My take on this issue is exactly what G has written above.
There is no such thing as ârescueâ. There are people who are dealers in horseflesh, either high end dealers, or low end dealers, selling either expensive horses, or cheap horses. Their return policy will vary. All dealers tend to acquire horses for cheaper than they sell them. Good dealers represent their horses honestly, and have the horsemanship skill to portray their horses accurately to potential customers. Care and training may vary between dealers. Both low and high end dealers may provide you with a potentially successful horse for your needs, or the horse may lose value over time and in your care (which may or may not be your fault). You may lease a horse from someone else, either a paid lease, or a free lease, depending on the value and use of the horse. A horse dealer operation may or may not be profitable. Unprofitable horse dealers are those who either depend on donations from others, or have a sugar daddy of their own to finance the operation. The worst thing about âhorse rescuesâ is that they tend to play on emotions, and are often run by hoarders, people who may have the best of intentions, but actually suffer from a ârescue complexâ, where they feel that rescuing a horse from a bad situation gives them a warm fuzzy feeling inside as the impetus. If you pay money for an animal, you should own it, and be responsible for that animal. No one can sell you an animal, and retain ownership of that animal. Donât sign any agreement that attempts to do this. If you use the services of a ârescueâ as a source of a horse you want to have in your barn, there is a risk that things may not go well in the long run, unless you either have full ownership of the animal, or are leasing it from the previous owner. One or the other. Children are adopted, horses are bought and sold and leased.
There is no such thing as âhorse rescueâ. Since the meat industry works on a quota basis, if you purchase a horse who would otherwise be going for meat (and congratulate yourself for ârescuingâ it), the meat industry simply buys a different horse (who may have otherwise found a good home like yours) to make up the quota they must provide to keep their contract. The meat industry is driven by the desire of people in the world to eat meat, and keep carnivorous pets. The meat industry is not run to torture horses, or to clean up âbad breedingâ decisions, or âoverbreedingâ horses. So, net ârescueâ of horses is zero. You, the buyer, simply choose which horse goes for meat, and by buying one, YOU send another one in itâs place. So, it is a good idea to simply buy the horse you want, for the price you want to pay, rather than let emotion rule your decisions. If you are looking to buy a cheap horse, many may be in a bad situation, and may need a better home than the one they are currently in in order to be healthy, happy and reach their potential. If you have good horsemanship and experience, you may be able to purchase such a horse for not a lot of money, and both you and the horse will benefit from the purchase.
If you go to a low end auction, or any source of cheap horses offered for sale, you must be able to look at a horse and identify one as a âmeat horseâ. This is a horse who is not suitable for anything else, dangerous, unsound, crippled. Itâs difficult to do this, a horsemanâs heart goes out to such a horse, in pity. But this is probably not the horse you should buy, in your desire to make things better for this horse. Instead, look for a horse who is down on his luck and may currently have a low value, but who has potential for what you want him FOR, (whatever that might be) with the right care and training. In the long run, this will be the more successful horse for you. In this case, you will look back on this purchase and think what a âgood dealâ the purchase of this horse was.
Good luck in the search for your new horse.
