Horse abuse, Premarin, Slaughter, Neglect
Please read through this information thoroughly.
This page is dedicated to help all of the above mentioned horses in need, and others in all fields.
If they're in trouble, this page is for them.
The content of this page is very graphic, and also very important.
Though it may be long, please read it.
I think you will be enlightened to many things you hadn't known about before.
The first thing I want to look at is slaughter.
Many people aren't aware that in the US alone, literally thousands and thousands of horses
are being slaughtered each year.
For what?
Well, many go for cat and dog food.
Yes, your pretty kitty and pampered pup are feasting on the by-products of slaughtered horses.
But, I'm guilty too, so are mine. There's nothing much we can do but feed them the food we
buy at the store.
Most of us don't think about the food's origin.
What happens to the rest of these horses?
Their meat is sold and exported to European countries, for human consumption.
Now, I am going to give you a description of how most of these horses leave the world.
I could have supplied photographs, but decided against it, since many of you, myself included,
find the photographs a bit hard to handle.
These horses are sometimes purebreds, fine animals. Animals that people would have been glad to buy or adopt, had they been given the chance.
They are herded from packed corrals into chutes. There they begin a process, down a line. As they enter the building through the chute, the smell of death becomes strong to them, and many of them panic. A horse's sense of smell is very acute. They can sense what they are headed for. Next, someone standing along the line, slams a type of hammer against the horse's forehead, ejecting a bolt into it's skull to stun it. The bolt retracts, the horse falls, and his hind feet are caught in a loop, and he is jerked high into the air, hanging by his back legs. By the time they reach their next point in the line, many of these horses are beginning to come to again, aware of what's going on, certainly terrified, but their journey is almost over now, as at their next point, a worker slits their throat, and they continue to move down the line, their life now draining from them. The law requires that their blood be drained this way, since they will be used for human consumption.
And such is the fate, the end of life, for many of these beautiful creatures.
Thankfully, California has now passed a law, which goes into effect on January 1999, against horse slaughter in the state, and transporting horses out of the state for slaughter. Though before this law was put into effect, hundreds of horses were hurriedly transported to slaughter.
We need more states like California. Lawmakers who will stand up against this.
Slaughter house workers argue, "This is how we make our living, this is our job. Where will we go if this is taken away?" My answer to them is also a question, "How do you sleep at nights? How do you live after slitting one of those beautiful creature's throats? I have no sympathy for you. As for how you will make your living, you can go find another job like the rest of us hard-working Americans. There are plenty of jobs out there. That is no excuse. In my book, you are labeled as barbarians."
I'm sorry, that is just the way I feel.
A horse is not a cow or a pig. Anyone who works with them and handles them knows that. There is a certain grace and dignity about horses. They have the ability to think, to reason things out. They have a spirit and beauty that can not be equaled or matched by any other creature. How can anyone have the heart to kill that strength and beauty?
I don't believe that horses were ever meant for human consumption, or for such a horrible death as they must face.
I dedicate my life to getting the slaughter of horses stopped. I will take my case before the President of the United States if I must go that far. Even though I may not see it ended in my lifetime, what I start will hopefully be continued, and someday ended.
The only way to win the battle is to fight, and fight I intend to.
Premarin
My next issue, and subject. This also involves slaughter of thousands of horses every year, and it is predominant in Canada and in the US.
Premarin is a drug used in combating the side effects of menopause for women.
It is made with a substance called PMU (Pregnant Mare's Urine)
These mare's, thousand of them, are put "online". They are confined to stalls about 4 by 6 feet.
Attached to the mares is a UCD (Urine Collection Device). This enables them from being turned out to pasture, and enjoying the life of a normal horse. And so they are cooped in these stalls for the duration of their pregnancy.
Many of these mares are deprived of adequate water supply, and dehydrated, which concentrates the urine for use. This, and other conditions, leads to urinary tract infections in many.
Also, from standing in such confined quarters for so many months, many of the mares contract leg and hoof problems.
They are confined to the stall through the duration of their pregnancy, but are thankfully moved to a larger stall or a pasture to foal.
They are turned out to pasture with their foals, sometimes for as little as two weeks, then they are impregnated again, and put back online.
For the mares, they lead a miserable life of confinement, and abuse.
For the foals, about 45,000 to 75,000 of them, most are sent to slaughter by the truckload.
Many people are not aware of this practice, or I don't believe it would still be alive this long.
Luckily, some of the foals are now being adopted out, or sold to caring people.
But for many of them, their short life ends in death at a slaughter house.
The most infuriating part of this practice is that it is unnecessary.
There are new drugs out now, made with organic and other products. The PMU is no longer needed, nor is the drug Premarin.
If you are using this drug, maybe you didn't know all of the details behind it.
But please, discontinue the use of it, and if you don't use it, please don't.
This is another practice I will do all in my power to stop.
And I think in this case, I will have much support, if only people can be educated to what's going on.
If you have a homepage, please feel free to copy this article to it, or publish one of your own.
The more people who know, the more support we have, and the more chance we have of stopping this.
Neglect
In my book, neglect is abuse. I have been to horse sales and seen horses and ponies so scrawny that you can see every bone in their body.
I've seen a pony or a horse left out in a field with cattle, obviously infected with worms, mal-nutritioned, etc.
People foolishly buy horses for a child's whim. In over half of these cases, the child soon learns that a horse is not just a usual pet, but takes much more care, and is not always the gentle loving creature they expected, but can be vicious. All of those side affects are always brought about by an inexperienced handler, who doesn't know what to do with the horse, and procures negative results.
Many of these horses and ponies are put out with daddy's cattle or simply left in a pasture, alone and forgotten.
In some cases, the horses aren't even taken care of through the winter, or only thrown enough hay to keep them alive.
This is only one scenario that I have drawn for you. There are hundreds of other cases and instances where due to circumstances, whether or not beyond the owner's control, the horse is forgotten, neglected, abused.
There are horrible cases of neglect, and then there are cases that aren't hardly obvious.
But, whatever the severity of the case, it's punishable by law, fine, imprisonment.
It's a crime I take very seriously, and you should too.
A horse, and any other animal, is in our power. We control their atmosphere, their lives. We should do all in our power to make it a healthy, comfortable atmosphere.
If you have a case where you've simply lost interest in the horse, or your child doesn't ride anymore, don't put it out to pasture and leave it. At least sell it to someone who will give it a good home.
If you neglect an animal, it is abuse. And it is a serious and punishable crime.
Take it seriously, take care of them.
You're the only friend they have, they depend on you.
Well for now, this is the end of this page.
I hope you've read it carefully and thoroughly.
It is important information, not only to the horse lover,
but to any animal lover.
To anyone who wants to help.
To anyone who wants to be informed.
None of the information on this page is copyrighted,
I leave it free to your use as you wish.
If you'd like to include a site about slaughter, abuse, or Premarin
on your site, but don't wish to write it all out, feel free to use
any information on this page, in whole or part.
Whether you use it or not, if you have a site about animal abuse or
any of the subjects I mentioned, please e-mail me at:
or sign my guestbook and give me a link to your page.
These are important issues, and it's important that we educate people.
Thank you for reading,
Have a good day,
~Heidi~