Post by tierra madre on Jul 15, 2008 5:29:22 GMT -8
A Message to the Anti-Slaughter Forces
To those working to end horse slaughter:
I am vehemently opposed to horse slaughter.
I spend 18 hours of every day of my life working to make sure nearly 30 previously unwanted, neglected, injured or abused horses have a wonderful, happy, healthy life here at Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary. The commitment is there. Just ask the horses.
But I'm going to write some things now that you might not want to read.
First of all, you are not doing your job. You are not really saving horses. You are making yourselves feel better, but you aren't doing too many horses any good.
Why?
Because - what are you doing to ensure that the horses you save from slaughter will be taken care of properly? Fed? Exercised? Have their medical needs taken care of? For the rest of their lives - in some cases, well over twenty years.
I go on forums all over the web where I see that a horse or horses need a few hundred bucks - urgently - to save him or them from the feed lot or an auction. "We need the money TODAY to save Dobbin!" Well-meaning forces band together & the few hundred bucks are raised. Whew! Another horse saved! Ya-a-ay for us!
Then what? Then what happens to that horse?
He's shipped (sometimes, the transport is paid for by the 'saviors', sometimes not) to a rescue or sanctuary & that's the happy ending of ol' Dobbins' near-miss.
Nope. Not by a long shot.
Here are a couple of indisputable facts:
* Chances are real good that Dobbin isn't in the best physical condition or isn't properly trained or he wouldn't have been in jeopardy. Maybe he can't be ridden. Maybe he has to spend the rest of his days just being a horse. And that's perfectly okay - I have over a dozen here at the ranch who fit that description.
* It costs $250 a month (at least here in Arizona; some places are higher, some are lower) to keep a horse - & that price is climbing every day (the price of hay is up 30% over a year ago). That $250 includes hay, grain, normal supplements, labor, & waste removal. It doesn't include farrier work or veterinary care of any kind (& a lot of the "Dobbins" of this world need extra vet care). That $250 a month translates into $3000 a year.
* In far too many cases, Dobbins' 'saviors' have just saddled a rescue or sanctuary with an additional $3000 a year in costs. And like I said, that doesn't include vets or farriers. Throw them in & you could easily be looking at another $2000 a year. Especially if the horse has a medical emergency: colic, infection, injury, etc. And every horse that ever lived has more than one emergency in his or her life. So - now the annual cost of keeping that horse is approaching $5000. As most rescues & sanctuaries are non-profits, that means the operators have to find ways of generating an additional FIVE GRAND a year for every horse they take in.
Up to five thousand dollars a year for every horse taken in by a sanctuary or rescue. Three grand, minimum.
Where, pray tell, do the anti-slaughter forces & animal rights activists suggest this money come from?
I have a suggestion.
Put your money where your intention is. Every time you send a note or an email or post a message or make a phone call concerning horse slaughter, put a buck into a jar. Choose a particular rescue or sanctuary to be your partner. At the end of every month, send whatever money's in the jar to that partner to help your partner's horses live a decent life.
Something has to be done. Because in this economy, with corporate & institutional giving decreasing rapidly, the horses you think you're saving are right back there in jeopardy.
Those of us who run sanctuaries & rescues are doing the very best we can by these horses. But we can't do it alone. And while y'all are busy patting yourselves on the back because you "saved" another horse, you're not seeing the reality.
The reality is that these horses need your help every day for the rest of their lives.
Jim
To those working to end horse slaughter:
I am vehemently opposed to horse slaughter.
I spend 18 hours of every day of my life working to make sure nearly 30 previously unwanted, neglected, injured or abused horses have a wonderful, happy, healthy life here at Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary. The commitment is there. Just ask the horses.
But I'm going to write some things now that you might not want to read.
First of all, you are not doing your job. You are not really saving horses. You are making yourselves feel better, but you aren't doing too many horses any good.
Why?
Because - what are you doing to ensure that the horses you save from slaughter will be taken care of properly? Fed? Exercised? Have their medical needs taken care of? For the rest of their lives - in some cases, well over twenty years.
I go on forums all over the web where I see that a horse or horses need a few hundred bucks - urgently - to save him or them from the feed lot or an auction. "We need the money TODAY to save Dobbin!" Well-meaning forces band together & the few hundred bucks are raised. Whew! Another horse saved! Ya-a-ay for us!
Then what? Then what happens to that horse?
He's shipped (sometimes, the transport is paid for by the 'saviors', sometimes not) to a rescue or sanctuary & that's the happy ending of ol' Dobbins' near-miss.
Nope. Not by a long shot.
Here are a couple of indisputable facts:
* Chances are real good that Dobbin isn't in the best physical condition or isn't properly trained or he wouldn't have been in jeopardy. Maybe he can't be ridden. Maybe he has to spend the rest of his days just being a horse. And that's perfectly okay - I have over a dozen here at the ranch who fit that description.
* It costs $250 a month (at least here in Arizona; some places are higher, some are lower) to keep a horse - & that price is climbing every day (the price of hay is up 30% over a year ago). That $250 includes hay, grain, normal supplements, labor, & waste removal. It doesn't include farrier work or veterinary care of any kind (& a lot of the "Dobbins" of this world need extra vet care). That $250 a month translates into $3000 a year.
* In far too many cases, Dobbins' 'saviors' have just saddled a rescue or sanctuary with an additional $3000 a year in costs. And like I said, that doesn't include vets or farriers. Throw them in & you could easily be looking at another $2000 a year. Especially if the horse has a medical emergency: colic, infection, injury, etc. And every horse that ever lived has more than one emergency in his or her life. So - now the annual cost of keeping that horse is approaching $5000. As most rescues & sanctuaries are non-profits, that means the operators have to find ways of generating an additional FIVE GRAND a year for every horse they take in.
Up to five thousand dollars a year for every horse taken in by a sanctuary or rescue. Three grand, minimum.
Where, pray tell, do the anti-slaughter forces & animal rights activists suggest this money come from?
I have a suggestion.
Put your money where your intention is. Every time you send a note or an email or post a message or make a phone call concerning horse slaughter, put a buck into a jar. Choose a particular rescue or sanctuary to be your partner. At the end of every month, send whatever money's in the jar to that partner to help your partner's horses live a decent life.
Something has to be done. Because in this economy, with corporate & institutional giving decreasing rapidly, the horses you think you're saving are right back there in jeopardy.
Those of us who run sanctuaries & rescues are doing the very best we can by these horses. But we can't do it alone. And while y'all are busy patting yourselves on the back because you "saved" another horse, you're not seeing the reality.
The reality is that these horses need your help every day for the rest of their lives.
Jim