Is it just here, or is the whole world giving away horses nowadays?

[greybeard]

Seems everywhere I go for the last month, there's a poster in a store window or an ad in the paper for "Free horses--can't afford to feed them anymore". Some even say they will deliver. I've never seen it this bad.
Bad times I guess, (and no hay--or high priced hay) but if I were wanting an equine of any type, I could probably fill my place up. Some folks are just turning donkeys loose in the National Forest to forage on their own.

 

[jodief100]

Same here. I live in KY, big horse country and I see lots of free horses begin advertised.

It is so sad.

 

[brentr]

Same here in northern VA. Lots of horses on Craigslist, free or VERY cheap. I'm no horseman, but some of the pics suggest that there are some really good horses that have fallen on bad times (along with their owners).

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

Yep, going on here in Cali too... Great horses with high pedigrees going for soooo cheap. Hay is excessively high priced right now, not to mention all the home loss (for owners = homeless horses).

It so bad there was actually a group of people offering low cost euthenasia in a group setting just to help people who couldnt feed the horses they couldnt sell or re-home. I feel bad about that, but I guess if the choices are starve to death, or be comfortably put to sleep for MY horse, Id choose the meds....

Its a horrible situation. Over breeding and over-extending have led to this. Breaks my heart. I feel the pinch of hay prices in feeding my 3 mini's, one full size mare, and a goat- and I have over an acre of pasture. But the lack of rain this year has caused my pasture to about dry up and blow away. Usually by this time of year, the field is lush and Im trying to keep the fat OFF my horses from too much grass, now Im trying to keep them a healthy weight on 20 dollars a bale hay, two bales a week minimum adds up, plus the goats hay.

I can sure understand how easy it can be to not be able to afford a horse- for anyone, not just the seller, but who can buy one now AND feed it?

 

[Horsiezz]

Its going on in Ohio as well! They go for free or dirt cheap prices... I have gotten a lot of free horses and cheap ones from Craigslist in the past couple years and did some training and rehomed them to approved, local homes where I can check up on them. With having Sugarcreek auction close to us these horses were at great risk of being brought there or bought from a killbuyer(yep, they get em from craigslist too!). For those of you not familiar with good ol' Sugarcreek, lets just say you probably dont wanna know. Its one of the biggest slaughter auctions east of the Mississippi River. Me and some friends have gotten a lot of great horses from there for little to nothing and rehomed them. Even well broke, kid safe, registered horses... its crazy, but the economy is bad and people are out of jobs. Its probably only getting worse... especially with Winter. Nobody wants to feed hay burners in the Winter... :/ but at least they are giving them away instead of letting them starve in their fields, right? Atleast they have some sort of chance....

 

[MrsDieselEngineer]

Personally I'd rather see a horse slaughtered than starve to death. There are so many unwanted horses and the cases of starving horses are sky rocketing. Here in NH there was a case just recently that had dead and dying horses all over the farm. The owner couldn't afford to feed them and just abandoned them. I would have rather seen them in good health go to be slaughtered than the slow death of starvation.

 

[quiltnchik]

Personally I'd rather see a horse slaughtered than starve to death. There are so many unwanted horses and the cases of starving horses are sky rocketing. Here in NH there was a case just recently that had dead and dying horses all over the farm. The owner couldn't afford to feed them and just abandoned them. I would have rather seen them in good health go to be slaughtered than the slow death of starvation.

Hence the reason horse slaughter needs to be allowed back in the US.

 

[carolinagirl]

It's so bad here in South Carolina that if you go to a livestock auction with a trailer on your truck, they tell you to lock it or you may find a horse or two abandoned inside your trailer.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I heard that they were going to start allowing horse slaughtering again. Or maybe it had to do with trying to change the laws and it hasn't been changed yet.

 

[greybeard]

It seems I read not too long ago, that US slaughter was now being allowed but for export only. I have mixed feelings on it, and like most others, look at horses, mules etc in a different light than other livestock, but that is most likely due to a lifetime of "conditioning" that we in the US/Canada have experienced while seeing such a strong connection between humans:equines as companions and even pets.
Having spent lots of years in foreign nations I long ago came to realize what we feel here doesn't neccessarily reflect worldwide conditions and opinions--for better or worse. As sad as it is, I do have to agree, that I would prefer to see animals go to slaughter than live in agonizing conditions, IF they can't be rescued and placed in better conditions.

Back in the early 80s, near Redbud Texas, in a particularly cold winter with back to back ice storms, a large herd of horses was discovered in deplorable condition on a remote ranch and the whole herd (several hundred) were confiscated/rescued. Many had to be put down. I don't remember the details now, but it made the evening news all accross the state, and I hope we aren't seeing any more of this about to take place.

In this area, the placement agencies are pretty strict, reportedly requiring a 6' fence, a set # of acres/animal, adequate shelter and an overall property inspection and even a personal "background" check--plus a fee paid if you are allowed to accept an animal. The fee I'm told is about $100/animal (which is being protested by some) , but I assume that $$ is being used to feed and care for the animals still at the facility. Have seen in the paper that the nearest one over in Liberty county is desperately asking for donations of hay or $$ to buy hay. My fences wouldn't pass that requirement, since they aren't anywhere close to 6' tall.

Guess that is about all I have to say on this issue--hits kinda hard for me.