hossingaround

I was reading an article about how the rising costs of hay and keep are contributing to the rise in horse neglect/abuse cases. The author talks about what some areas and organizations are going to try to do to help. I'll include the link to the full story at the bottom of my post but the thing I liked best in the article is this quote from a Kentucky horse auctioneer:


“Sometimes, I think people ought to have to pass an IQ test before they can buy a horse,” Penn said. “They make you take a test to drive a car. Why not pass a test to own a horse?”

Hear, hear! I'd vote this one into law in a heartbeat. Here's the link to the full article if you're interested:

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/339892.html

swish'n'neigh

And while they are at it, a test for having children.

I haven't gone to the article yet, but anyone who blames rising hay costs for horse abuse is just sick. If you can't afford to feed your horse, SELL IT. Anyone who can't see to take that step is a jerk and shouldn't be responsible for any creatures life other than their own.

mistyriver

The problem is these people are trying to sell, but no one wants to buy them. What can a person do if they can't afford to feed an animal but can't sell it either? The humane society is great, but many only have limited space for, or won't even take unwanted horses. I think there should be a way to help the ones who simply can't afford to feed their horse. Or a way to feed now, pay later.

flatback_frannie

Well, heck, giving away a horse is better than neglecting it. Though I agree, there needs to be a system in place to help during times of crisis, but obviously people need to plan carefully for having an animal. Sure, emergencies arise, but cost of feed is something that should be considered, and if your finances are that close that when the cost of feed rises your horse starves, then you are not in a position to own a horse.

mistyriver

I'm not agreeing with neglecting the horse, I just meant that, from the sounds of the article, you can't even give a horse away. No one wants them. And, unfortunately, finances can change drastically. A lost job, a death in the family, anything. Unfortunately, it does happen.

hossingaround

You're right in that anything can happen. After all, in this day and age, job security does appear to be an oxymoron. However, I too think that if you can't sell the animal, then giving it away is far better than letting it starve. I can't imagine having any animal and not doing everything I could in order to feed and care for it properly. I would go without food myself before allowing an animal in my care to go hungry.

purplefdu

By time your horse is starving due to hay costs you would have had months of forewarning unless you're so silly you think you can feed him on grass in the winter under the snow...people don't suddenly run out of hay and funds. And having an IQ test/other test won't do any more for responsible horse ownership than driver's licenses do for responsible driving.

CityChick

Bad news is that it is hard to even give a horse away. I would love to have one myself but the cost of hay isn't the issue for me. I live in the city in an apartment and can't afford all the other costs that I would incur to board a horse.

haute_ecole

It is hard to give a horse away, but that is mostly due to the initial cost of a horse being the cheap part, even if you have to purchase tack. Upkeep and board/feed is much more expensive yearly than most horses cost to purchase. (even assuming $300/month its 3,600 a year)

alexis

Right now I do have some room to get a horse, but I am not until we find a larger place (more land, not really the larger house part). We also live on a country/city line so while we could have one, neighbors would still freak out over it since we live close to one another.

sandles

I really don't think a license will help those that either do not purely care for the horse or fall under "hard times". I find it odd that when you adopt an animal from a shelter the call up and check on the cat or dog, but it doesn't seem like this happens with horses, esp. since so many are purchased by private selling s.

Buckskin

There was a feed shortage here in Australia last year, and one of the novel ideas that arose from it could be used to help people feed their horses.

"Sponsor A Cow" was a dairy farmer initiative where city folk could sponsor a cow, and that money went to feeding and caring for it while feed costs were so high in the last drought. The city folk got regular updates on their cow, photos, fact sheets and so on. They even got to visit their cow if they wanted to. That could possibly work for horses.

__________________
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SaddleSore

People regularly sponsor a wide variety of animals so I don't see why it wouldn't work-other than for the fact that the sponsorship market is already saturated.

The license may not work but why not a background check to ensure that at least at the time of taking the horse on, that the person can afford it.

Aintree

Here's a story that ran in the UK recently. I despair of judges sometimes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

What can the judge have been thinking about? I saw the photos of the poor, broken horses and read the judges words that "there is no evidence to show they are in any danger".

Save us from fools.