about where this blog is going. I have lots of topics on which to sound off but the last few, to me, have been all over the map. Gots'ta get some organization going! I like things together and relevant (unless I feel something totally off topic would be interesting, like the funny bumper sticker) and can get so proper that I make Miss Manners and Emily Post look like lackadaisical hillbillies.
*stepping back and taking a big sigh*
Okay, all better now. Since I have so much going on in my life, I haven't really had the time to post what I consider a proper post. Kind of lost focus and track. It's really bothering me as I want to impart what I consider important info but make it fun without bogging everyone down. I want to keep my readers and attract more. I'm learning as I go with this and am sort of surprised by the randomness of my posts. Something that makes me feel better is finding out that other bloggers feel this way now and again too...
Then, again, maybe I'm taking this too seriously... :-)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
All Around Horses and Riders
Gone are the days when a horse could hit the show pen and do just about every class and place well. The exceptions might be a good performance horse couldn’t halter but he could sure be used in Showmanship, which was judged on the contestant.
Today’s horses are so freakin’ specialized that they are almost robots. I’m against this big time.
One time I almost ruined a great WP (Western Pleasure) horse because I still had the mindset that he could chase a few bovines at the local cow sale to freshen his mind. Turned out, he enjoyed chasing the moo-cows so much more than WP that it took a bit to get his mind back to low and slow. The owner, my client, almost had a heart attack too! But up till that point, I had always ridden just about every horse in any class and if not won it, at least placed well or in the ribbons.
That was the beginning for me to start with the specialized horses. Dull. Dull. Dull.
I think the Ranch Horse Shows should make a big comeback. I know that some breeds are trying this out. I’m all for it. Seems to me, this would show your breed off to the world as having something a bit extra special!
An offshoot of this is the all around rider. Y’know, the one who could show a horse at halter in the morning, saddle the same horse and go into WP, Horsemanship, WR, Reining, Trail, what-have-you that afternoon or however many days it took.
I have tried and/or shown in just about every western class/event you can think of. Yep, I rope too! (I can head with the best of them but never go the timing of heeling down, much to my horse’s consternation…). I’ve tried english but prefer the flat. I don’t like to get off the ground when it comes to Hunters or Jumpers. Tried saddleseat…oh, hell no. Just don’t get that one. Rode in two work races and that was enough for me! Driven a couple of teams and while it was nice, just not an interest of mine but still good to know. I will stick with western till the end of time, thank you. Western is my cuppa tea but if the fat hit the fan, I could ride a flat horse in fairly decent form!
Seems to me, maybe, just maybe if we went back to the all around type horse, we might be able to attract more riders (and their money) into the horse business. We might be able to get kids first interested in plain ol’ riding, then pique their interest in showing or rodeo or ranch work…all with the same horse. They don’t have to go out and buy a different horse for every little thing. Not so daunting. Maybe that’s what is going on anyway but kids/newbies get slotted into the specialized trainers barn and they don’t know what else is out there. So maybe they get bored or soured or don’t know to look (or don’t have the curiosity…) to find out.
On some of my horse boards, I’ve seen where a jumper girl will ‘discover’ cutting and turn her interest there. She never ‘knew’ it was sooooo fun! Or the western reiner ‘discovers’ Dressage in the traditional form. All because they thought outside the box and found new talents, usually by accident too.
If these riders and horses were given a chance to experiment and look around and take a chance on showing the whole works, then there might be a revitalized interest in horses. From there, the logical conclusion might be they go up the food chain, with their money and interest, and enjoy more.
I don’t have it all worked out and know that diversifying will probably hurt some trainer’s livelihoods but seems like it would be worth looking to the past to reclaim our foundation then build from there. A broad base instead of an inverted house of cards. It would be tough, that’s for sure but I think it’d be worth it in the long run.
Today’s horses are so freakin’ specialized that they are almost robots. I’m against this big time.
One time I almost ruined a great WP (Western Pleasure) horse because I still had the mindset that he could chase a few bovines at the local cow sale to freshen his mind. Turned out, he enjoyed chasing the moo-cows so much more than WP that it took a bit to get his mind back to low and slow. The owner, my client, almost had a heart attack too! But up till that point, I had always ridden just about every horse in any class and if not won it, at least placed well or in the ribbons.
That was the beginning for me to start with the specialized horses. Dull. Dull. Dull.
I think the Ranch Horse Shows should make a big comeback. I know that some breeds are trying this out. I’m all for it. Seems to me, this would show your breed off to the world as having something a bit extra special!
An offshoot of this is the all around rider. Y’know, the one who could show a horse at halter in the morning, saddle the same horse and go into WP, Horsemanship, WR, Reining, Trail, what-have-you that afternoon or however many days it took.
I have tried and/or shown in just about every western class/event you can think of. Yep, I rope too! (I can head with the best of them but never go the timing of heeling down, much to my horse’s consternation…). I’ve tried english but prefer the flat. I don’t like to get off the ground when it comes to Hunters or Jumpers. Tried saddleseat…oh, hell no. Just don’t get that one. Rode in two work races and that was enough for me! Driven a couple of teams and while it was nice, just not an interest of mine but still good to know. I will stick with western till the end of time, thank you. Western is my cuppa tea but if the fat hit the fan, I could ride a flat horse in fairly decent form!
Seems to me, maybe, just maybe if we went back to the all around type horse, we might be able to attract more riders (and their money) into the horse business. We might be able to get kids first interested in plain ol’ riding, then pique their interest in showing or rodeo or ranch work…all with the same horse. They don’t have to go out and buy a different horse for every little thing. Not so daunting. Maybe that’s what is going on anyway but kids/newbies get slotted into the specialized trainers barn and they don’t know what else is out there. So maybe they get bored or soured or don’t know to look (or don’t have the curiosity…) to find out.
On some of my horse boards, I’ve seen where a jumper girl will ‘discover’ cutting and turn her interest there. She never ‘knew’ it was sooooo fun! Or the western reiner ‘discovers’ Dressage in the traditional form. All because they thought outside the box and found new talents, usually by accident too.
If these riders and horses were given a chance to experiment and look around and take a chance on showing the whole works, then there might be a revitalized interest in horses. From there, the logical conclusion might be they go up the food chain, with their money and interest, and enjoy more.
I don’t have it all worked out and know that diversifying will probably hurt some trainer’s livelihoods but seems like it would be worth looking to the past to reclaim our foundation then build from there. A broad base instead of an inverted house of cards. It would be tough, that’s for sure but I think it’d be worth it in the long run.
What IS a Warmblood??
I see these kinds of ads a lot. I can't find the article I read several years ago that said there has to be at least 5 generations of recognized Warmblood Sporthorses to be considered a true Warmblood, not a warmblood. I thought it was the Elk Run Farm site but it's not. Might be gone by now but it was the best article I've ever read about this subject.
http://www.elkrunfarm.com/warmblood.html
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/what-is-a-warmblood-566432.html
If you only cross a hot blood (TB, Arabian) with a cold blood (Draft), you only have a Crossbred or a Xbred. There is quite a lot of misunderstanding on this. Someone has to dig for info for this. Hope maybe this helps to clarify!
http://www.elkrunfarm.com/warmblood.html
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/what-is-a-warmblood-566432.html
If you only cross a hot blood (TB, Arabian) with a cold blood (Draft), you only have a Crossbred or a Xbred. There is quite a lot of misunderstanding on this. Someone has to dig for info for this. Hope maybe this helps to clarify!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Local Horse Shows...Almost forgot!
Almost forgot to post this!!!
Please support the local horse shows by showing up to either view from the grandstands or to compete. I didn't get a chance this past weekend to swing by Aranaway Farms for their shindig but I think I read (on CL or on the Grange bulletin board...?) where they are having another 'do' in March. You could probably call them and get directions and info. Even going for a little while gives some support. From the owners clear down to the kids.
If there are other events going on, I haven't heard or read of them but if you hear of anything horsey, please try to stop by!
Please support the local horse shows by showing up to either view from the grandstands or to compete. I didn't get a chance this past weekend to swing by Aranaway Farms for their shindig but I think I read (on CL or on the Grange bulletin board...?) where they are having another 'do' in March. You could probably call them and get directions and info. Even going for a little while gives some support. From the owners clear down to the kids.
If there are other events going on, I haven't heard or read of them but if you hear of anything horsey, please try to stop by!
Fewer Posts Probably This Week...
It's kind of looking like I'm going to be uber busy this week. I'll try to post as I can but life won't stop for me. Boo-hoo!! With the economy, we are paring down/cleaning out our lives and, actually, it's kind of nice to see the back of the storage building again. Getting everything in one place instead of here, there and beyond.
Please keep reading and telling your friends about my blog. I enjoy writing it and hope it's enjoyable to read (notwithstanding the 'kill pens' post...).
Please keep reading and telling your friends about my blog. I enjoy writing it and hope it's enjoyable to read (notwithstanding the 'kill pens' post...).
Abandoned or Free Horses...The Real Post!
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Again, I wrote this last Friday and let it sit for the weekend. It is waaaayyyyy long but this is my take on it. The Clift Notes version just won’t work here. So, sit back, relax and know you’re going to have a good (hopefully) read!
**************************************************************
I was asked about my opinion on the abandonment(ed) and/or free horse issues. As you can probably tell, I have an opinion on just about ANYthing that has to do with horses...or life in general. Probably the only thing on which I don’t have an opinion is something like Linear Physics or Namibia‘s politics. I’m out of my league on these so will leave them to bigger brains than mine.
It seems to me that I’m seeing a lot more free horse ads on the net than in the past. I think most people, being kind hearted when it comes to any animal, like to think that they have the animals best interest at heart. Or they are really, really fooling themselves and don’t want to face the cold, hard facts. So when times get tough, they think that if they offer the horse for free on some board or advert, some OTHER kind hearted person will come along and take over the horse and all will be well.
Welp, let me tell you about these free horses…
1. You never know who the other person is that shows up in your driveway with a horse trailer. In the free horse cases, it can sure be a front for a kill buyer. They may even have a kid in tow or a pregnant wife in the front seat of the pickup (or might BE the pregnant wife!). They will give you a sob story about how their kids’ horse bit the big one and the kid is so upset but they don’t have much money to buy another (??) but they have pasture or something and can still feed/care for a horse. There are so many variations on this line that I could type all day and still not hit them all.
2. Even if the ‘new’ owners have only had the horse for an hour at their barn (waiting for the next livestock auction to come up), if you or I walked up and asked them how long they’d owned the horse, they’d probably tell you they’d had that horse since he was a colt, had his mama and daddy and boy, how they were sure good horses and…the hip boots wouldn’t save you at this point.
A story…I once saw a free weanling colt in the paper, his dam had dried up or died, can’t remember which. I called, was trying to beat anyone else to the colt. The lady said she’d just given him to a nice guy with kids (see above) who wanted to show the wonders of life. So, that night I went to the local horse sale and an orphaned weanling colt came through the ring. A bell went off in my head. The seller said they’d had the colt he was foaled, his dam had died and it was too much for them to deal with…the kids were upset…yada, yada, yada… The colt went for about $50, I think. I called the lady the next day and asked her to describe her giveaway colt. She described the colt I saw to a ‘T’. Needless to say, she was distraught to find out he went to the sale and the guy got money for him.
I see where people say that the horse must have an approved home…oh, puh-leeze!! Once the horse is off your property, how are you going to enforce that?? Once the horse is their property, it’s their horse and they are free to do with it as they want. One way that I know to keep people in line is to draw up a contract and state that if the horse has to go from the new home, the old owner (or whomever) has first dibs or first turn-down. Get the sucker notarized (that means showing ID and everything). However, if the new owners move to another state or part of the state, how are you going to enforce it from afar?? It sounds really good, even to my cynical ear, but you have to be realistic. Think way ahead on this. http://horsecontracts.com/
Even with free leases, it’s hard to keep up with the horse. I have friends who are still looking for their free lease horses that disappeared almost immediately after the lessor took over the horse. I mean years of looking! It’s kind of heart wrenching when you hear these stories. They think they are doing the best thing and still lose the horse. In the back of their mind, I’m almost sure they know what happened to their horse but just can’t quit looking and hoping.
As for abandoned horses…who in their right mind will just kick a horse out on the road to fend for themselves??? But yet, it happens. I have seen it on some Indian reservations and I’m guessing it’s a cultural thing there. During the off season, the horses are just turned loose on the highway and left to their own devices. A lot of horse/car wrecks happen this way. I don’t hear so much of turning out on the road from other venues but maybe I don’t hear the right stuff.
Abandoning a horse at a barn is just…well, can’t think of the right word. You know things are going to get bad financially or whatever, so don’t you think you would make plans to place the horse or do something with him?? A barn has to go to court (last I heard) and take over ownership, then feed him and take care of any medical/shoeing/etc. needs, then try to sell him for whatever they can get to cover his expenses. From what I’ve heard, some places will go after the owner but if he’s in a bad spot already, what good will that do??
Some of my friends and I have discussed what we would do with our horses ‘just in case’. Now this will probably upset some folks but this is said in a cold, hard light and nothing spared. Took a little to wrap my mind around because I want to be prepared.
If you just can’t take care of your horse, there are some vets that will put your horse down. The problem with that is that most vets won’t put a sound, healthy horse down, no matter your situation. If he’s old (how ‘old’ is ‘old??) or unsound (permanently or temp?) or terminally sick, then you might get the vet to do it. If he’s not?? Some of my friends have said they’ve learned how to shoot a horse so he drops immediately. I know how to do it also. The last resort that I’ve heard about is the big cat place somewhere south of town. Now that just totally wigged me out! At first I thought that they tossed the live horse in there with the cats and it was safari-time but then someone set me right and said they take the horse to a place where he can’t see or smell the cats, shoot him and then take the carcass to the cats.
I’m not sure how much it costs to euth a horse but you will also have a knackers fee. If you shoot him yourself, you pay for the bullet and the knackers fee. If you go the big cat place, it’s free as far as I know.
I know this is long as long can be but I really wanted to frame my thoughts correctly and relay what I’m thinking, rather than just gloss it over. This is something to really think about and most of all, BE PREPARED for the worst!
Again, I wrote this last Friday and let it sit for the weekend. It is waaaayyyyy long but this is my take on it. The Clift Notes version just won’t work here. So, sit back, relax and know you’re going to have a good (hopefully) read!
**************************************************************
I was asked about my opinion on the abandonment(ed) and/or free horse issues. As you can probably tell, I have an opinion on just about ANYthing that has to do with horses...or life in general. Probably the only thing on which I don’t have an opinion is something like Linear Physics or Namibia‘s politics. I’m out of my league on these so will leave them to bigger brains than mine.
It seems to me that I’m seeing a lot more free horse ads on the net than in the past. I think most people, being kind hearted when it comes to any animal, like to think that they have the animals best interest at heart. Or they are really, really fooling themselves and don’t want to face the cold, hard facts. So when times get tough, they think that if they offer the horse for free on some board or advert, some OTHER kind hearted person will come along and take over the horse and all will be well.
Welp, let me tell you about these free horses…
1. You never know who the other person is that shows up in your driveway with a horse trailer. In the free horse cases, it can sure be a front for a kill buyer. They may even have a kid in tow or a pregnant wife in the front seat of the pickup (or might BE the pregnant wife!). They will give you a sob story about how their kids’ horse bit the big one and the kid is so upset but they don’t have much money to buy another (??) but they have pasture or something and can still feed/care for a horse. There are so many variations on this line that I could type all day and still not hit them all.
2. Even if the ‘new’ owners have only had the horse for an hour at their barn (waiting for the next livestock auction to come up), if you or I walked up and asked them how long they’d owned the horse, they’d probably tell you they’d had that horse since he was a colt, had his mama and daddy and boy, how they were sure good horses and…the hip boots wouldn’t save you at this point.
A story…I once saw a free weanling colt in the paper, his dam had dried up or died, can’t remember which. I called, was trying to beat anyone else to the colt. The lady said she’d just given him to a nice guy with kids (see above) who wanted to show the wonders of life. So, that night I went to the local horse sale and an orphaned weanling colt came through the ring. A bell went off in my head. The seller said they’d had the colt he was foaled, his dam had died and it was too much for them to deal with…the kids were upset…yada, yada, yada… The colt went for about $50, I think. I called the lady the next day and asked her to describe her giveaway colt. She described the colt I saw to a ‘T’. Needless to say, she was distraught to find out he went to the sale and the guy got money for him.
I see where people say that the horse must have an approved home…oh, puh-leeze!! Once the horse is off your property, how are you going to enforce that?? Once the horse is their property, it’s their horse and they are free to do with it as they want. One way that I know to keep people in line is to draw up a contract and state that if the horse has to go from the new home, the old owner (or whomever) has first dibs or first turn-down. Get the sucker notarized (that means showing ID and everything). However, if the new owners move to another state or part of the state, how are you going to enforce it from afar?? It sounds really good, even to my cynical ear, but you have to be realistic. Think way ahead on this. http://horsecontracts.com/
Even with free leases, it’s hard to keep up with the horse. I have friends who are still looking for their free lease horses that disappeared almost immediately after the lessor took over the horse. I mean years of looking! It’s kind of heart wrenching when you hear these stories. They think they are doing the best thing and still lose the horse. In the back of their mind, I’m almost sure they know what happened to their horse but just can’t quit looking and hoping.
As for abandoned horses…who in their right mind will just kick a horse out on the road to fend for themselves??? But yet, it happens. I have seen it on some Indian reservations and I’m guessing it’s a cultural thing there. During the off season, the horses are just turned loose on the highway and left to their own devices. A lot of horse/car wrecks happen this way. I don’t hear so much of turning out on the road from other venues but maybe I don’t hear the right stuff.
Abandoning a horse at a barn is just…well, can’t think of the right word. You know things are going to get bad financially or whatever, so don’t you think you would make plans to place the horse or do something with him?? A barn has to go to court (last I heard) and take over ownership, then feed him and take care of any medical/shoeing/etc. needs, then try to sell him for whatever they can get to cover his expenses. From what I’ve heard, some places will go after the owner but if he’s in a bad spot already, what good will that do??
Some of my friends and I have discussed what we would do with our horses ‘just in case’. Now this will probably upset some folks but this is said in a cold, hard light and nothing spared. Took a little to wrap my mind around because I want to be prepared.
If you just can’t take care of your horse, there are some vets that will put your horse down. The problem with that is that most vets won’t put a sound, healthy horse down, no matter your situation. If he’s old (how ‘old’ is ‘old??) or unsound (permanently or temp?) or terminally sick, then you might get the vet to do it. If he’s not?? Some of my friends have said they’ve learned how to shoot a horse so he drops immediately. I know how to do it also. The last resort that I’ve heard about is the big cat place somewhere south of town. Now that just totally wigged me out! At first I thought that they tossed the live horse in there with the cats and it was safari-time but then someone set me right and said they take the horse to a place where he can’t see or smell the cats, shoot him and then take the carcass to the cats.
I’m not sure how much it costs to euth a horse but you will also have a knackers fee. If you shoot him yourself, you pay for the bullet and the knackers fee. If you go the big cat place, it’s free as far as I know.
I know this is long as long can be but I really wanted to frame my thoughts correctly and relay what I’m thinking, rather than just gloss it over. This is something to really think about and most of all, BE PREPARED for the worst!
The Glut of Horses
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An explanation: I wrote this last Friday and redid it several times. It’s still not like I want. I tried a Clift Notes version and it didn’t look right. So this post is a bit wordy and unwieldy. So, I had my choice…the Clift Notes version or wordy/unwieldy. I went with wordy/unwieldy.
*************************************
I didn’t think of this till after I had finished the post about free/abandoned horses, so here goes.
First off, I think/know that AI is almost ruinous to most breeds that allow it that I can think of. Ok, so you can afford a stud fee to Mr. Latestgreateststud. Through the miraculous use of AI, bunches of his good get hit the ground. That’s great, you say?? Welp, you have a fab colt by a fab stud but, then again, so does the guy down the highway. Pretty soon, you have a bunch of great colts by a great stud and then the great becomes the ‘norm’.
Just say you’re into cutting. You go to a show and compete against the other get. Even though they are all great horses, you’re in the middle of the pack because they are all great horses. Okay, there’s the first problem.
Next, you have stud owners who know a good thing when they see it and need to make money from their studs. It does cost lots of money to stand a stud, advertise him, keep the place up to attract the quality mares, horse shows of some sort, pay the vet, etc. So they will collect the stud and then sell up to 25 ‘breedings’ from that one collection. I’m not up on AI anymore but that’s how I remember it. So, you might have $5,000 a whack (no pun intended) times 25 ‘breedings’ from one collection. I’ve known of studs being collected twice a day during breeding season! That’s a lot of money!
Then you have Joe Blow who has his backyard stud that hasn’t ever done a plugged thing but the neighbors think a newborn colt is ‘so cute’! Or better yet, he's a pretty color/pattern. So Joe breeds his stud to anything that is receptive, equine-wise. Add to this, Joe’s wife has her own stud. Then the neighbors get their studs and on it goes. An offshoot of this is the sub-standard fencing that won’t hold Mr. Stud. You know, the one who has a propensity to go midnite visiting other people’s mares?? Yep, that’s the one.
So, after years and decades of this building, you have lots of horses and horse prices falling. We Americans have a big time aversion to eating horse meat. I sure do although I think I ate some in Mexico once… Anyway, the kill plants were going big time and it was kind of ‘eating’ up the excess horses. Then some horse people started feeling antsy about the kill plants and had them shut down. So, then horses are sent over the border for slaughter.
That sure didn’t help the excess horse population, now did it? I have to say I’m for the slaughter of horses in the US. As long as it’s humane and quick, clean death, then I’m for it. I’ve been in the kill chambers of one kill plant (I accidentally walked through the wrong door after paying for some orphan foals whose dams were killed that morning) and after the initial shock, I realized that it was clean and there were/wasn’t any scared-ness of the horses waiting in line.
WARNING: Extremely graphic!! http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/grisly_end_for_horses.html
Just contrast that with the Humane Society undercover vid taken in a Mexican kill plant where the horses were scared witless and then STABBED to death, I’ll take the American ones, thank you. I have never been able to get to the end of the vid. I had to watch with my hands over my eyes and peeking through my fingers, so bad it was.
The latest that I hear is that some plants may open on some Indian res’s, can’t think which ones. I’m thinking up in the Dakotas…??? I just read an article not too long ago but not sure of which res. The res’s are sovreign nations unto themselves and so they can open them. I’m all for it as long as the horses are dispatched quickly and aren’t left too long in the pens. I would want to make sure the horses are well fed before the final deed. Since it is a res, I’m not sure how the inspectors would handle this so will have to watch and keep my ears open. (I couldn't find a video or article to link to. I heard about it through one of my horse boards.)
It’s going to take a while for the glut to disappear. Overbreeding will have to stop on its own and the kill plants may take up quite a bit of the rest. Add in natural or accidental deaths/illnesses and hopefully in a few years, the horse business will start to come back. Already I’m kind of seeing prices come up in parts of the country.
As a quick note…it seems to me that the $30,000 horse is holding its value, as long as it’s trained for something big money…so, there’s a clue right there! Breed for the best always!
An explanation: I wrote this last Friday and redid it several times. It’s still not like I want. I tried a Clift Notes version and it didn’t look right. So this post is a bit wordy and unwieldy. So, I had my choice…the Clift Notes version or wordy/unwieldy. I went with wordy/unwieldy.
*************************************
I didn’t think of this till after I had finished the post about free/abandoned horses, so here goes.
First off, I think/know that AI is almost ruinous to most breeds that allow it that I can think of. Ok, so you can afford a stud fee to Mr. Latestgreateststud. Through the miraculous use of AI, bunches of his good get hit the ground. That’s great, you say?? Welp, you have a fab colt by a fab stud but, then again, so does the guy down the highway. Pretty soon, you have a bunch of great colts by a great stud and then the great becomes the ‘norm’.
Just say you’re into cutting. You go to a show and compete against the other get. Even though they are all great horses, you’re in the middle of the pack because they are all great horses. Okay, there’s the first problem.
Next, you have stud owners who know a good thing when they see it and need to make money from their studs. It does cost lots of money to stand a stud, advertise him, keep the place up to attract the quality mares, horse shows of some sort, pay the vet, etc. So they will collect the stud and then sell up to 25 ‘breedings’ from that one collection. I’m not up on AI anymore but that’s how I remember it. So, you might have $5,000 a whack (no pun intended) times 25 ‘breedings’ from one collection. I’ve known of studs being collected twice a day during breeding season! That’s a lot of money!
Then you have Joe Blow who has his backyard stud that hasn’t ever done a plugged thing but the neighbors think a newborn colt is ‘so cute’! Or better yet, he's a pretty color/pattern. So Joe breeds his stud to anything that is receptive, equine-wise. Add to this, Joe’s wife has her own stud. Then the neighbors get their studs and on it goes. An offshoot of this is the sub-standard fencing that won’t hold Mr. Stud. You know, the one who has a propensity to go midnite visiting other people’s mares?? Yep, that’s the one.
So, after years and decades of this building, you have lots of horses and horse prices falling. We Americans have a big time aversion to eating horse meat. I sure do although I think I ate some in Mexico once… Anyway, the kill plants were going big time and it was kind of ‘eating’ up the excess horses. Then some horse people started feeling antsy about the kill plants and had them shut down. So, then horses are sent over the border for slaughter.
That sure didn’t help the excess horse population, now did it? I have to say I’m for the slaughter of horses in the US. As long as it’s humane and quick, clean death, then I’m for it. I’ve been in the kill chambers of one kill plant (I accidentally walked through the wrong door after paying for some orphan foals whose dams were killed that morning) and after the initial shock, I realized that it was clean and there were/wasn’t any scared-ness of the horses waiting in line.
WARNING: Extremely graphic!! http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/grisly_end_for_horses.html
Just contrast that with the Humane Society undercover vid taken in a Mexican kill plant where the horses were scared witless and then STABBED to death, I’ll take the American ones, thank you. I have never been able to get to the end of the vid. I had to watch with my hands over my eyes and peeking through my fingers, so bad it was.
The latest that I hear is that some plants may open on some Indian res’s, can’t think which ones. I’m thinking up in the Dakotas…??? I just read an article not too long ago but not sure of which res. The res’s are sovreign nations unto themselves and so they can open them. I’m all for it as long as the horses are dispatched quickly and aren’t left too long in the pens. I would want to make sure the horses are well fed before the final deed. Since it is a res, I’m not sure how the inspectors would handle this so will have to watch and keep my ears open. (I couldn't find a video or article to link to. I heard about it through one of my horse boards.)
It’s going to take a while for the glut to disappear. Overbreeding will have to stop on its own and the kill plants may take up quite a bit of the rest. Add in natural or accidental deaths/illnesses and hopefully in a few years, the horse business will start to come back. Already I’m kind of seeing prices come up in parts of the country.
As a quick note…it seems to me that the $30,000 horse is holding its value, as long as it’s trained for something big money…so, there’s a clue right there! Breed for the best always!
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