see that segment and was disturbed by it. Like most, I would rather see any animal humanely slaughtered rather than starving or suffering. It does make me sick that some animals on this earth go through hell, purely for the monetary value and entertainment for humans. It’s barbaric.

 

[Varisha]

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The the upkeep of a horse is way more than the intial cost of buying it. Even if you can provide your own hay. A single regular vet visit can cost over $250 let alone if an acident should happen. Then there is the cost of grain, training for both horse and owner, upkeep of the farm, or board and so on. I have owned horses for over 15 years and love them dearly. Currently I have 3 horses and one pony.

I'm pro-humane slaughter. The capitve bolt gun used in Canada and the United States is very humane. It compltly destroys the brain in just a secound. No brain function = no pain.

What is sad that now that the horses are not being slaughtered in the US they are being shipped much longer distances. The lucky ones end up in Canada. The unlucky ones end up in Mexico (most ani-slaughter films are from Mexico slaughter houses).

One last point the US has tried to take care of the overpopulation of unwanted house pets with no success. How would you expect them to be able to do any better with livestock.

 

[MNKris]

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I truly hope you are talking about Buffalo and the 1800s with that statement generalization.

As a registered horse breeder for nearly 30 years, I have to agree with the sensationalization for ratings. I think live exports have new rules to prevent strange slaughter practices, but the french and asian markets are what keeps the horse meat industry going. Five years ago, a good quarter horse weanling would sell for $1000 or more. Now we hear about sales were there are no buyers or buyers that purchase quality colts for $10 or less. I would be devastated to find out that one of our horses ended up in a slaughterhouse somewhere, but that is the risk you take as a breeder. We do everything we can to make sure our foals start out as sane and sound individuals by working with them daily, keeping them healthy and treating them with respect.

The days of backyard horse breeder is very much on the decline. People have found there is no money in it and have moved on to other venues, leaving those of us who truly love horses to continue trying to improve our particular breed. The downfall is that the market is flooded and we need to find a place for all these horses that can live up 20+ years.

We personally do not sell horses at auction. In 2007, we did our part to help the market however. We only bred 3 of our 12 broodmares because the mare is for sale or we already had their 2008 unborn foal sold.

To Palabeco:

I agree, the purchase price is peanuts compared to keeping the horse. If we have people wanting to do payments on our horses, we say, sorry, you can't afford one. There's also the cost of supplies like water buckets, hay feeders, combs, brushes, tack, halters, etc. Vet care is very, very spendy and hard to find in quality.

Race horses are not generally good pets. You need to know what you are doing. They are the "leghorns" of the horse world. They are natually high strung and nervous, because it is their job to get somewhere fast. Watch a few races on TV. You will see many, many horses that won't load into the gates, rear up, etc. It is bred in them. Of course there are exceptions, but in general, TBs for instance, are difficult to work with compare to say, a quarter horse.

 

[Varisha]

anouther monthly expence is a farrier (one who trims hooves) is at least 25 per horse but most the time well over 30. And that price keeps going up because of the cost of gass. Then you will be lucky to find a good farrier that is not already booked up.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Yes, I was MNKris.

 

[patandchickens]

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Idunno whether you know this already, but horses need really good hay (absolutely no mold or dust, not weedy, and not cut when overmature) - and if you are already set up to produce good horse hay (with seeded hayfields, tractor and implements etc) then it is still costing you what you could have gotten by selling that hay to someone else - especially in a bad hay year like this!

Beyond that, those "small amounts at different times" add up fast. As do the once-every-nce-in-a-while Big Surprises, like a $500 injury that needs suturing or colic call, or $2000 worth of choke and pneumonia. Put money in a cookie jar as if you had a horse and were spending it on upkeep, and soon you will have money enough to buy one

But my main point is that the reason there aren't enough homes for surplus horses IN GENERAL is that there are too few people who can/will afford the upkeep, even if the horse itself comes free.

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Oh no oh no oh no...

Racehorses may be 'pampered' in the sense of getting expensive feed and expensive pharmaceuticals and not enough turnout, but none of these things prepares them well for civilian life! Racehorses typically are very young, very silly (think 'hand grenade with wiggly loose pin'), very very energetic, and frankly (most of them) almost entirely ignorant about the niceties of horse-human interaction. Some have had "do not squish the person at the other end of the leadrope" beaten into their heads, but that is often about the scope of it. If you don't know how things like hoof handling and grooming are done at the track, you will have to re-teach them that as well.

And being "mild mannered" is SO not what wins races. Your typical racehorse is bred for maximal silliness and energy, and these things are encouraged in training and at the track, as long as the seasoned professionals there can still handle the horse without getting killed. (Off the track Standardbreds - harness horses, that is - are somewhat less silly with better ground manners, tho still racehorses).

Of course there are SOME Thoroughbreds who can step right out of a race barn and take you out safely for a day's hunting the next weekend with nary a blip. But they are very much the exception. I =love= off the track Thoroughbreds, and prefer working with them to practically any other breed... however, the vast majority are REALLY REALLY not for the inexperienced. By inexperienced I mean 'have not worked with young energetic goofy horses under professional supervision before".

However, why get stuck on Thoroughbreds? There are gazillions of other equally deserving horses out there who are literally dying to find good homes, and if you can genuinely afford to keep a horse (or two - they're as much herd creatures as chickens are, would you keep a lone chicken? no)... look up horse rescue organizations in your area. For $200 you are not likely to get a *rideable* horse unless you know the right people and are lucky (and have a knowledgeable horse person come along to make sure the horse is appropriate for you)... but you can get a young or middle-aged (therefore, no ultra-high feed/vet bills for now) unrideable but calm and mannerly horse or horses. They're nice just to hang around with even if you aren't riding them, and BOY are there a lot of good solid 'surplus' horses out there who sure deserve a good home.

Best wishes,

Pat

 

[palabeco]

There still should be someway to save these horses.
To think that these owners have thousands and thousands of dollars in these horses and to just almost give them away and know full well where they are going.
Don't they have any respect for them at all? It just makes me sick to think that there is nothing that could be done.

I will someday get a horse or two, I do have the means to take care of them properly. I am waiting till my children are old enough to help take care of them as its the kids who want the horses.

I have started them with chickens first, then maybe a goat or pigs. We have local 4H clubs they can join.

Pat, We are in the rolling hills of PA. on a 25 acre farm, grew up on farms, so don't worry , we do know a little about raising animals.

 

[palabeco]

oh and about the mild mannered race horse, I was just going by what Ive seen in movies, lol Can't think of any movie titles but there was one about a kid and a racehorse no so long ago.