The Unwanted Horse Dilemma Becomes Personal
There are nearly two hundred thousand unwanted horses in the United States today and I just learned an old rope horse of ours could soon be counted among them. I’m Susan Allen and on today’s American Rancher the dilemma of unwanted horses becomes personal. I have patted myself on the back for my efforts to help wild horses and off track thoroughbreds but until it became personal I had overlooked a segment of equines that merit respect; horses that have served humans well but are unwanted simply because they are old. At 24 Smokey, the horse that taught each of my boys and countless others to rope and ride, is still sound but the trail home we found for no longer wants him. Smokey’s options aren’t pretty. A perfect gentleman, he should be a candidate for a therapeutic riding program, but he’s likely too old. Overcrowded rescue groups are turning horses away. At a sale, he’d become one of the 83,000 horses shipped to processing plants in Mexico or Canada. The long cruel haul alone would kill the old guy. Euthanasia is the kindest alternative, call me a wimp but I can’t bring myself dispose of him because of age. I am grateful his owners contacted me. In fact the American Quarter Horse Association recently initiated the Greener Pastures Program that gives owners who care about the horses they sell a first right of refusal clause to aid past owners in helping to find suitable homes for unwanted animals. After some juggling and rearranging Smokey will be coming home for good next week and I suspect there will be a grandbaby that will need riding lessons from a wise old teacher in the near future. I’m Susan Allen
There are nearly two hundred thousand unwanted horses in the USA today and I just learned an old rope horse of ours could soon be one of them
