09/10/08 Too many horses

I never thought it would happen, but it appears we have too many horses in the United States. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this with some comments. If you look back in history the United States had too many horses right after the massive utilization of tractors for farming. Those horses, other than the most favorite teams were shipped off farms and ranch rangelands. Many ended up in slaughter plants or shipped overseas. Well, we have too many horses in the United States again. Why do we have too many? According to panelists at Montana State University's fourth annual equine conference there are three main reasons  rising feed and upkeep costs, slaughter plant closures and aggressive development of breeding horses. With no horse slaughter plants and many people not being able to afford euthanasia and burial, many of these unwanted horses are being abandoned or severely neglected. Panelist Lisa Jacobson, a veterinarian, says she now could recommend spaying mares as a control measure since spaying technique and pain management have improved. Dean Bolstad, with BLM says he would like to see more horses adopted. The bureau spends 60 percent of its budget on feeding wild horses and burros held in captivity. I'll bet adoptions have declined because of problem number one  rising feed and upkeep costs. Hey, maybe all but one herd of BLM horses could be castrated and spayed which would curtail herd growth. Then all unwanted horses, if they were castrated or spayed, could be turned loose to run on federal lands. It's just a passing thought. I'm Jeff Keane.