South Dakota Farm Wife

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Food For Thought: Horse Slaughter

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I believe it is safe to say after that montage of pictures that I clearly love horses.

I have loved horses nearly my entire life. Everything about them. From the cleaning out of a stall to the blue ribbon in the show rings. I spent nearly my whole life riding and showing horses.
So, the real question is what are my thoughts on the horse slaughter ban being lifted here in the United States?
I believe that it is a great idea and will prove to be beneficial to horse owners across the US.
Shocking?
Not really.
When you see some of the things I am seeing during short car trips, maybe you would understand.
Neglected horses are suffering every single day. They are in pastures where there is no green grass, their owners simply not having the funds to feed them. Horses cost a pretty penny to keep in a pasture. A real pretty penny, especially with hay prices being as high as they have been this year. It is also recommended that a horse’s hooves be trimmed every 6 to 8 weeks. My horse was often trimmed every 8 weeks and during show season she had a full set of shoes put on her. What about the cost of shots and dewormer? I give all of my own shots and dewormer, but those still cost money. When you tack in grain costs if you go that route, it can really range to just about any number, depending on what you are doing with the animal. Average cost for just a “pasture ornament” horse they claim is around $1600 a year. And that is on the really, really low side. Some states, where hay prices are much higher claim that it costs them $5000 a year to keep one horse. Talk about breaking the bank.
The lifting of the ban will offer relief to horse owners who have no way to dispose of their aged horses. Here on our farm we have approximately ten horses among the three families. We have the means when the time comes to dispose of those horses…whether it be from old age or a disease that we just can’t cure. Once an animal that large goes down think about the equipment it would take to get it into the ground. Not many horse owning families can boast that they have an excavator and 2 pay loaders sitting around that can get the job done.
I agree with the horse ban being lifted mainly because of the neglected horses that I see more often than not. You are lucky if you can give away a horse when it cost as much as it does to maintain them.
I also agree with the horse ban being lifted because I disagree with the fact that PETA was able to shift Congress so easily, when most of them may not even be horse owners themselves. I believe that my sister in law, who owns 7 horses, has more of a right to speak about the well being of her horses than someone who just “loves” horses, but has never owned one a day in their life.

I think this post mainly stemmed from earlier this week when I was driving to a school to sub and on the radio two morning hosts were discussing the horse ban being lifted. The woman was completely disgusted because we were actually going to be slaughtering horses and then exporting to countries who do eat horse. But yet she has no problems eating beef, pork, or poultry. She simply disagreed because horses are pretty and aren’t made to be eaten. In the words of my other sister in law “you can find beauty in any animal whether it be a horse or a cow”. 

As a country we tend to forget that we are not the only country in this world and that because we have been pointed in “correct” directions of what to eat, it doesn’t mean that it is the only right way to eat. Just because the US doesn’t eat horses, does not mean that it is wrong that other countries do. It is simply a different lifestyle and in some countries horses are considered a delicacy. We shouldn’t look down on them because they choose a different “correct” way to eat, we should simply respect their choices.

I believe the horse slaughtering ban being lifted is a good thing, and that is spoken from a true horse owner and someone that adores horses. 

Again, keep in mind these are only MY opinions. You have the right as an individual to believe as you believe, horse owner or non horse owner.




Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Anonymous says

    Very well said. It is easy enough for someone who has a good job and money in the bank to take a stand, but things look different when you are trying to feed your family.

    Your radio story made me smile. The day the news broke about slaughter being reinstated I asked someone who was objecting to the whole idea of horse slaughter the same thing about it being okay about the slaughter of cattle and pigs. Her answer was that animals who have been named should not be eaten.

    Thanks for this post.

    Reply

  3. Anonymous says

    I also believe it is critical for US horse owners to have the option of horse slaughter. When you understand that we have always had it, until 5 yrs ago, and that the roughly 100,000 horses per year that used to be slaughtered here are now being shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, it just doesn’t make any sense. I am very grateful to the people at United Organizations of the Horse who have worked tirelessly to help our legislators understand the truth behind horse slaughter, as opposed to the lie they were told five yrs ago. I hear people say that they would Never send their horse to slaughter…that’s fine…no one is telling Anyone they have to make use of the slaughter plants, but they have to be available for the unwanted horses that are out there… Thanks for your post!

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  5. Anonymous says

    Not to mention that because the slaughter ban was “lifted” does not mean that horses from the US were not slaughtered up until now…it simply means that they were put on a truck and shipped triple the distance away on that truck for a much longer period to be slaughtered outside the country. This would by far be more humane if anything. As a lover and owner of horses all my life I whole-heartedly agree!

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  7. Kerstin says

    First of all, I have to say, I love your blog 🙂 Thanks for sharing your stories!

    For the opening of slaughterhouses for horses I agree with you in general, that horse owners should have the option, yes.
    But I can not agree with your argumentation. I am sure it was not your intention but for me it sounds like ‘people now have the opportunity to easily get rid of the buddy that costs them surprisingly a fortune.’ Again, I am sure that this is NOT your message.

    But it makes me really mad that people buy a horse (or more)and AFTER the purchase they realise what costs come with it. The actual price of a horse is mostly the smallest investment. Even when you have your own ranch, the bills will be coming although you might save on boarding.

    It is a different story when a horse becomes a financial burden when the owners faces SUDDEN financial issues like family financial crisis e.g. due to unemployment, medical bills and so on.

    Nonetheless, for me personally, if my horse becomes a financial burden, I would check ALL available options from shelter homes to giving the horse to trustworthy (!) other persons for free, before I send it to a slaughterhouse and end a life.

    All the above speaks for the horses we keep as working-horses and ‘friends’.
    There are way more perspectives speaking for abandoned and neglected horses (for whom it might be a relief) and horses that are raised only to produce meat (actually I can not put my opinion about those in words).

    Thanks again for your great blog!

    Reply

  8. SDFarmWife says

    Thanks so much for all the great comments to this post! It was really great to hear everyone’s opinions and thoughts! I received many responses via email and facebook too..which in turn led me to thinking even more how this blog could have been expanded! I think really the subject could warrant easily 2 or 3 posts! I love talking about Ag issues and if anyone would like to talk more on horse slaughter, send me an email please I would love to have someone to talk about the pros and cons with! morgankontz@gmail.com. Again, thank you so much for responding and voicing your thoughts and concerns for this huge controversial issue

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  10. Megan says

    For me had always been engrained in my head that eating horse meat was something shameful and not accepted. Now living in Morocco I am amongst a culture that eats horse meat. It is one of the cheapest meats in Morocco and might be the only meat some families can afford. It’s not shameful and the people here are generally horse lovers. I’ve come to see that just because someone thinks it’s wrong doesn’t make it universally so, it just isn’t their thing that’s all.

    Reply

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