He seems very level headed but I did not get to hop on him, he left for Akindale the next morning. There have been quite a few people who have expressed an interest in this horse, hopefully Kate will place him quickly- that will open up a spot for another rescue. Yes, it is sad that we had to choose between him and the mare- but that is the way it goes, each and every week at the sale.
BAS, I hope that you did not read my earlier comments as a criticism of you. It was not intended that way whatsoever. I understand that you have only so much room and that you can take only so many, and I understand completely what a difficult, heartbreaking situation you are in. I am grateful to you and everyone else, like Kelly, who does this. I would not have the courage. The best I can do is rescue the occassional one when I get a call from a trainer friend, and send donations to the rescues.
I just meant that by sending him, one other horse who might have been saved could not be.
I agree with you - NO HORSES TO SLAUGHTER.
Well, Fred, if you want a horse, there is a nice TB mare that Kelly rescued that is need of a home. 
I actually donât know much about the situation, but itâs April (rescued at the same time as Nate). Apparently what happened is that someone from CoTH agreed to take the horse, a local friend of mine agreed to foster her until person #1 took her. Local friend took her, paid her bills and person #1 backed out. :no:
So, local friend is still fostering mare and looking for a home for her! Apparently mare is 13 (donât quote me!) has had a few babies and is happy and comfortable being ridden in western tack. Neck reins, etc.
Sooooo⊠sheâs out there looking for a home!
A couple of point here:
(1) A tax deduction is useful ONLY IF YOU ITEMIZE. A vast majority of people in this country do not itemize deductions on their tax returns. In fact, congress keeps raising the standard deduction because the IRS does not want people to itemize.
(2) Unfortunately, many colleges send horses that donât fit the program to an auction. Once you donate, you lose control of the horseâs fate & a sad fate has happened to many donated horses, even to ones the owner requested returned. Those stories have appeared on this board & in various publications. Donation requires extreme caution & a long term commitment to keeping contact & continuing to watch over your horse.
Now, a different point:
The fact the horse was in the kill pens does NOT mean it was going to slaughter. Depends on which killer buyer had him. Several of the buyers that frequent New Holland separate out the horses that they think they can resell at above kill prices & keep them at their farms for resale while shipping the rest. Yes, it is a quick evaluation but even killer buyers donât send every horse they buy to slaughter. I doubt this horse would actually have been slaughtered unless he failed to resell in a couple of weeks.
I donât like the idea of any horse going to slaughter either, BUT it is still legal in this country so the owner did nothing âwrong.â Immoral in the eyes of most? Yes. But not illegal. :sigh:
PM and email
I just sent you a PM and email!
Thanks!
Flame Suit On
The problem is not slaughter, the problem is that too many horses are bred and there arenât homes for all of them.
I donât agree with what the owner did in this case, but donât blame slaughter for the fact that there are more horses in this country than there are people willing to take responsibility for them.
Some of the responsiblity lies with the people who take their mediocre/lame/rank/crazy mare and breed her b/c they donât know what else to do with her. Or the people who take a nice mare and breed her to a nice stallion and do not have the skill to raise a youngster and quickly become afraid of or bored with âlittle preciousâ.
I agree with the statement that horse ownership should require a license. But personally, I would prefer a quick end to my life rather than being left to die of starvation or dehydration knee deep in manure in the backyard of some ignorant and foolish person.
Well, heâs a lucky horse who sounds like he deserves another chance.
Hard to believe anyone could take out their frustration on a horse like that. If the story is accurate, thatâs one rider who doesnât deserve another horse. There were plenty of other riders who got eliminated at that event, just as well they didnât all feel the need to dump their horses at New Holland!
I dislike the story immensely and have no respect for someone who would throw away a horse like that because they canât stomach failure. It would have been far simpler to sell at a loss or even give the animal to a talented but impoverished younger person and be happy and proud for them.
Sorry to say, I do know of one person who dumped a good horse at a low-end auction without info and I donât know what happened to the horse. (I found out about it afterward)
She was really frustrated with the horse who was misbehaving for her. It was a classic âwrong matchâ - tense rider, green and nervous horse. She wanted to âdo it herselfâ and only occasionally took lessons. The instructor could get on her horse and have it perform pretty well. After a particularly bad session in which the owner was dumped by a spook and the horse appeared terrified to be caught, the horse disappeared. Now the instructor had talked with her about getting a more suitable horse and had offered to help sell this one and find the next. She didnt want to do that. I think her ego was just too afraid that someone would do better with her horse than she did that she just wanted the horse gone. Sick and sad.
I realize that not all horses sold to dealers go to kill but in this case he was going. They were coming in the pen with the shoe pullers and federal stickers. I appreciate everyoneâs concern and did not intend to start a witch hunt. I had a really hard time believing this actually happened, but nothng should surprise me anymore.
The point here is that NICE horses come out of the kill pens!!! In addition to the event horse, we have nice TBs here in MD, and Akindale has nice TBs in NY- the majority are sound and ready for new careers. If people would consider going to a rescue, then that will make room for more rescues! We may not have to leave that mare behind next time!
PS- I know firsthand that not all horses donated to colleges stay there- one of our current horses was donated to a college last fall and he ended up in the kill pen this springâŠ
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All I can say is⊠wow. I canât imagine what would make someone just dump a horse at NH two days after taking him to a show. Is there anything in our society nowdays thatâs NOT disposable? So sad. 
DO. NOT. GO. THERE.
It is absolutely NOT OKAY to discuss an issue that is based solely on hearsay and identify the person youâre talking about. If you want to talk about it in the abstract, have at it, but absolutely NO WAY are you allowed to discuss a specific and identified individual in this manner.
Go there again and the thread goes adios.
I have seen braided show hunters in the kill pen. People have no clue when they sell a horse where they will end up. Buyers say to them, I will give him a good home, and little do they know where the âgood homeâ is. Cavelâs kill floor. And that after a 3-to-5-day ride of torture. That is the truly ghastly part of the whole slaughter syndrome, the incredible torture and cruelty they must endure prior. For a really excellent description of a horse auction thereâs a fantastic story on saving a Standardbred racehorse at New Holland in the most recent issue of Hoof Beats magazine. It may be online at www.ustrotting.com but not sure. It gives you a real âthereâ feeling to read it.
You wonder about people that would ruthlessly dispose of a horse that wasnât going well enough for themâŠremember George Lindeman and Charisma?
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Excellent point.
horses are dumped by unscrupulous owners every week in Kitchener, New Holland and elsewhere. Its nothing new, it isnât uncommon, and they arenât doing it because of mental health issues. Theyâre doing it because its an easy out for them. That, and they donât really love horses, although they may pretend they do.
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I just canât imagine dumping off a horse, just becuase it wasnât working out.
But, this happens all over, no matter the sport/breed of horse. When my older horse had the puncture would to the stifle and the bone became infected, I took him to a local Equne hospital for treatment. The vet was like âhow much is he worth?â My answer: âBy dollars, not much compared to some of the other horses here. But to me, priceless.â Sometimes horses are euthanized over injuries that are minor because they arenât âworthâ the money.
One of the techs later told me, âWe love owners like you. You all will do anything for your horses.â
Shame when thatâs the exception and not the rule.
agreed: too many horses are being bred. As someone who breeds horses, I face that fact, that reality everyday, and question what I am doing.
I hope that because I am breeding high quality animals, with kind temperaments that they will all go on to loving homes for the rest of their natural lives. But I KNOW that may not be the case. Being a GOOD HORSE, a kind horse and a talented horse is STILL NO *&^%$ GUARANTEE. Look what happened to Exceller, Ferdinand and thousands moreâŠ
I sell all my horses with a âbuy backâ clause. But if these horses are sold to someone else, my little proviso means nothing to anyone (but me).
However, while I agree with the your last statement about prefering a quick end to my life rather than being left to die of starvation etc⊠that is a given. But going to the slaughterhouse - and all that entails- does not qualify as either a quick or dignified end. Just think about it. Look at the pictures on the internet. Or better yet, visit a slaughterhouse.
A responsible owner is responsible for his/her horse, she is his advocate and protector. Sluffing off the responsiblity to some unseen, unknown person,taking the easy way out and walking away, is in my mind not just irresponsible but cowardly and immoral. Horses are not just kleenex to be used and discarded. Just my opinion.
Fred,
I think the responsibility you take for the horses you breed is appropriate. I realize that slaughter is not a good answer, but neither is starvation and neglect which also happens to many of these poor animals as they get sold down the line. There are also many kind, well bred and well trained animals that end up with the wrong owner, and ultimate are ruined. We canât solve all the worldâs problem, I just get so angry when people breed mares that have no business being bred when there are so many mature horses that donât have a proper home. Everyone who breeds should watch the slaughter videos and consider where their foals might end up.
gry
