I have come full circle on the horse slaughter debate. After witnessing horses at a local sales barn suffering from obvious abuse and neglect, watching acquaintances breeding their mare so "she could have a baby," with no concept or planning of the next 20+ years of the "baby's" life, and folks breeding stallions that should be geldings, yes, I am in favor of slaughter. We just returned from Alberta, Canada, and saw a slaughter horse feed lot. A friend took us by. The horses were well fed and watered. We went several miles down the road, and another feedlot appeared. Our friend said they had to BUILD ANOTHER FEEDLOT to take care of the OVERFLOW. These horses also had food and water. A bolt to the head is better than months or years of abuse/neglect. Horse rescues? There is ONE in our area that has been around for 25+ years, and yes, I have contributed money. I have watched others come and go. "Dogooders gone wrong" start out with good intentions, and have no idea of the ongoing cost of a rescue operation, or the associated legal issues. By the way, are your horses taken care of in your will? Mine are. I never want them to have a bolt in the head.

Just my 2 cents.

Brenda

Add Bo Derek to the challenge list.  How come none of these tv  pundits asked her how many off the track thorobreds she has adopted?

AND why is it better to feed horsement to dogs than to people?

TO ALL THE DO-GOODERS:  you are missing the forest for the trees!  If you feel compelled to be a do gooder, then do it yourself;  don't ask others to support YOUR charitable impulses.

Well it seems all the people who are really concerned about this issue have not seen what a herd of mustangs (?) or cowardly people who turn their horses out because they can't handle, feed or whatever, I have been on several wild horse roundups, and have witnessed the damage a herd of 70-100 let alone a couple of thousand head, can cause in a short time, then when captured the cost of upkeep begins, they are processed, vet checked, freeze branded, & wait for adoption which seldom happens, I realize there are exceptions but there needs to be a way to thin the herd. When  mustanging was legal you did not see much about this problem, but those mustangers were also horsemen who knew horses and would thin the herd & sell the rest whether that be for consumption or ?? by the way the goverment spends about or we spend approx $1,000,000.00 per day to feed these animals, not quite what we send to Iraq. So you East coast do gooders should come out West spend a few weeks at a wild horse area & then see if you feel the same way, remember that after a few months in captivity the maintenance begins, for trimming, have to be put in a squeeze chute,since they are now in a pen & not running around they will start to get hoof problems, and so on the cost keeps going up for all of us, medical problems, etc., whatever your favorite horse's vice is the wildhorse makes it  look like a hobby horse. Enough said. If you were starving would you eat a horse steak???

"end horse slaughter forever"  ??? 

You are really clueless.  I have seen horses so ill bred and abused it made me sick.  Much better a horse meet a quick end in a slaughter house then years of mistreatment and starvation.  I applaude those good souls that can open and maintain a rescue operation and I donate to the Humane Society which tries to care for all animals that need homes.....BUT without the kill auctions there would be much more suffering for horses with nowhere to go and people who don't want them.

Look, everyone has their opinions on this issue.  Some folks think with their hearts and not their heads.  They mean well, but this is reality......Slaughter is a MUST. What would we do with all the unwanted horses if they don't go to slaughter?  It's a no brainer issue.  I too hate the thought of a horse being destroyed because of all the reasons mentioned here.  I do, however,  despise the way they are hauled to their demise.  So any of you "Slaughter-Haulers" out there, don't bother to respond. Your not welcomed.  (on my post anyway)

And to the French and Belgian's.....Bon Apetite!  I hope you choke!

When horse slaughter was banned in California by some very short sighted people, it didn't mean that the slaughter of California horses stopped.  It just meant they had to endure a 20+ hour ride to a Texas slaughterhouse to meet the same fate.

Do people really think that by closing the slaughter houses in the US, they'll stop the slaughter of US horses?  They'll be shipped to Canada or Mexico for slaughter, where we will have no control of how they are handled.  Or.. as others have mentioned many will be neglected and abused.

I would love it if there was a good home for every horse.  Unfortunately, this isn't the case, at this time I feel like slaughterhouses are necessary.