Horse Slaughter Starts at Home

Slaughter is a topic that divides even horse people. There is no easy solution to this issue, but everyone can do their part by at least not contributing to the problem.

Slaughter exists because there are more horses than there are people able and willing to pay and care for them.

There are a plentiful amount of young horses on the market, ranging from low to high quality. When people breed their low quality horse and sell the foal, they are adding to the problem. At a recent auction I saw pregnant mares that themselves were below average, and having been bred they were adding even more horses to a bulging population.

Rather than breeding your horse, think about buying a youngster and bringing him along.

You'll still have the experience of working with a young horse, and you won't be adding to the horse population.

People need to take care of the horses they currently own for the animal's welfare. If they have a horse and don't work with it or care for it, should the horse someday go for sale there will be less demand for it. If it has poor manners, is not well broke, and is in poor shape physically, it is less likely to attract a buyer. If put through an auction, this type of horse has a greater chance of going to slaughter.

Your older horse that you are thinking about putting through the auction so you can have a younger model? The only way to really know your horse won't come to an unfortunate end is to keep it for life. You can sell the horse with a buyback clause so if they decide to sell him you can buy him back. This isn't foolproof, so it's no guarantee, but it does give some control. Selling your horse privately rather than through an auction is a better way to see that he goes to a good home.

Rather than rewarding that older horse for his years of service to you by sending him down the road to an uncertain fate, find a way to afford him and your new horse. There are retirement farms where your older horse can live out the rest of his days. Since he is an upstanding equine citizen from the time you've spent working with him, he will be a decent riding horse. Leasing him to another rider desiring a safe horse is a great way to cover his expenses while enabling you to get another horse.

By considering themselves stewards of the horses that serve them and not adding to the horse population, everyone can at least help send fewer horses to slaughter