Why does Farmers Co-Op put high fructose corn syrup in its private-label horse feeds? What nutritional value does it have for a horse?
Why do people think it's fine and dandy to breed their 2 or 3 year old horses? Do they think teen pregnancy is normal and expected, too?
Why do people advertise selling a horse that "hasn't been ridden in a year" instead of going out and getting on them a few times? (or paying someone else to do it!?)
Why do people continue to think that selling an unbroke but bred 3 or 4 year old mare makes her worth $1500 when they couldn't sell her open (not bred) for $500?
Why do people keep a pet horse until it is 9, 10, or 11, then realize they can't afford their 950 pound lawnmower, so they either give him away or sell him "to good home only" for $200?? -- NewsFLASH -- since you couldn't be bothered to train your pet horse when you bought him as a weanling, you've pretty much, 9.5 times out of 10, guaranteed him a trailer ride to a slaughterhouse, not a "good home only."
Why do people breed random breed, random color mare to random breed, random color stallion, and expect anything other than a random breed, random color foal?
And along those same lines, why do people look at "but he has Man O'War" (8 generations back) or "she has Doc Bar" (6 generations back), and think this justifies breeding another foal?
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Local headlines, ambulance chasers, and personal experience
It never ceases to amaze me how a certain "rabid contingent" of pro/anti people come out of the woodwork any time there's a whiff of a story - be it a cruelty case or an accident, such as the one that occurred outside Nashville early this week, where a single-deck semi-trailer hauling 30+ horses overturned on I-40. There are conflicting news reports; Channel 5 has this story, while Channel 4 reports contradict much of the original report.
If nothing else, folks, the video from both stations disprove so much of the argument the anti-slaughter crowd tries to use. Both stations did fly-overs of the farm from which the horses originated. None of the horses on this farm look the least bit thin; in fact, the multiple hay rolls look to be pretty good quality. And of course they aren't (and of course they are fed well) - if you are a dealer who ships to kill, you only want fat, worth more-per-pound horses. They aren't buying the old, sick, skinny horses; they are buying young, healthy stock for next to nothing and making several hundred dollars per head.
I've covered several times, that if you are giving a horse away -- or selling through a sale -- you should not expect a flower-and-butterflies ending. Traders like this guy make a living off people who sell through sales, breed too many, don't train anything they own, dump a horse every time it learns a bad behavior, give horses away every fall to avoid feeding through the winter -- the excuses are endless, but the end result is the same. The traders/kill buyers are making a living off horse owner laziness and apathy.
I'm going to share a story of two geldings. The first was a middle-aged, easy keeper, unregistered appaloosa gelding. He was very lazy under saddle, like to crow-hop if his rider asked him to move faster than a trot, and was visited by the farrier and dewormed exactly once per year, when the vet visited to do his annual vaccinations. His owner divorced and didn't feel like fooling with him (or anything that reminded her of married life, for that matter), so she sold him to the local trader for $200. Where did he end up? Probably a slaughterhouse. Does she care? Not about that; she cares that she doesn't have a board bill every month.
The second gelding was a young prospect with nice papers and a bucking habit that his newest owner hoped was a result of on-again, off-again, inconsistent handling during his first three years of life. New owner finishes gelding's training and works with his quirks, but just before their first show, they have an incident on a ride that leads to a bucking fit that leads to an intermittent hind leg lameness and sore hip. Several hundred dollars of vet and chiropractic treatment later, it is general consensus that gelding will never be completely safe and sound under saddle. His injury is chronic; the result of an injury most likely sustained as a 2 year old or maybe even as a baby playing in the field. This owner makes the decision to put her gelding on complete pasture rest for a year with a hope in the back of her mind that he might come back sound; and if not, he will be a big, pretty pet living on 200 acres for the rest of his life, as long as he is comfortable.
Two different owners - two different outlooks. But also, two different situations, and two different means of being financially and emotionally able to keep their horses. Who's right? Who's wrong? And what would you do in their shoes?
If you are quick to judge -- I challenge you to visit your local sale and "pull" one of the $50, run-through, unhandled 4 or 5 year olds that come through, then train it up through "solid citizen" status and find it a good, safe, forever home.
If nothing else, folks, the video from both stations disprove so much of the argument the anti-slaughter crowd tries to use. Both stations did fly-overs of the farm from which the horses originated. None of the horses on this farm look the least bit thin; in fact, the multiple hay rolls look to be pretty good quality. And of course they aren't (and of course they are fed well) - if you are a dealer who ships to kill, you only want fat, worth more-per-pound horses. They aren't buying the old, sick, skinny horses; they are buying young, healthy stock for next to nothing and making several hundred dollars per head.
I've covered several times, that if you are giving a horse away -- or selling through a sale -- you should not expect a flower-and-butterflies ending. Traders like this guy make a living off people who sell through sales, breed too many, don't train anything they own, dump a horse every time it learns a bad behavior, give horses away every fall to avoid feeding through the winter -- the excuses are endless, but the end result is the same. The traders/kill buyers are making a living off horse owner laziness and apathy.
I'm going to share a story of two geldings. The first was a middle-aged, easy keeper, unregistered appaloosa gelding. He was very lazy under saddle, like to crow-hop if his rider asked him to move faster than a trot, and was visited by the farrier and dewormed exactly once per year, when the vet visited to do his annual vaccinations. His owner divorced and didn't feel like fooling with him (or anything that reminded her of married life, for that matter), so she sold him to the local trader for $200. Where did he end up? Probably a slaughterhouse. Does she care? Not about that; she cares that she doesn't have a board bill every month.
The second gelding was a young prospect with nice papers and a bucking habit that his newest owner hoped was a result of on-again, off-again, inconsistent handling during his first three years of life. New owner finishes gelding's training and works with his quirks, but just before their first show, they have an incident on a ride that leads to a bucking fit that leads to an intermittent hind leg lameness and sore hip. Several hundred dollars of vet and chiropractic treatment later, it is general consensus that gelding will never be completely safe and sound under saddle. His injury is chronic; the result of an injury most likely sustained as a 2 year old or maybe even as a baby playing in the field. This owner makes the decision to put her gelding on complete pasture rest for a year with a hope in the back of her mind that he might come back sound; and if not, he will be a big, pretty pet living on 200 acres for the rest of his life, as long as he is comfortable.
Two different owners - two different outlooks. But also, two different situations, and two different means of being financially and emotionally able to keep their horses. Who's right? Who's wrong? And what would you do in their shoes?
If you are quick to judge -- I challenge you to visit your local sale and "pull" one of the $50, run-through, unhandled 4 or 5 year olds that come through, then train it up through "solid citizen" status and find it a good, safe, forever home.
Friday, January 13, 2012
"Real" Rescue versus "Fake" Rescue
Today's rescue drama on Nashville and area Craigslists. Text in case it gets erased:
We have accounted for a number of equines picked up and 'fostered' by what was known as the Orlinda Horse Rescue but we are still trying to locate and account for those remaining. If you have received an equine, and you are happy with them, we are NOT looking to take them away from you....we simply need to document the whens and wheres and basic info on each animal. This is EXTREMELY important! There have been some SERIOUS problems with this fraud 'rescue' operation.....some may notice the ads have largely disappeared and they have 'gone out of business' so to say....trust me when I say they have had a lot of pressure put on them by the public...specifically those who found they were doing wrong. If you currently have, have had, or gave to the Orlinda Horse Rescue any animals, donations, etc, PLEASE let us know as we are trying to make our files as complete as possible. Any and all help is greatly appreciated...thank you!
Now, on the side of practicality, the inclusion of WHO YOU ARE before I give you my personal information and that of a horse I've rescued, would be courteous and appreciated. If you are the sheriff's department, your name and rank should be noted. If you are the area's organization that always seems to be involved in any horse neglect case, I think the general public deserves to know. A phone number or email address outside of the anonymous Craigslist-land would also be a good thing...
But on the subject of "good rescues" and "bad rescues"...how do you know the difference? In a previous post, I had identified "Orlinda Horse Rescue" as a badly-framed fraud, so I'm going to re-post the entry (sorry for those who have seen it before!)
Things to Look for in a Real Rescue
Today's "Inspired by Craigslist" post: What should you look for in a horse rescue?
We know people are not always honest. There is at least one rescue in the Nashville area who "claims" to be a horse rescue, and if you read through all his posts, you get a pretty bleak picture of the underlying situation - "Orlinda Horse Rescue will take your unwanted horses" - next "Horse rescue seeking pasture" - next "horse rescue needs donations of hay, feed, and pasture." Anyone see a problem here? Then he brags that he's placed 20, 30, or 40 horses in a month. My bet is, he's "placed" them on trailers headed toward Mexico. If you talk to a REAL rescue (CANTER, ReRun, SRF), their numbers are no where near 40 horses a month in a specific location.
So, rule number one: If you are forced to surrender your beloved horse to a rescue, research said rescue first. Know their property, their staff, their adoption policies, their funding, the whole nine yards inside and out.
If you're on the other side of the equation and want to donate time, money or supplies to a rescue, you likewise need to get to know the organization first. Don't take someone's word for it that he or she is a nice person. Many well-meaning folks cross the line from "rescue" to "hoarding", and then a larger organization ends up having to step in and rescue the rescuer -- several starving or dead horses later. And, a few know they can take advantage of desperate people who don't want to sell their horses into danger, so they call themselves a "rescue" but run as many horses through the sale as someone who will tell you to your face that he's a horse trader.
Rule #1: Being a 501(c)3 only proves that organization is tax-exempt. It does not mean they know the first thing about rescuing, rehabilitating, or retraining horses. Dig deeper before writing a check.
Rule #2: A real rescue has a plan. They have a finite number of horses they can responsibly financially handle. They won't overburden themselves and risk neglecting the horses already in their care by taking on every single sad case that's put before them. They have a vet and farrier 'on call'. They have a legal and binding adoption contract that includes provisions for shelter, care, non-breeding, no-resell, etc. They have a facility that welcomes the public during certain hours or days, they welcome volunteer assistance, and they aren't afraid to share financial records with any interested donor.
Rule #3: A real rescue actively rehabilitates and adopts out its rescues. Yes, any rescue will always have some number of "unadoptables". But, they will also have young horses, thin and injured horses in intensive care, where the goal is to get them healthy, discover their training level, further it when possible, and find them good homes. A real rescue puts a dollar value on each adoptable horse and actively seeks out compatible homes. A real rescue finds volunteers to work with (read: train and ride) those horses that are capable of leading lives as riding horses.
Rule #4: A real rescue does a site visit/home check and requires follow-up. After the rescue puts time and money into ensuring its horses a future, they want to keep track of their horses to make sure they don't fall back through the cracks. They want to know where the horse is going, who your vet is, and make sure you're not going to leave it in a junk-filled half-acre lot with a moldy roll of hay and call it "good care."
Rule #5: A real rescue understands the overbreeding of crappy horses is a real problem. If a mare comes through the door and she's breeding quality, papers in order, fine, don't put a restriction on what she can do. But, 9 times out of 10, have a "no breeding" clause in the adoption contract of mares and geld the colts and stallions before they are adopted out - small animal shelters spay and neuter for this very reason; horses are no different.
In the past, there has been very little oversight of horse rescue. Recently, there is a new program for accreditation. If you are a "real rescue", I encourage you to apply for GFAS certification and let the world know what a great rescuer you are!
We have accounted for a number of equines picked up and 'fostered' by what was known as the Orlinda Horse Rescue but we are still trying to locate and account for those remaining. If you have received an equine, and you are happy with them, we are NOT looking to take them away from you....we simply need to document the whens and wheres and basic info on each animal. This is EXTREMELY important! There have been some SERIOUS problems with this fraud 'rescue' operation.....some may notice the ads have largely disappeared and they have 'gone out of business' so to say....trust me when I say they have had a lot of pressure put on them by the public...specifically those who found they were doing wrong. If you currently have, have had, or gave to the Orlinda Horse Rescue any animals, donations, etc, PLEASE let us know as we are trying to make our files as complete as possible. Any and all help is greatly appreciated...thank you!
Now, on the side of practicality, the inclusion of WHO YOU ARE before I give you my personal information and that of a horse I've rescued, would be courteous and appreciated. If you are the sheriff's department, your name and rank should be noted. If you are the area's organization that always seems to be involved in any horse neglect case, I think the general public deserves to know. A phone number or email address outside of the anonymous Craigslist-land would also be a good thing...
But on the subject of "good rescues" and "bad rescues"...how do you know the difference? In a previous post, I had identified "Orlinda Horse Rescue" as a badly-framed fraud, so I'm going to re-post the entry (sorry for those who have seen it before!)
Things to Look for in a Real Rescue
Today's "Inspired by Craigslist" post: What should you look for in a horse rescue?
We know people are not always honest. There is at least one rescue in the Nashville area who "claims" to be a horse rescue, and if you read through all his posts, you get a pretty bleak picture of the underlying situation - "Orlinda Horse Rescue will take your unwanted horses" - next "Horse rescue seeking pasture" - next "horse rescue needs donations of hay, feed, and pasture." Anyone see a problem here? Then he brags that he's placed 20, 30, or 40 horses in a month. My bet is, he's "placed" them on trailers headed toward Mexico. If you talk to a REAL rescue (CANTER, ReRun, SRF), their numbers are no where near 40 horses a month in a specific location.
So, rule number one: If you are forced to surrender your beloved horse to a rescue, research said rescue first. Know their property, their staff, their adoption policies, their funding, the whole nine yards inside and out.
If you're on the other side of the equation and want to donate time, money or supplies to a rescue, you likewise need to get to know the organization first. Don't take someone's word for it that he or she is a nice person. Many well-meaning folks cross the line from "rescue" to "hoarding", and then a larger organization ends up having to step in and rescue the rescuer -- several starving or dead horses later. And, a few know they can take advantage of desperate people who don't want to sell their horses into danger, so they call themselves a "rescue" but run as many horses through the sale as someone who will tell you to your face that he's a horse trader.
Rule #1: Being a 501(c)3 only proves that organization is tax-exempt. It does not mean they know the first thing about rescuing, rehabilitating, or retraining horses. Dig deeper before writing a check.
Rule #2: A real rescue has a plan. They have a finite number of horses they can responsibly financially handle. They won't overburden themselves and risk neglecting the horses already in their care by taking on every single sad case that's put before them. They have a vet and farrier 'on call'. They have a legal and binding adoption contract that includes provisions for shelter, care, non-breeding, no-resell, etc. They have a facility that welcomes the public during certain hours or days, they welcome volunteer assistance, and they aren't afraid to share financial records with any interested donor.
Rule #3: A real rescue actively rehabilitates and adopts out its rescues. Yes, any rescue will always have some number of "unadoptables". But, they will also have young horses, thin and injured horses in intensive care, where the goal is to get them healthy, discover their training level, further it when possible, and find them good homes. A real rescue puts a dollar value on each adoptable horse and actively seeks out compatible homes. A real rescue finds volunteers to work with (read: train and ride) those horses that are capable of leading lives as riding horses.
Rule #4: A real rescue does a site visit/home check and requires follow-up. After the rescue puts time and money into ensuring its horses a future, they want to keep track of their horses to make sure they don't fall back through the cracks. They want to know where the horse is going, who your vet is, and make sure you're not going to leave it in a junk-filled half-acre lot with a moldy roll of hay and call it "good care."
Rule #5: A real rescue understands the overbreeding of crappy horses is a real problem. If a mare comes through the door and she's breeding quality, papers in order, fine, don't put a restriction on what she can do. But, 9 times out of 10, have a "no breeding" clause in the adoption contract of mares and geld the colts and stallions before they are adopted out - small animal shelters spay and neuter for this very reason; horses are no different.
In the past, there has been very little oversight of horse rescue. Recently, there is a new program for accreditation. If you are a "real rescue", I encourage you to apply for GFAS certification and let the world know what a great rescuer you are!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Selling responsibly
So, you've decided to sell your horse and you'd like to avoid the nightmare scenarios you've read about on the internet. Where do you start?
I'm a firm believer in the "right" buyer answering the ad - if someone speaks your language and feels comfortable with what you're selling, they are more likely to pick up the phone and call. If you're selling a 3rd level dressage horse, you're not going to discuss how fun it is to track cows with him - and if you're selling a barrel horse, you're not going to talk about his lovely flat-kneed trot and ease of collection. You're going to talk about your horse's good points in the discipline he's trained for; let people know all the reasons they should come look at YOUR horse as opposed to the fifty other ads they've read today.
Take good, flattering photos of your horse after a good grooming - most cheap digital cameras do a horrible job unless you aim at a point just behind the wither/shoulder area and you're standing square to the horse. That whole "first impression" thing is true - if a photo makes your horse look cow-hocked, hammer-headed, straight-shouldered and dumpy, you're probably not going to get a lot of phone calls.
If the horse has papers, the papers go with him. No exceptions, no extra charge. Papers help ensure your horse an identity, even if he changes hands a dozen times in his life. It drives me absolutely crazy to see: "Price is without papers. Papers will cost you an extra $200." Great, keep the horse from being able to show, keep any offspring if it's a mare from being able to be registered, affect the horse's value for the rest of its life -- might as well ship him to slaughter now.
Don't be offended when potential buyers discuss vet checks and trial periods. This is a great sign that your horse is on the right path to well-prepared new owners who are asking all the right questions -- and who have probably been burned in the past.
If you're giving a horse away for "free"...realize "free" without references and a site (home) check and reference checks can be a death sentence - whether giving your horse to someone who sees "free" without realizing the cost of caring for a horse, or whether one of the local dealers sees the per-pound value of your "free" horse.
A right of first refusal / buy-back contract between seller and buyer is legally binding and can help ensure the horse never ends up in a bad situation; whether the horse is outgrown or the new owner runs into financial difficulties, the seller has the right to buy the horse back. Several simple contracts can be found through Google.
Finally, remember that "gut instinct" -- and listen to it. You have the right to tell someone, I've decided not to sell or I'm sorry, I think he's sold -- if the situation doesn't feel comfortable to you.
I'm a firm believer in the "right" buyer answering the ad - if someone speaks your language and feels comfortable with what you're selling, they are more likely to pick up the phone and call. If you're selling a 3rd level dressage horse, you're not going to discuss how fun it is to track cows with him - and if you're selling a barrel horse, you're not going to talk about his lovely flat-kneed trot and ease of collection. You're going to talk about your horse's good points in the discipline he's trained for; let people know all the reasons they should come look at YOUR horse as opposed to the fifty other ads they've read today.
Take good, flattering photos of your horse after a good grooming - most cheap digital cameras do a horrible job unless you aim at a point just behind the wither/shoulder area and you're standing square to the horse. That whole "first impression" thing is true - if a photo makes your horse look cow-hocked, hammer-headed, straight-shouldered and dumpy, you're probably not going to get a lot of phone calls.
If the horse has papers, the papers go with him. No exceptions, no extra charge. Papers help ensure your horse an identity, even if he changes hands a dozen times in his life. It drives me absolutely crazy to see: "Price is without papers. Papers will cost you an extra $200." Great, keep the horse from being able to show, keep any offspring if it's a mare from being able to be registered, affect the horse's value for the rest of its life -- might as well ship him to slaughter now.
Don't be offended when potential buyers discuss vet checks and trial periods. This is a great sign that your horse is on the right path to well-prepared new owners who are asking all the right questions -- and who have probably been burned in the past.
If you're giving a horse away for "free"...realize "free" without references and a site (home) check and reference checks can be a death sentence - whether giving your horse to someone who sees "free" without realizing the cost of caring for a horse, or whether one of the local dealers sees the per-pound value of your "free" horse.
A right of first refusal / buy-back contract between seller and buyer is legally binding and can help ensure the horse never ends up in a bad situation; whether the horse is outgrown or the new owner runs into financial difficulties, the seller has the right to buy the horse back. Several simple contracts can be found through Google.
Finally, remember that "gut instinct" -- and listen to it. You have the right to tell someone, I've decided not to sell or I'm sorry, I think he's sold -- if the situation doesn't feel comfortable to you.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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