Horses on the menu in the USA

Apologies if I got a bit wound up earlier.

Just thought I'd share this story about Zodiac to show that not all the stories have a sad ending:-

thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/zodiac-nine-months-later.html

Mac - I know the racing industry contributes quite generously towards things like the Horse Care Units dotted around the country, but the problem is that the SPCA and Horse Care Units should really be educational institutions (for humans), a support system for people who are struggling financially, and a real last chance saloon for animals who end up in dire straits. And they do absolutely admirable work in the most extraordinary and testing of circumstances.

But that should not be the issue. Those organisations should exist for needy animals. What we should be focussing on is a way to get owners to take ownership (funnily enough) of their animals and to make educated, responsible decisions at the end of Thb's racing careers.

Offer it back to the breeder, try and find a nice home for it, and if all else fails, well, I'm afraid there are some tough choices to be made. But like it or not, if it is your horse, then that decision should rest with you. As an owner, the buck stops with you. Do not pass that responsibility on to anyone else unless you are also prepared for some nasty consequences.

I do not like the idea of slaughter or euthanasia (and it is useful to know that animals that are euthanised cannot be used for human or animal consumption), but both of those at least offer the peace of mind of knowing that if nothing else, my horses can not come to any (worse) harm.

The real tragedy is people (owners) who are content to pass the buck and allow someone else to 'take care' of things for them. I know people do this with the best of intentions and want to believe that their horse has gone somewhere nice, but really, just ring up once in a while and see how they're getting on.

From a riding perspective, if your horse really has gone to a nice little girl, they will be only too thrilled to find out about the horse's breeding and racing career and would love to feed back how it's getting on.

Now that horses are being micro-chipped and it is becoming easier to identify individuals, it would be interesting if the rescue organisations were to implement a system whereby they went back to the last registered owner for a horse and could prosecute them for neglect. I think people would become an awful lot more careful if that were the case.