TIME magazine: "An Epidemic of Abandoned Horses"

[WarHorse]

The global food and fuel crisis is resulting in more than just people going hungry. Rising grain and gas prices, as well as the closure of American slaughterhouses, have contributed to a virtual stampede of horses being abandoned — some starving — and turned loose into the deserts and plains of the West to die cruel and lonesome deaths. Horse rescue projects, which are mostly small, volunteer operations with limited land and resources, are feeling the consequences of this convergence of events. In the meantime, many now unaffordable horses are being sold to abbatoirs south of the border where inhumane methods of slaughter are practiced.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... ml?cnn=yes

Not that I put so much faith in the press, but it is something to be aware of, whether or not it is an "epidemic."

[Crystal]

yeah I saw a couple of horses begging on the street corner the other day.. I don't think it is anything new, but just more people are aware of it now.

[ginger1307]

I have spoken with a friend in Texas who says that within a matter of weeks, the border will be closed to Mexico for transporting of horses to slaughter...If this is indeed true, the problem with abandoned horses may just worsen exponentially overnight..... ginger

[soundfast]

If they catch someone abandoning an animal they can arrest them,fine them and possibly put them in prison. Local animal control officers are supposed to be notified in cases of cruelty or abandonment so that the horses will not starve. Some might have to be humanely euthanized if they are in poor condition or have serious injuries. The public is supposed to report these things and the government is supposed to care for the animals and look for the guilty people.

[valjoe]

and turned loose into the deserts and plains of the West to die cruel and lonesome deaths

I wonder how many horses they interviewed to come up with that conclusion
It’s like what do you prefer:
A) Stay in jail with no food
B) Get deported to Mexico(to die)
C) Live free in America

[madelyn]

valjoe, today's domesticated horse is usually not able to thrive in the wild.

[valjoe]

Madelyn
unless they're missing some front teeth they'll do just fine

[Crystal]

interesting theory. I think Madelyn was touching more on survival skills.

[Louise]

Valjoe
No, the vast majority of them won't. Sure, there were at one time many domestic horses who escaped or were turned loose and some did just fine. Not all, though. Many starved, many were killed by predators and many died a slow and agonizing death from illness or injury. Because we see those who survived, doesn't mean that there weren't many more who didn't.

A domestic animal, be it horse, or dog, or cat, or cow hasn't been taught by its parents or developed the skills necessary for survival. Some survive by pure luck, and their offspring might stand a better chance of survival.

And, that was in the "good old days' when there was much more space with adequate forage available. Today that space doesn't exist. Man has taken over all of the good areas, leaving only the marginal and substandard areas for these horses to be abandoned in.

Any horse that is turned loose becomes somebody else's problem. It will be taken care of, often in ways that the abandoner would not want to happen. But, then, they have firmly closed their eyes and pretended to themselves that their animal will be one of the lucky ones, and not one of the ones who had to suffer greatly before dieing.

[ratherrapid]

Bo Derek should be proud.

[madelyn]

Pammy Anderson, too.

They probably inhaled way too much hairspray.

valjoe, in addition to the horse lacking the skills, you can bet that virtually all available sources of clean water are fenced off and in use, with no access for abandoned horses who have really just been cast off to starve to death.

[jellac]

I really question the 'reality' of the report above that the Texas border with Mexico will soon be *closed* to the transhipment of purchased horses.

Living here in Texas where all things that concern the border are topics numero uno AND numero dos these days I have to say I haven't heard anything about this other than someone in the Texas Legislature proposing to write such a rule. That's a long way from even getting it reported out on the floor for a vote - let alone winning the vote....and our illustrious Governor, "Pretty Boy Perry" is highly adverse to doing anything that public that isn't associated with a high rate of approval AND deep pockets.

Back to where this ugly problem started in the first place - what to do with all these 'unwanted' and/or no longer useful horses. Without first putting some mechanism in place for dealing with the surplus of horses that are found by their owners to no longer be useful or no longer wanted when - IF EVER - the border with Mexico is closed to their transport I think we can expect to see some reverse border crossings up river where there are fewer human eyes to watch. Feature, large herds of horses offloaded at nearby railroad sidings in some wide open country and then "surprisingly" getting spooked into spontaneoulsy stampeding into the Rio Grande whence they swim into the arms of their new 'owners' by virtue of the law of capture. While there are rules for the return of livestock that cross the river I think it requires the 'owner' of record to file a report of that animal missing or to have a registered brand.