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Each of us can help make a difference in ending the unwanted horse problem. When it comes to horse ownership, breeding, adoptions, and end-of-life decisions — all factors that affect the number of unwanted horses — the actions we take as individuals can make an enormous cumulative impact over time. There’s no quick fix here ... but we can begin doing something about it.
Understand what’s involved with horse ownership before you get a horse. Some people don’t fully realize how expensive it is to own a horse and care for it properly. Then they get in over their heads and need to get rid of the horse. They also may not think about how long a horse can live, or what they’ll do if they have to move. For a summary of these and other issues, see Before You Get A Horse.
Adopt a horse from a rescue group. There are rescue groups all over the country who have healthy, sound horses for adoption. Adopting a horse not only provides a home for that animal, but also frees up a space for another unwanted horse that needs to be rescued.
If you have a mare, think twice before breeding her. With so many unwanted horses out there, what is the compelling reason to breed your mare?
-- If you’d just like to have a foal to raise and train, consider going to your local auction house instead. Chances are good you’ll find a foal that’s going through the sale ring on its way to the slaughterhouse. (Yes, one of the most heartbreaking things we’ve seen are foals at auction being bought by the slaughterhouse buyers. Some are so young they’re still with their mothers.)
-- If you’re breeding because you want to make some money selling the foal, well, unless you’re a professional breeder, you probably won’t make much of a profit anyway once your extra vet and feed bills are factored in. (And if you think you can breed without incurring the extra vet and feed bills that go along with properly caring for a mare and foal, you shouldn’t be breeding in the first place!)
-- And before you breed, ask yourself what you’ll do with the foal if you can’t eventually find a buyer for it? Are you prepared to keep it if you can’t sell it?
If you’re a professional breeder, please practice responsible breeding. Some “production sales” dump too many weanlings and yearlings on a local market, knocking supply farther out of balance with demand. The influx of each year’s new generation of horses only adds to the unwanted horse problem. (To see the evidence, check out this photo.) Do you make a commitment to each new foal that it will stay with you until you can sell it? Or do your unsold horses eventually become unwanted horses on their way to a slaughterhouse? If we took full responsibility for every foal we bring into this world, we would think quite differently about how we go about breeding horses, wouldn’t we?
Don’t send your horse to “the sale” if you can’t keep it. Horse auctions are a pipeline for the slaughterhouses, and most of the horses that end up there are perfectly healthy animals. These horses are bought at auction for less than $300 ... sometimes for as little as $25. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that your horse will have a different fate, that some family will buy it for their little girl. That’s a fairy tale that rarely comes true. The best approach is to look for a new owner yourself – it’s the only way to control your horse’s fate. If you have no other option, then ask your vet to humanely euthanize your horse.
Support your local horse rescue group. There’s usually one near every good-sized community, and these nonprofits operate on a shoestring budget. They are on the frontlines saving unwanted horses every day. “Adopt” one of these groups and you can help make a difference with your time, energy, and financial resources.
If you have a horse, consider getting another one. Horses are very social animals, and a lonely horse is an unhappy horse. They need companionship. So if you have the means to care for another horse, please think about adopting one. You can also go to the auction house and buy one that’s destined for slaughter.
Become an advocate for the new view of horses. If you believe we should treat horses differently — that they are not a commodity, that they do have intrinsic value as an animal — then please talk to others about it. You can write letters to the editor (especially to horse industry publications), support horse-friendly legislation, talk to 4-H clubs and other youth groups, make presentations to horse clubs, and reach out to all the individuals in your life who might have an interest in this subject.
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