Wow, so that's not Irresponsible...

Why would a legitimate horse rescue organisation post ads like this (Link, Link)?! These two are from Equine Now and are posted, as you can see, by a group called Second Wind Rescue.

Yes folks that is not one but two adverts offering a BREEDING STALLION FOR SALE.
No mistakes- that is the title of the ad and comes up under a 'breeding stock' search.

Here's the problem-
-Neither horse is in good health (melanoma/looks like hell and doesn't seem to have great legs- see below!!)
-Both are older animals- so chances of landing on their feet permanently if just sold off and not kept under some form of guardianship are slim
-Both are priced to appeal to the idiot backyard breeder (Hey Wilma- hitch up the trailer! Got me a stallion for the old mare out back, registered and everything! *head-desk*).

Most importantly-
IF YOU ARE A GOOD RESCUE WHY WOULD YOU EVER EVER CONSIDER THESE ANIMALS SUCH FANTASTIC BREEDING STOCK THAT THEY ARE SUITABLE TO BE SENT OUT INTO THE WIDE WORLD WITH BALLS ATTACHED TO CREATE MORE OF THEIR KIND!!!

Jeez they are just not that special, poor guys. At a time when people are trying to sell horse for peanuts/dumping them on roads and out in the country/abandoning them at boarding stables and livery yards/shooting them rather than have to find the money to feed them no one should be more aware of the problem than the rescues trying to tackle the mess.

I seriously question the ethics of this organisation. SERIOUSLY. Poor horses!

Advert of the Day

This poor hinny is almost screaming 'get me out of here!'

He appears to be living in a rubbish dump- lets hope that's a Parelli type rope closest to camera and not a random snake..! He also appears to be pretty thin under his fluffy coat- note the outline of his body in this shot:

They only want $15 for him. We have no idea how old he is but are told he is 'not tame'. Future looking bright there then!

Donkeys, mules and hinnies require the same care and attention as horses and ponies, shots, worming, feeding (FEEDING PLEASE!!), hoof care etc. This appears to be severely lacking in this case. Cross your fingers for the poor thing that a kind person picks him up and gives him an upgrade. Here's the rest of the craigslist ad.

With thanks to Horse Forum for turning this one up.

A Problem

Your horse is a stud, 9 yrs old, 17 hands and weighs in the region of 1,300 Ibs. Given that the rate of economic growth in the US is around 2.4, the ratio of available horses to good, caring homes is around 300:1 and you have priced him 0.00 dollars, what is his % chance of going to slaughter?*

huge free stud horse with cut 

I can't take care of this stud horse by myself he is 17 hands has huge bones and feet he has destroyed my fences I can't do this anymore he went through a fence and cut open his chest and damaged his eye his dad is a national champion warmblood but if I don't find someone to take him I will have to have him destroyed I doctored his cut for couple of days and when I attempted to doctor it tonight he struck out with both front feet I don't know if it hurts him or what this horse weighs about 1300 pounds he is very tall around here when you say you have a huge horse they think you mean wide he is very tall and very big boned and built like a Lippizanner. this is not a children's horse he must be well handled before anybody other than an experienced person gets around him and if you think you're going to turn around and make a quick buck on him it is not possible he needs to be handled and his cut doctored before you could ever be able to sell him my phone number is fifty two. Twenty. Seventy. Owe to. do not call me at a ridiculous hour.

Why exactly is this horse a stud?! He's hardly overflowing with desirable features, physical or behavioural by the sound of it! I don't find huge bones and feet a selling point, particularly not when he's using them to trash his environment.  

The owner says she has been treating the wound he picked up on the fence and now he's resenting it- 

I don't know if it hurts him or what.. 

Yes it probably does- anyone ever fiddled with one of your injuries?! Here's a thought, maybe an infection has started to brew and his patience has been exhausted by increasing discomfort. 

This bit I don't get:

He is very tall around here when you say you have a huge horse they think you mean wide he is very tall and very big boned and built like a Lippizanner.

His size and build is not a remotely positive feature given that he's already learned to use it against people and things that get in his way! How about telling us if he's ever done anything, ever been saddled etc? I am guessing not! 

I can't figure out how this person ended up with this horse in the first place. Maybe it was drugged when they tried it, maybe they bred it, threw it in a field somewhere and only thought, 'gee that colt of mine's got pretty fiesty' when they went to find it years later! But I am sure I am thinking exactly the same thing everyone else with any horse sense is thinking after reading this advert. 

if I don't find someone to take him I will have to have him destroyed

He is a STUD! A stallion!!! He wants to mate with things and if you're not directing that energy somewhere else, i.e. into serious competition work, he's going to go to any lengths to do that! Including through fences and over the top of YOU if you haven't instilled enough respect in him on the ground. 

So why, why WHHHYYY ON EARTH don't you just get him GELDED, remove the hormones and reassess the situation after a few weeks before puttinga bullet in his head, handing him over to a masquerading slaughter man or palming him off on some naive do-gooder who might end up getting pounded into the ground by their mercy 'purchase'?

Is it not that obvious to EVERYONE that this would be the next step to take?!

*- figures quoted are rough estimates and for blog writing purposes only.

Thanks again to horse forum contributors for this one.

She Did it on Purpose!!!

Today's post is courtesy of the blog Snarky Rider and comes from the source of a great many American selling horror tales, Craigslist.

Yes you are reading this correctly. The owner was 'mad that she didn't come out in the right colour so has not paid any attention to her'. A bratty comment if ever I read one- do they think the foal deliberately chose to come out this colour just to annoy them?! Part of me wants to pray that the owner is a child/teen as if adults are using this prejudiced, pathetic response as justification for ignoring a living creature I fear for the state of the world today. That said, are there NO responsible adults in their life to say hey, suck it up, you bred this animal, you are responsible for this animal, so you can at least teach her to be touched and brushed, to pick up her feet and lead politely until she can be sold.

Someone should have lectured this person on the realities of breeding- you can put the two horses MOST guaranteed to produce the foal you want together, and mother nature will decide to have a laugh and send you something random instead. Ask the top competition and racing breeders- everything can be in your favour- physical excellence, talent in each parent, bloodlines going back generations- and you will still get something completely unexpected at the end of it. Heck most sensible breeders would want to lecture this person on the joys of having a smooth pregnancy and a live mare and foal at the end of it- the experienced people know just how badly wrong things can go at the drop of a hat, despite every precaution.

NEWSFLASH: If you want a horse of a specific talent, sex and COLOUR- go out and buy it!!! That's the only way to be sure!

Oh the irony that her hated colour is the main feature in the title of her advert!! We don't even have a clue about her breed- no breed one presumes.

Poor little mite is headed no where good. That's if she survives grazing on a junkyard for the few weeks before the meat lorry collects her. That thing she's almost on top of looks like a leg breaking device- and hey, the person taking the shot didn't even stop to think hmmm that doesn't look great- HOW SCARY IS THAT?!

More commentary on this sad little ad over at Snarky Rider.

Why Bother Looking After it if You're Only Going to Sell it?

So how old would you guess this horse is?

Would you believe she's only seven?!

She looks like a badly kept 20 year old- many well kept veterans would put her to shame. She's had foals, heaven knows how many- it doesn't say. That might explain the dropped belly, or she could be in foal again, or, looking at the overall picture, she could be in desperate need of worming. There's no shine at all in that coat, her scrawny neck and prominent spine, withers and hips indicate her lack of condition. Ad says she's very quiet... boy I'll bet. She could barely raise a canter in that state.

I know she'd probably look a lot better well cared for but working from these admittedly poor shots I would never consider her ideal breeding material. Her hindlegs appear weak, her hindfeet look to turn out significantly and I fear that upside down neck of hers might be a permanent and very unattractive feature which we can only hope her offspring did not inherit.

I can't believe anyone would be willing to stand and hold a horse in this condition for sale- maybe that's why the guy is hiding behind a pillar. Was it too much trouble to throw in extra feed and a good grooming for even a fortnight before you took these shots, cos really, that's all it should take to cause a difference in her, unless there are deeper health issues at work we don't know about.

Poor mare. Used up and unwanted. Lets hope her next ride was not directly to the slaughterhouse.

Get This Horse Away From Me...

I get the impression this pony is thinking 'get this owner away from me' too.

Let's read between the lines here.

'I can't handle her... I cannot get hurt by her anymore.'

This horse has reacted with sufficient violence to injure her rider/handler. Great selling point to start out with! But why might that be....

'We don't have proper equipment... i know she hates the saddle and is ok bareback'

Why would you ever try to work with a horse without proper equipment? I define that as a safe, flat area to work in, a decent bridle, a bit that fits correctly and is not rusty or worn, and a saddle at least vaguely fitted to that animal by someone with a bare idea of what they are looking for.

So she hates the saddle- had a saddle fitter out at all? Ride a horse for long in a saddle that doesn't fit right and you're looking at a sore, fed up, potentially violent animal. Imagine walking for miles in badly fitting shoes. No wonder they play up. Maybe the saddle is a good approximation for your horses- this is a little round pony.

'I have had her since she was 3'

This mare is now ten years old and the seller has had her for seven years. I get the impression she's been trying to work with her on and off (mostly off, her back that is) with minimal success, several bruises and possibly fractures.... It also means though that much of her ridden career has been with this owner. In what sounds like an ill fitting saddle. No wonder she's fed up!

That's not to mention whether her teeth have been examined, her feet given a good once over, and a vet been out to check for other sources of physical pain. Pain can come from the strangest places to cause violent responses under saddle, which is why I mention feet- a horse I knew started rearing when his owner tried to ride him despite showing no initial signs of lameness- a good examination and x ray revealed degenerative changes in the bones of the foot and I think the ultimate diagnosis was navicular.

'can't have the trouble with her anymore...'

Now that statement just screams show up with a trailer and forget the $100, you can have her...! Although...

'will learn to be trailered this weekend..'

This smacks of a misplaced confidence! If this pony has given her this much trouble just for riding I wouldn't guarantee she'll have trailering down in two days- especially given the lack of 'proper equipment'... trailer or large cart I wonder...

Good luck Goldie, I hope that despite the fact your owner 'can't have the trouble' with you, she takes enough care that you don't end up taking the nearest wrong turn to an auction with an unscrupulous buyer...

Selling Your Granny

When a good friend of mine was asked about whether she would be moving her old mare on now that she was busy with a couple of youngsters she was horrified and told me 'it would be like selling your granny!' Her mare is sweet, rideable, almost totally safe (as we all know no horse is guaranteed safe) and therefore might at least have a decent new home to go to if she decided that she would go down that route, but she is still an older mare, with her best years behind her and that occasional touch of stiffness and grumpiness creeping in at times.. She has earned a good home for the rest of her days, not put at risk of being overworked or even worse, passed from place to place.

Then we have this mare:

Lorin is 22 years old according to the details from the website at the bottom of this ad. She's never been ridden, but nowhere does the seller indicate if this is due to injury or just because they never got round to training her. Sadly in the current economic climate I can't see people who can just 'pet her all the time'and let her 'roam the fields' banging down the door. On the website it also promotes her excellent bloodlines. I wonder how many foals she may have had for this seller over the years? Interestingly I cannot see much evidence of this proclaimed 'move' either on the ads for her other horses for sale or on the website. Maybe this one is just surplus to requirements all of a sudden. Funny that,  being over 20 and unrideable.

Here's another golden oldie. This guy is 26!

Despite his advanced age I note he is not a quiet ride, which probably makes him unsuitable for the novices and children people might have considered getting him for, and despite her claims would not make him a family horse (most little kids are not intermediate riders!). I also worry that there is no full body shot-  the withers look pretty prominent so I hope he's actualy in good nick. The owner repeats loving home throughout the ad but just like before, I feel this poor guy is looking at the slimmest of markets.

I don't know these sellers and their exact circumstances, although I admit have drawn certain conclusions from their ads and related details, but this much I do know. We are in an economic crisis and people just don't have the money they used to have to spend on luxuries- and horses are a luxury. You can get a really nice, rideable horse with a lot of useful years ahead of them for silly money if you look in the right places- and they can be companions too. Horses like this pair are just not wanted- one is not only old but unrideable and the other is old and not the quietest ride.

I pray that the people who currently have these horses in their care are prepared to vet any prospective buyers to the hilt and arrange visits of where the horses will be- better yet to loan them out somewhere nearby rather than just hand them off and take any money offered. These are horses that are at high risk of ending up in an unsuitable home or on the way to the nearest market to have the last few dollars squeezed out of them before they get a one way ticket to abuse, neglect or slaughter. Personally? If these were my horses and there was asbsolutely no way I could keep them any longer or lend them to someone I knew and where I could visit regularly, I'd get the vet out and have them put to sleep after stuffing them with carrots and standing right there beside them. Then I'd know they'd received the care they deserved from the day they came to me to the day they died.

Just my opinion. What do you think?