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Researched by Ashley S. |
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Horse cruelty is a small but growing problem in our society. There are
different types of horse cruelty. All are wrong. In the
words of Anne Swell, the writer of Black Beauty, ”If we see cruelty or
wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing we make ourselves
sharers in guilt.”
Neglect
Neglect means an animal is not being taken care of properly. If
neglect is bad enough it affects the animal’s health, perhaps even
killing it. Neglect usually occurs when an owner is too lazy or just
doesn’t care enough about his/her horses. Sometimes an owner
doesn’t know enough about how to take care of horses correctly.
Occasionally an owner does not have enough money to afford all the
necessary items. Owning a horse is actually quite
expensive! If you can’t afford to do it right, you shouldn’t own
a horse.
Horse Slaughter
Another form of cruelty is when horses are killed (slaughtered) for
their meat for humans to eat. Horse slaughter starts when they buy
horses from racetracks or auctions, but sometimes horses are stolen
from their homes by thieves who sell the horses for slaughter. Then the
horses are brought to the slaughter house in huge crowded trucks, meant
for cattle not horses. Then they are put in a kill box where they wait,
with the smell of the dying horses before them. When the sad moment
arrives, they have a two-inch bolt shot into their head to stun them.
Unfortunately this does not kill them quickly and mercifully.
Then the stunned horses are hung by their back leg. Finally, their
throats are slit and they are left to bleed out.
High Diving Horse Acts
In the horse acts the horses have to walk down a narrow ramp with no
choice of turning around. They are forced to jump out into a shallow
pool. After their act they are shut in a small stall where they are fed
a little bucket of grain, but shortly after the buckets are jerked out
of the stall.
History
In 1998 California passed a bill making horse slaughter illegal because
a lot of California’s people didn’t like what was going on. They signed
a petition that horse slaughter will be illegal forever more. Horse
slaughter and horsemeat has become more popular because of Mad Cow
Disease because horses cannot get hoof disease or Mad Cow Disease. So
horsemeat is now more popular in France and Belgium.
Susan Wagner
Susan Wagner is president of Equine Advocates. She is trying to make it
illegal in all states to slaughter horses. She also has a rescue
operation that saves a lot of horses.
Animal Caretakers
A similar job to saving horses is animal caretakers. Animal caretakers
work at all different places. They can work at zoos, aquariums,
veterinary offices, research labs, or the pound. Animal caretakers are
responsible for meeting the needs of animals. They take care of animals
by giving water daily, feeding and measuring their food daily. They
also watch the animals to see any kind of illness. Animal caretakers
get paid an average of $15,000 per year with most getting between
$11,500 and $20,000. You only need a high school diploma to become an
animal caretaker. Animal caretakers have to work in all kinds of
weather. They work with all types of animals: farm animals, fish, dogs,
cats, birds, any kind of animals.
Parts of A Horse
There are many parts to a horse. They are poll, forelock, muzzle, jaw,
shoulder, chest, forearm, knee, cannon, pastern, hoof, fetlock, elbow,
chestnut, flank, stifle, caskin, point of buttock, dock, croup, hip,
loin, withers, Crest, and the frog. The forelock is located right in
front of the poll. The poll is right in the middle of the horse’s ears.
The forearm is the front top part of the horse’s front legs. The cannon
is located at the bottom of the front legs. The pastern is right above
both the front and back hoof. The fetlock right bellow the cannon
but still above the hoof. The chestnut is in back of the front
legs and behind the forearm. The flank is the beginning of the buttock.
The frog is on the bottom of the horses foot
Horses I’ve Saved
I’ve saved two horses from Garry Seals Horse Feedlot. I’ve saved an
appaloosa gelding, named Zeus, and a quarter horse gelding, named Boa,
who used to be an old roping horse.
Owners Manual
If you want to own a horse you need these following
things..…….
1. Enough land for a large animal
2. Good strong fence
3. Hay
4. Feed Buckets
5. Halters
6. Leads
7. Saddles
8. Bridle
9. Brushes
10. Watering system
When you own a horse you need to know things about them. Things like……
1. Anatomy
2. How to ride
3. Feeding and watering requirements
4. The horse’s ticklish spots
When you go to find a horse you might want to know about some horse
breeds. Here are a few.
1. Appaloosa
2. Arabian
3. Belgian Draft
4. Clydesdale
5. Lipizzan
6. Morgan
7. Mustang
8. Paint
9. Palomino
These are only a few breeds. There are more.
When you finally own a horse there’s a lot of responsibilities. Every
morning you have to feed the horse. Sometime during the day you have to
brush them and check their water. Every evening you have to give them
food again. Every six months you need to worm them because if you don’t
the can get worms and that means vet bills. You also need to pick out
their feet because if you don’t the horses can become lame but you need
to be careful because you can hurt them by picking their feet out.
You should go and interact with them and just let them know that
you love them, talk to them, pet them. The more you interact with them
the more they trust you. You must also understand that horses are large
animals and can hurt you. You must know that if you walk in their
living space and you’re afraid, then automatically they are going to be
afraid. They will try to kick and buck at everything. So walk in there
and act like you own the place.
One more thing, you should also try to ride them regularly to give them
exercise. Don’t ride them all the time, let them enjoy the sunlight,
and don’t be afraid if they lay down because they are just sleeping.
Horse cruelty is a problem. Horse meat may be safer to eat but it’s
still not right, because horses are a domesticated animal. Most of the
horses that go to slaughterhouses are healthy and are
good-natured. This can be stopped. To repeat the words of
Anne Swell, ”If we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop,
and do nothing we make ourselves sharers in guilt.”
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