Comments on: Why Are The Horses Going Hungry?

Southeast Drought Wreaks Havoc On Hay Supplies, Leading Farmers To Despair

[laine1960]

I''m a Kentucky native...my parents still live there. It was a horribly dry summer, and just didn''t realize the outcome was this (I have not lived in Ky. in years). This story was enough to depress me to death...but there are children and adults starving, freezing, suffering in this country and most others! End the suffering of the animals, though it is so painful for me to write this, and let your charity go to humans.

[karenf6]

100,000 more horses per year, every year, on the market since horse slaughter was banned.

Horse race tracks burning through their yearly crop, PMU horses bred for estrogen production with unwanted foals, BLM mustangs breeding freely on the plains, etc...

What happens to them is what this story is about.

[horseguy08]

RE: What happens to them is what this story is about...

The reality is you have two choices to do with them, 1) Let them starve to death slow and painfully or 2) Open the slaughter houses and let them operate. It is really this simple.

I know they are exporting horses to Mexican slaughter houses now. So why export them just do it here. Because horse slaughtering has not stopped anyways plus it is healthier than cow meat.

[karenf6]

100,000 more horses per year, every year, on the market since horse slaughter was banned.

Horse race tracks burning through their yearly crop, PMU horses bred for estrogen production with unwanted foals, BLM mustangs breeding freely on the plains, etc...

What happens to them is what this story is about.

[horseguy08]

taylpatr - I agree with you but unfortunately between the government and the corporations they have forced many people to give up and they have people are so overwhelmed with day to day living and debt they just don''t care anymore about their neighbors or sometimes even their families. It is sad this is happening but it will not stop until one day soon the people revolt! The Federal Reserve can bail out the bankers but in the next 6 to 12 months 2 million more American families will be foreclosed on and homeless. People who work for the government only do it for a stable job but are only enforcing the establishments rules on the people. They are sell outs to the American people who rights and liberities are being taken away everyday. They should be shutting down corporations and arresting CEOs to make a statement but they have lobbyist groups to protect them and pass more BS laws in their favor so they don''t get arrested. One day soon this will all crash, it won''t go much longer like this, Guaranteed. Corporate and Government Slavery of the people can only last so long.

[newsterl]

jjpulczinski ; PETA stinks, they are an anti pet ownership anti breeding anti livestock legislative promoting group who has paid the bail on convicted arsonists and others see peta-sucks.com

PETA has stated repeatedly that their goal is "total animal liberation." This means no pets, no meat, no milk, no zoos. They have embarked on a campaign to push mandatory spay-neuter laws on every pet owner- the goal is to eliminate dogs and cats as pets.
Horse owners, breeders, livestock owners, ranchers would do well to educate yourself about these creaps.
A few years ago during a major Colorado blizzard PeTA refused to help stranded livestock- citing they were going to be killed ANYWAY.

[horseguy08]

Not only has the price of hay and the slaughter houses have closed but also be prepared when you get horses everywhere from trainers, farriers and vets have BIG bills await you! There is so much deception and dishonesty in the horse industry save your money and buy something you need or save the money for your children''s college fund. Don''t get ripped off in this business. BTW horse meat is much better than cow meat a horses diet is a lot of protein farmers feed cows all kinds of *** that is why they have four stomachs and a horse only has one. Maybe the Europeans have been on to something with healthy horse meat that Americans have ignored. With all the hormones and injections they give cows in the meat the milk and we wonder why America has more people on prescription medication than any other country in the world.

[taylpatr]

We''ve been very lucky here in Idaho. This year we finally got enough moisture to get out of the drought cycle. It''s getting like everything else, though. It''s all turning into a rich mans world. Hunting, fishing, horsemanship....it''s all being turned into something that is becoming out of reach for the majority of the population. This is getting very similar to fuedal Euroupe, where the Lords and Kings forced the peasants from the land and into cities to better keep track of them and better be served by them. Didn''t we have a war in the 1700''s to get rid of this kind of trash?

[blackyowe]

I agree with the poster about the horse slaugher. If there were not too many it would not be so bad. The French and Europeans eat horses and its a positive thing. You can bet allot of Cattle from the south got shipped for meat this year because of the draught. It should be that way for unwanted horses. I say this and I own horses. Why is it so wrong to eat a horse and OK to eat a pig? A pig is smarter.

[horseguy08]

Be prepared this is going to get far worse than anyone can imagine. Even here in Colorado horse owners are just letting them go on public land. Last year decent hay was going for $10 per bale good stuff was $15 per bale. Thank your local NY hedgefund for driving up the price of oil and Diesel, fertilizer, and all the commodities. This is not only effecting horses but people and their families to even put food on their table for dinner. It is really ashame whatever thing has come too. Best advice last year we closed our horse farm because it is either you go "Horse Poor" or you provide for your family. It is a different day and time and in the end it will be survival of the fittest and smartest. I love horses to death but I love my family more. And with the slaughter houses closed this is only the beginning. Good luck America, you''ll need it!

[deltawy]

Blaringly absent in your report was any discussion relating to the recent closure of US horse slaughter plants and the unfortunate effect of horse owners having no options for horses that have become unwanted, valueless, and too expensive to care for.