This really "Grinds my gears"

(thanks Peter from Family Guy for the above phrase)

I was reading another blog of a horse lover. A link, link , and another link later I was reading about hay issues and dumping of horses. To then which I read this comment, "What Congress needs to do is close the loophole that allows people to buy horses at auction; with their only intent being to ship them out of the country for slaughter."

Really smart guy? I'm gonna say a few things that could piss a few people off but I truly believe in. I am not a horse person in any sense. I have a high respect for the animals and the owners that truly care about them. I would love to own one and while I have the land for it, I certainly don't have the money. Back to my original subject....

So you want Congress to end horse slaughter? Do you also want a government program to take care of all the horses that are bred and brought into this world every single year that don't have a chance? People who just "have" to breed, the horses that have this amazing color, and some people just looking to make a buck. There are alot of selfish idiots out there who breed to somehow make their own lives better. To me, it's like driving a BMW or a 25 year old pickup. (I'm currently driving the pickup) You can boast by saying you're a breeder to your friends and to non horsey people that sounds cool. Non-horse people do not see the confirmation faults of your animals or worry about the horse having papers.

Soooooo you breed breed breed because you have a mare in some barbwire fenced encapment. So you bring another horse into this already saturated market. Craigslist has free horses all the time! Then in five years this little horse of no fault of his own, is in a slaughter auction on double decker to Mexico. But what if congress does what you ask them to and stop the slaughter? Then that horse that was a baby 5 years ago is now starving in somebodies pasture. He has no hope for anything and is just withering away. Nobody wants the animal because you didn't put any time training him manners as a colt.

I am for horse slaughter. I am a horse lover but horse slaughter does the dirty work that all the idiot breeders could have put a stop to. I would much rather see a horse go to slaughter than sit and starve in someones backyard. It's less cruel imo. I fully believe if you breed, train the horse you just had to have reproduce! Even if its a 1 year old, teach it ground manners! Get it halter broke, make sure it will lift its feet, learn how to stand to be clipped, learn how to be led, and various other things. So if the horse does get a new owner it isn't about ground zero at the time of purchse.

This is almost the same to me as my local animal shelter. My dog came from the city pound. He was skinny found wandering around the streets when the animal control picked him up. If I didn't get him he would have been put down. If somebody would have just spayed or nuetered their dog Buck would not have been. Which is fine, there was more animals than Buck in the pound. Some you know weren't going to be adopted. There are more animals than homes and its from people not thinking before they breed. Buck will live all of his days with me, I can't bear to part with him, but I also hope that the dog that created him is now fixed.