Watch this video and do something about it [link]

Help stop this monstuasity and protect our horses.

Talk to your Senators and help approve "The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act" (HR503/S311), which would close the slaughter houses for good.

Check this website and start helping our four-legged friends.
[link]

Don't just watch the video and read my essay; do something like I am. I already contacted as many senators as I could, now I'm letting more people know about tihs issue in here, and I will soon contact more via email.

"America’s Dirty Little Secret"
by Henna Pardo

Horses have been in our history for as long as humans can remember. They have given their lives by working in the field, entertaining and competing at sports, serving as a tool of war, as means of transportation, pleasure riding, and as our faithful companions. Have you ever owned a horse or felt attached to a horse you sold because you couldn’t afford it any longer? Are you certain if the future of your previous horse will be pleasurable? Don’t be so sure. The Thoroughbred racehorse Champion, Ferdinand, who won the 1986 Kentucky Derby and 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic, was voted the 1987 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. At an old age he was put to stud and then sold to the slaughterhouse of Japan in 1994 without his previous owners knowing about it. Outraged as his owners and the racing enthusiasts were, millions of people feel the same rage when it comes to their beloved horses being sold for this brutal practice. Therefore, horse slaughter is inhumane and must stop for once and for all. By knowing the facts, and educating ourselves, we can solve the puzzle and come to a solution so this monstrosity can come to an end.

To be able to help our equine companions we must know what they are going through by knowing the facts behind this myth. Every year, an estimated 100,000 American horses are sent to slaughter for human consumption. How come these horses are being sent to slaughter when it is illegal to raise horses for food in America? Because horses have shared their lifetime serving us in several ways, Americans do not raise them as a mean of food, like other external countries, yet our beloved allies were being sent to be killed at three foreign-owned, US-based horse slaughtering facilities located in Texas and Illinois in 2006, which some critics called it “America‘s Dirty Little Secret.” Due to some changes in the state law, all of these facilities have been closed. But still our American horses are being slaughtered to satisfy the mouths of overseas people in countries such as France, Italy, Belgium and Japan, where horse meat is considered a delicacy. Two well known foreign horse slaughter facilities are found in Mexico and in Canada. Everything starts in a horse auction where people working for the slaughterhouse, called killer buyers, buy these horses very cheap, instead of letting them go to a loving home. You might ask yourself, under what circumstances are horses being transported over such long distances? Are they being treated well and given what they need over the long trips? The answer to those questions is no. Horses are sent in double-decker trucks that are often too small for them because they are suitable for short neck animals, like pigs and cattle, so horses cannot stand like they normally would. They are also crowded and in most cases they fall and brake a leg, and sometimes are stepped on by their mates and let to die. Those are some of the horrible conditions they must endure, not mentioning how they are beaten when they enter and exit the crowded trucks. When they are exported, most of the horses are not given water nor food and don’t get the chance to rest over hundreds of miles, they must also undergo the 100 degree heat of the journey. The lucky ones that do get water and rest, receive it after a long period of time. For example, in Canada, horses are given water after 36 hours of transport and get rest for only 8 hours; in Europe horses receive water during 8 hours of transport, and are rested after 24 hours of transport for only a 24 hour period. Some of the horses that are flown lived to Japan are first sold to a quarantine station in Alberta so they could get fat and reach 2200 pounds. Many Americans believe horses that are injured, old, and cannot be used as means of work, transportation or cannot compete are the victims of the slaughterhouse. However; according to the USDA’s own “Guidelines for Handling and Transporting Equines to Slaughter,” 92.3 percent of horses sent to slaughter are sound and in good condition, meaning that many of those horses where stolen from their rightful owners and sold to the so called killer buyers to be sent to slaughter, which some of them are even pregnant. After the brutal conditions these horses are submitted through transportation, they are left in tightly packed trailers for long periods of time under the extreme weather conditions. Later they are forced to be unloaded to very tied spaces with fences in both of their sides and often they are beaten with fiberglass rods or electric prods to the horse’s neck, backs, legs and faces so they could lined up to get into the slaughter facility. Horses get scare by the smell of blood and the cries of the other horses, which make them more desperate. Lined up, they are expected in a “kill box,” where they may be shot several times in the head with a captive bold pistol to stun the frightened animals. Sometimes, when the horse is too terrified, he would buck or move too fast in the kill box, and the shooter would mislead the shot, injuring the animal several times in different parts of the head. Or when done with a "puntilla knife,” very common among Mexicans, horses don’t get unconscious or stunned because workers stabbed the animals in the neck before slaughtering them. This paralyzes, not stun, the horse and they are fully conscious when it comes to slaughter them. After they are stunned or paralyzed, they get picked up with a heavy chain in one of their hind leg; sometimes, alive these horses get their throat slit and its body butchered until they die. Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia, it is a horrible, cruel and inhumane method to kill these loving and truthful creatures for the price of a dinner plate.

In order to stop the slaughter of horses people must educate themselves prior owning a horse. According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, owning a horse means, “a lifetime ownership.” Matt Prescott, manager of vegan campaigns for the Norfolk, Virginia-based PETA said, “Horses are sensitive animals and, just as we wouldn’t purchase a dog, then realize we can’t care for it and send it to a butcher, we shouldn’t do that to horses, either.” Unlike dogs and cats, horses are not classified as pets, but as livestock. Nevertheless, these creatures are considered by most Americans loving companions; and states such a Virginia, California and New York oppose horse slaughter. Industries, like PRCA, Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association, are helping to educate horse’s owners, especially new ones, on the responsibility they are taking when buying a horse. People must read books about the care of horses and the responsibilities that comes with them before submitting to the challenge. One must get involved in equine industries or equine related organizations, which would aid with the education a person may gain. When the person feels he or she can be responsible for the horse during its lifetime, 25 years or more, then other decisions must be taken. Adoption is a highly recommended option for new and experienced owners, not only because the horse they are getting may be ridable, but also because they are giving horses that have been mistreated, abandoned, or neglected, another chance to be placed in a new and loving home. A very important step horse’s owner must take is to geld their horses. The neophyte owner must castrate the horse, so there won’t be any chance for more horses being neglected; if the person feels he or she can care for an extra horse, then another horse can be adopted. The number of horse’s growth must be controlled in order to prevent more horses on being neglected or abused. This must applied to any individual who owns horses, so together we can make a different and brighter future for our four-legged friends. AQHA, American Quarter Horse Association, says, “AQHA never said more horses are better, we say better horses are better.”

There is a solution to the puzzle of horse slaughter, the first step to accomplish it is by educating horse’s owners and by reinforcing the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 503 and S. 311, to ban horse slaughter for human consumption for once and for all in the United States and stop horses being exported to Mexico and Canada for a drastic end. This bill was successful on September 2006, and all slaughter houses in the United States were closed, and with it, many cases on horses being stolen or neglected seized drastically in percentage. Now we must take the final step and speak up to our Representatives to approve this bill, and make new laws for the sake of the American horses. If this bill was to pass, new laws could be made in order to prevent the birth’s growth in horses. One could be to make a new law to force ordinary people, or people that do not bred horses for competition or show’s purposes, to geld their horses for the same reason stated in the paragraph above. Another law that could be integrated could be to charge an additional small fee for foal registration in order for breeders to register a new foal. Therefore; the money could be raised to help fund equine rescues and retirement facilities. Other forms of help could come from breed associations, such as AQHA; and sport organizations, such as PRCA and NRHA, to raised voluntarily fees for these equine rescue and retirement facilities. State or federal funding could be sought by providing new programs that combine horse rescue, and making the effort at involving prisoners, abused youngsters, drug addicts, and more people alike, to rehabilitate and care for horses until they find new homes. Nationwide veterinary schools could become involved by providing euthanasia in a low cost basis. What is most important now, is that every individual get informed about this issue, and most importantly give an stronger meaning to the word responsibility. “The horse industry has a responsibility to it’s horses. All organizations and individuals, whether they use their horses for breeding, sport, show, recreation or pleasure, have a responsibility to ensure that everything is being done to minimize the number of horses that might fall into this unwanted group,” AHC President Jay Hickey explained. This unwanted group she talks about has no specific number, but 105,000 unwanted horses went to the slaughterhouse in 2006 and that gives us an idea. So by being responsible and taking care of each of our horses will ensure for this number to drop. Another solution would be to place this unwanted horses to facilities, but of course, a facility with the capacity of keeping 6,000 horses does not have enough room for the 90,000 or 100,000 homeless horses. Nevertheless; placing these 6,000 horses in the facility would ensure to provide them with care, food and water until they are rehabilitated. Then these rehabilitated horses can find loving homes by being placed for adoption. This means that more people would have to become more active at adopting horses, to be able to help, than at buying horses. Therefore; the number in the facility would be changing constantly, as horses find new homes, and more horses in need would be placed in there to be able to rehabilitate. Kentucky Horse Council’s Grulke states, “Every sector of the equine industry must join together to address this problem in the interest of the welfare of the horses. It’s just as with any industry, if we have a problem, we should work together to solve it. It’s time.”

Horses have been part of our history for millions of years and have given their life supporting us. They are an American Icon and deserve our respect, consideration and protection for the sake of America’s history, since most part of it was written on the saddle of a horse. Just as some American horses, like Seabiscuit, Ferdinand and Barbaro, became American’s legends and gave their breath and all their potential for a victory that thrilled and filled us with contentment, made us rich and happy in times where sorrow covered our country’s face, many horses do it at helping children with disabilities, competitors, and ordinary people. Getting involved, educated and acting upon this issue can put slaughter to and end. I’m a horse lover myself, I have learned, loved, and cared for these creatures as much as they have done for me. These exceptional animals have endured and become adaptable to be able to stand by our side, and filled the emptiness in our hearts. It is time to put and end to this harsh and inhumane death; the time to act and approve this bill is now. “Save horses because they have saved us already.”