More owners surrendering horses to the MSPCA

Daddy I want a horse.
Baby daddy need a job.

It would have been wise to at least put some contact info down. A phone number could have helped

i'd love to adopt a horse. I have always wanted a horse, but I'm realistic. I don't have the $$ or the time. The picture of "rusty" with his ribs showing is heartbreaking.

Try going horseback riding in Aruba if you want to see underfed and cared for horses, the horse in this picture looks great compared to the ones in Aruba.

The Globe has highlighted people in prior articles who had trouble affording horses. It was clear that many people foolishly overextended themselves to keep horses much like people who applied for no doc loans. How has this country suffered such a moral and ethical lapse regarding finances!!

With the high price of equine care, and the poor economy many people who could care for a horse can no longer afford to do so. Prices for hay and grain are going up and income is going down. The slaughter plants used to take 10,000 horses a month which like deer hunting helped to manage the numbers of horses. Now there are 10,000 more horses each month that need to eat. Thus due to well intentioned but poorly thought out legislation we have more horses than ever and dwindling resources.

Is it kinder to starve a horse to death or slaughter it?

I have a question. The horses coming in are they all starving? If so I wonder why are the owners are waiting so long to give them up. If you can no longer afford to keep a horse you should surrender is right away and not wait until it is starving.
But for those why are not starving them first and are being responsible and turning them in right away, it must be heart breaking to give up a family member. I have 2 cats and I just can't see me giving them away EVER.
I wish I could adopted a horse. I love all animals and since I was raised on a farm I know how to care for horses. they are wonderful to be around and very loving.

Why isn't there somewhere that these people can turn to help feed their horses? I have contacted the American Horse Council, who then referred me to the Unwanted Horse Council, a number of times. I asked about creating a fund to help horses in need, which I would be willing to donate to. They said they'd look into it -- and that's as far as it's gotten and that is months ago. Another note, hay has double or tripled in price if you can even find it. Some of this is because drought has wiped out hay crops, but a lot of it is because farmers are now growing the more profitable corn for ethanol.

what i would like to know is what do they do with the slaughtered horses and why is there such a market for them, do they really make dog food out of them and by the looks of this horse theres not much meat on him anyways. i am a horse lover and cant imagine a horse slaughter house. hooray for places whom take in these animals and nurse them back to health

Pondering Horseman. Horses are STILL being shipped over the borders and slaughtered in record numbers FYI. Horse slaughter is NOT about the economic condition of this country because as you should be able to see, the slaughter industry is STILL living large while people are going hungry in order to take care of their responsibilities. Horse slaughter and abandonment do NOT go hand in hand. The people who take their animals to kill auctions know exactly what they are doing and are out to eek the last nickel out of the poor animal before they part with it. Personally, I think that although the horses that go to the kill are worth far more than 20 cents a pound, the owners and mass breeders who send them there are not worth the two cents for the time to think about them. There are many resources for finding homes for a horse that cannot be cared for any longer for whatever reason (most slaughter horses are under the age of 8 yrs. old which in a horse's life is still quite young and useful). Don't buy into the old, crippled or crazy image of the slaughter bound horse.. it's a pure crock! Horses are foragers, herbivores. As long as there is something for them to eat on the ground or in the trees, they will survive just like the deer that live through each and every winter. It's the ones that get locked up in a barn or a pen that end up starving and that's purely the owner's fault. It's about responsibility, which is not always the easy way out.

OMG I KNOW THAT HORSE!! talk about HEARTBREAKING!
I was doing research paper on horse slaughter when I came across this article. I knew it was Rusty the instant I saw this picture. I used to ride him years ago when obviously he was in MUCH better condition. I went off to school and lost contact with the owner. I knew money was tight but wow. It absolutely shocks me to see him like this. This is just one example of many instances where money got too tight and one of the biggest financial drains to go is the horse. It's too bad they waited as long as they did to turn him in and I know it couldn't have been easy because this horse was loved like a family member. Although it's terribly heartbreaking to see Rusty in this condition it makes me feel better knowing someone else has the time and money to provide him with food and attention.

Take the online survey put out by American Horse Council concerning unwanted horses. You don't have to be a horse person to take this survey!

I have been fighting the issue of horse slaughter for some time now. I am a horse owner and a horse lover, but what are we going to do with all of these horses that we can't take care of? So far the answers people have used are wrong. Dumping horses out with the mustangs is an easy way to kill horses with out having to watch. Dumping these horses is just the easy way of getting out of feeding them. Mustangs are wild for a reason. They are used to taking care of themselves and doing the survival of the fittest thing. The horses that are being dumped are horses that are dependent on humans. These horses look to us for food, water and shelter. They are not used to traveling hundreds of miles to find water. Right now the horse industry is talking about rounding up the mustangs and euthanizing them. it is a simple answer to the over grazing the cattle ranchers are experiencing. so by sending your horse out on the range you are just wasting them and killing them anyway.

Another answer people have used is starving their horses. People may not intend to starve their animal but they are running out of the resources to feed their animals. And let’s face it in today's economy we cannot sell horses. Quality horses are getting sold for less than meat price now. No one can afford to keep a horse and no one can afford to buy more horses. America has kind of turned into a concentration camp for horses. We are demanding them to do the work we want then we still don't have money to feed them so they are starved.

As for the slaughter plants, shutting them down was the worst thing we could have done for the American economy and the American horse industry. We have created a vice for people to mistreat and abuse animals who could have had a nice life. And don't say that you haven't noticed. All of the horse rescues are full and cannot get rid of or take in any horses. We are also forcing these animals whose flesh could be used to help us get out of the dire straights we are in. we are causing unnecessary abuse for these creatures. I say again that I am a horse lover and owner but I also know that the world is unfair. Everything on this earth was put here for food. No matter what you believe in God or whatever everything on this earth is food. We are food and horses are food. Humans were smart enough to figure out that we can use some of these creatures for helping us get stuff done. But in the end everything and everyone was put on this earth for food!

I know it is hard for us to give up something that has given so much pleasure and we love but in the end what is really better for the horse?
Samantha M