Accepting being priced out of the hobby

[quietann]

I also had a young horse for a bit. I bought her at 3 weeks old and she stayed with her breeder until 18 months. I started having doubts about the whole thing a few months in, but kept with it until she was 2 1/2, when I came to the conclusion that we just didn’t mesh well. Sold her back to her breeder and she has a good home now.

It turned out for the best, I guess, because there is no way I could afford 2 now, given how much board has gone up. So I would have had to sell her or euthanize the “worthless” Feronia.

[Cowboy_Girl]

I absolutely agree. Having been to the pointy end of the stick financially and come back, there are things I would have done differently. There is nothing shameful about putting a good horse down if it is imposing a financial burden. If the horse can’t be sold easily(due to too hot/hard to handle, too lame, too old or just marginally salable,) there is nothing wrong with the putting them to sleep.
You are being a responsible horseman, you are being a financially prudent adult. You are guaranteeing a soft (albeit permanent,) landing. Nothing is worse that putting your savings into an animal and then losing your financial security and you both end up homeless and the animal is put too sleep anyway.

[ProfAmEq]

Yes this.

My biggest fear is selling mine to a crappy home and having her sold down the road to a kill pen. I can’t sell her for big bucks, and I won’t give her to people that can’t afford her maintenance. And even if they could, it would give me anxiety worrying about her. Sometimes I wonder how the people who sold her to me came to the decision to do it—but I am glad they trusted me with her. She’s got a forever home with me, and if that means I have to put her down humanely if my life changes and we can’t pay her bills anymore, it’s ok. Horses are so incredibly expensive to keep.

On another note, I just can’t believe this day and age we still allow horses to be sold for transport to slaughter in Mexico. Makes me ill. Bullets are cheap, give your horse a humane end. Making money of off their certain suffering when they are no longer useful is evil. Isn’t it time for this loophole in the law to get corrected?

[Simkie]

@ProfAmEq

Bullets are cheap, give your horse a humane end.

I 100% agree, but it’s expensive disposing of a horse. I buried one last year, and it was 600 bucks to the backhoe guy. If I couldn’t bury her here, I would’ve had to pay to cremate her (about 2 grand!) or there’s a woman who buries on her own property (no clue how much that costs, but more than the backhoe.) All in, it was over a grand to put her down & bury her.

For people who just cannot afford any more financial outlay, getting a hundred or two out of the horse at a sale is often the only option available to them.

[ProfAmEq]

We need non profits to step in and help with this problem then. Unfortunately our horse slaughter laws have had the perverse effect of causing suffering. I’d be interested in writing some new legislation on this.

ETA: At the risk of grossing people out I remembered reading something about composting carcasses and found an article about it. If you don’t use chemical euthanasia it’s a more affordable option for disposal than removal or burial. https://extension.umn.edu/preparing-livestock-emergencies/horse-carcass-compost-pile

I’m guessing most people wouldn’t opt for this but in case it’s useful for anyone reading, here you go.

Now I need to go feed my horse some carrots because I am seriously depressed.

[Simkie]

What non profits? What do you expect them to do? How do you expect them to fund that? Where do you expect the bodies to GO, especially in an area like this where there are NO professional dead stock removal services?

It’s a far more complex issue than “the non profits have to do better.”

[ProfAmEq]

Non profits can’t fill this role currently because our laws prohibit horse slaughter. I am talking about a non profit designed specifically to assist low income individuals with humane euthanasia and disposal. I would raise the heck out of money to fund this in my state. I would even lobby for state funds to do it. The kill pen industry needs to go.

[Texarkana]

In my area, the neighboring state has some organization (the state? a non-profit?) who funds the bulk of the cost of disposal so euthanized horses aren’t buried.

When my mare died, it was a $500 disposal fee to have her hauled off. But if I had lived 20 minutes away over the state line, it would have only been $50 because of that agreement.

[ProfAmEq]

Would you mind sharing the state? I’m going to research this.

[Texarkana]

@ProfAmEq

Would you mind sharing the state? I’m going to research this.

Delaware allegedly has the $50 fee through the disposal service I used. I don’t know if it’s the whole state or just certain areas within the state.

[ProfAmEq]

Thanks, appreciate it.

[clanter]

Morgan SafeNet will step up to save any Morgan

Created to promote the organ horse breed, repurpose Morgans to new jobs before there is a need to rescue, but stepping in when possiMble to help Morgans at risk. Run solely by volunteers, MSN relies on donations and grants to run our mission.

Morgan Safenet

We have gotten one from them for the grand kids

but agree to Expect a non profit to be your safety net is pretty poor expectation

[Texarkana]

Just looked at my local FB group and allegedly the Delaware fee is only $36 “with state paperwork.”

[ProfAmEq]

It’s not an expectation—it’s a solution better than shipping sick and suffering horses to Mexico. I hope to god I would never be in a situation where I couldn’t afford to euthanize my horse, but apparently it’s a thing. A thing I’d like to work to end. This thread is showing me exactly how acute the problem is.

[Larksmom]

gosh, when I euthanized Dr. Pepper 20 years ago, it cost me $500 for a backhoe to be buried where she lived. That sounds like a good price to me. It was two months board, but after that, no more board.

[Simkie]

@Texarkana

Just looked at my local FB group and allegedly the Delaware fee is only $36 “with state paperwork.”

That’s amazing. I wasn’t able to turn up any info with a quick Google, but would just love to know more if you have any further detail. I was out right flabbergasted learning there was just NO dead stock removal here in CT. So many horses, so few options when they die.

[Texarkana]

@Simkie

@Texarkana

Just looked at my local FB group and allegedly the Delaware fee is only $36 “with state paperwork.”

That’s amazing. I wasn’t able to turn up any info with a quick Google, but would just love to know more if you have any further detail. I was out right flabbergasted learning there was just NO dead stock removal here in CT. So many horses, so few options when they die.

My local FB group says it was through the Sussex County Conservation District, but Google didn’t turn up anything, either.

The last FB thread about it was from 2021, so maybe the funding ran out. The man who handles most of the local disposal here is Delaware-based, but it’s one of those things where he just has a phone number and no web presence. FB says he brings the paperwork with him.

[clanter]

@ProfAmEq

It’s not an expectation—it’s a solution better than shipping sick and suffering horses to Mexico.

maybe just turn the “animal” into the city? After all at least here we are spending $750,000 a year to house/care/rehome about 15 cats and 10 dogs a month paid for by the city tax payers

And I know horses fall under their control as I help rewrite the animal control ordnance

The animals at the Animal Services Center are generally rescued by an Animal Services Officer, or a concerned citizen who has seen the animal running loose. However, some animals are brought in by citizens who can no longer care for them.

[BatCoach]

@clanter

maybe just turn the “animal” into the city? After all at least here we are spending $750,000 a year to house/care/rehome about 15 cats and 10 dogs a month paid for by the city tax payers

And I know horses fall under their control as I help rewrite the animal control ordnance

The animals at the Animal Services Center are generally rescued by an Animal Services Officer, or a concerned citizen who has seen the animal running loose. However, some animals are brought in by citizens who can no longer care for them.

So take the horse to the municipal pound? Load it into the trailer and tie it to the fire hydrant outside? Most pounds/animal care centers etc do not have equine or livestock facilities, and all charge an owner surrender fee.

[Heinz_57]

Disposal-wise, most removal services these days are likely taking the animal to a landfill unless the agreement states otherwise. Sorry if that’s an ugly thought for some people, but it is the reality. Most landfills accept animal carcasses, and the fee is usually less than $100, perhaps a little more if you need their equipment to assist in lifting/unloading. Having the horse euthanized inside the trailer is often the simplest way to accomplish transport, although some vets won’t do this due to the danger to themselves (understandably) as the horse goes down. One disposal company I know of had an enclosed trailer with a winch installed inside, after horse was euthanized it was rolled onto a sort of mat/tray type thing which was then winched back up into the trailer.

I think euthanasia assistance could be a helpful thing, but sorting out the details of who/how decides which horses qualify to be euth’d or don’t… that’s the sticky wicket, IMO.