As I have described before on this blog, currently in the U.S. there is what amounts to an equine emergency - a "perfect storm" formed by the economic recession and soaring feed prices. People losing their jobs, homes, and land, or just having taken such a hit financially that they can no longer keep or care for their horses.A simple Google search will reveal hundreds of news articles about surrendered, abandoned, or neglected horses. The reports often include interviews with horse rescues and animal shelters across the country, all stating the same thing: that they are full to capacity and overwhelmed by this phenomenon.
Pictured here is a starved purebred Arabian horse, one of the dozens seized by the local SPCA from a ranch in Texas. This is the link to the story~~> Deal done over 77 Arabian horses Horsetalk - International horse news
You see, out in the "country", the only place that many do-gooders and animal rights fanatics think horses should be allowed to live, it's fairly easy to starve or abuse or neglect a horse. Horses are on private property; no municipality has the resources to check on every single one. Kept from the public eye, this horror show plays out all the time in the lovely "country". This has never - and COULD never - happen to a NYC carriage horse.
Here's why:
---EACH AND EVERY NYC carriage horse is checked multiple times a month by either the DOH or the ASPCA. These agencies have full access to every animal whenever they want it;
---Our horses must be vetted and given a clean bill of health every year;
---Our horses are in the PUBLIC EYE everyday!
Our carriage horses' poor country cousins have something else working against them - they have no JOBS. The hundreds of thousands of horses whose owners can no longer afford them - these horses were kept as pets or for pleasure. A horse with a JOB is helping to earn it's own keep; a horse with a viable job will be the LAST horse to feel the recession.
As you can see, anyone who wants to take jobs away from horses is NO FRIEND TO THE HORSE.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO THE MISGUIDED DO-GOODER OR HARDENED HUMANIAC: Consider trading in your constant efforts to shut down the NYC carriage industry with some hands-on help at a horse rescue, or better yet - put your money where your mouth is and adopt one of these homeless, unwanted creatures. This way you'll actually be DOING something for a horse, other than hurting it.
4 comments:
Thank you for another great post.
People need to understand that a working animal is a valuable asset and is in the public eye every day. Our horses are monitored not only by the proper authorities, but by the public and the drivers who work with them.
excellent post!
I grunted out loud when I caught sight of that starved horse. Who knows what makes people starve or otherwise abuse animals--or children, or spouses, or elders?
It can happen by accident, too, if the spread is big enough. My grandmother adopted a mare that had been kicked by another horse when they were all out on the range. Sissy's injury (looked like a broken hip to me) kept her from feeding and from keeping up with the other horses. We fed her up and she had a good life, but only as a rather gimpy farm pet. She was never able to carry anyone again, even a child.
I think that inflicting harm on another creature is some kind of mental illness. Great post.
Absolutely wonderful, wonderful post! It's incredibly hard to get anything done when these horses are being neglected, and the laws are very lax. Not to mention, in many parts of the country the law enforcement officers called know nothing about horses and will say they are fine when a horse person would not agree.
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