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The Price of Honor
By Nina Arabella
At EOTS I have a barn full of horses that were once extremely
valuable. Czardes and Snowdrop (registered name VP Juhlie)
are Arab mares that were worth $40,000 as babies when Arab
prices were through the roof. Gabriel/Hail to Thee is a beautiful
porcelain grey thoroughbred stallion. Because of steroids,
he has no interest in breeding mares. Nessa is a beautiful
little quarter horse, bred too many times and injured by bad
riders. She was obviously spectacular in her day. We have
many more. Their value to the world today: the current per
pound slaughter price.
To me they are priceless. These horses represent all the
others that have lived and died in service to mankind, the
good and the bad. They are the remnants of all the others
we could not save. Gabriel represents all those regal thoroughbreds,
born and bred as kings, but in the end sent off to slaughter
because they weren’t good enough, or were just used
up. The others represent the throw away show horses, ranch
horses, mustangs, brood mares, pit ponies, cavalry horses,
and backyard pets that have all gone before them and died
for the causes and whims of the human race. These are representatives.
I honor them in memory of all the others. How do you put a
price on honor?
About Responsibility
By Nina Arabella
I got a phone call from a woman, whom we’ll call Mrs.
A, who was desperate to get her horse back from what she thought
was a reputable equine rescue owned by someone we’ll
call Mrs. B. Two months ago, Mrs. A signed her horse’s
life away along with all her rights as owner. The horse, a
warm blood with navicullar, was to be retired as a companion
horse or to be ridden very lightly on trails. Evidently, in
his day he was a very talented dressage horse.
The horse, whom we’ll call Moe, was then advertised
for sale as a sound and usable advanced dressage horse for
the price of $1500, by the new owner, Mrs. B. Mrs. B had every
legal right to do as she pleased with Moe, as she now owned
him. Mrs. A, in her hurry to dispose of a horse no longer
useful to her, had signed a legal agreement transferring all
rights of ownership that included a clause saying that Mrs.
A was not liable for any harm the horse could do now that
she no longer owned him. A buyer was found who somehow got
the phone number of Mrs. A and contacted her about Moe.
Mrs. A immediately went to visit Moe and to ask the new owner
why she was selling her crippled horse as a sound riding horse.
Upon arriving at the rescue farm, she discovered Moe to be
in horrible condition with no visible food or shelter. He
was very thin. When I asked her if she visited this farm before
signing the horse over, she said she had. I asked why she
entrusted her horse to this place after seeing the condition
of the barn and the other horses there, but she didn’t
have an answer.
Mrs. A had called the MSPCA, the Animal Rescue League, the
police, and the animal control officer in the town to report
the situation. All to no avail. They had been through this
before with this particular farm. As far as all were concerned,
no laws were broken. There were food, water, and shelter on
the premises. Nor had Mrs. B misrepresented herself or her
intentions concerning these horses. She is a horse dealer,
pure and simple. Once you sign away ownership the horse can
be disposed of in anyway the new owner cares to do so.
Here lies the problem, and possibly the solution, too. We
currently have 13 rescued horses at our barn and seven fostered
out. Only one of the previous owners came to look at our place
before giving the horse to us. All of the rest “trusted”
us. All of these people were desperate to dispose of these
horses anywhere they could. We have a very good reputation
and these horses were very fortunate to come to us. But you
get the picture.
Mrs. A asked why I couldn’t do something about Mrs.
B, as if I had any legal means of stopping her. I cannot stop
horse dealers from practicing their trade. There will always
be unscrupulous people taking advantage of desperate ones
to make a buck. Here is how to fight back at the Mrs. B’s
of the world. I currently control the lives of 20 horses that
will never fall into the hands of Mrs. B. I have opened my
own rescue/sanctuary and have committed my life to caring
for these beings until they die at a ripe old age in my arms.
Is Mrs. B misleading people? Absolutely. Should she be shut
down? That would be nice, but not likely. There will always
be others to take her place. Many of the people who complain
about the slaughter industry are the same ones who give up
custody of giant warmbloods and broken down thoroughbreds
to people like Mrs. B.
We can’t take these big horses at our sanctuary because
no one wants them as companion horses. They are too expensive
to keep. Enter Mrs. B, who might or might not dispose of them
at the slaughter house. They are hers and they are worth between
$400 and $1100 as meat.
It’s your choice. Commit to caring for a horse for
its entire life, or be prepared to risk signing it over to
some unscrupulous person. If you do hand it over, go visit
the place first. Get everything down in writing. Offer to
take back the horse, if a new and permanent home can’t
be found.
Horses should never be owned by people who can’t commit
to them for the rest of their lives.
I can’t stop Mrs. B. The MSPCA and the Animal Rescue
League combined can’t stop her. But you can. Be responsible.
Educate others to be responsible. If there are no more horses
given to this woman, she can’t practice her trade. As
for me, I’m doing my part. I can’t save them all,
but I am currently saving 20.
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In
This Issue
- The Price of Honor
- About Responsibility
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