And what of the people who gave up the horses in the first place. Use the animal for racing until its warn out and then give it away because they don't want the expense of taking care of it. She probably started out with good intentions and then found it wasn't possible to place the horses. She should have stopped taking them in after that, instead of sending them to slaughter on the sly, which I agree is disgusting.

On a personal note, my father has a dozen horses in Texas. Because of the drought we have nothing to feed them. He cannot give them away. Literally. No one wants them because everyone else is in the same boat. He can't afford to buy hay at $100.00 a bail so there is no option but to send to slaughter. Well, there is another option. Watch them slowly starve to death. Horses are sent to slaughter everyday in this country.

Just giving another perspective for the big picture.

gs321: Your father has taken the responsibility and does what he has too ON HIS OWN. He hasn't taken the word of a FRAUD. She didn't own up to the fact that the horses were destroyed until caught up with by the law. Horses are sent to slaughter everyday and FRAUDS get away with stuff everyday but that doesn't make her right in the eyes of the law and it SHOULDN'T make her right in yours either.

Between this and the city officials in Harrisburg okaying the killing of stray dogs, I'm embarrassed to be a Pennsylvanian.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/01/harrisburg_police_chief_is_on.html

I think the point hs3 was trying to make was that the owners of these horses had to know in the back of their minds that the horses would probably die. It doesn't make it right or any better but the previous owners couldn't have been that foolish. I have never owned a horse but I have read several articles over the past few months about horses starving and being abandoned because people aren't buying them and people can't afford to feed them, this is a pretty well-known fact right now.

HS321:: YOU are absolutely insane to think that. Look up CANTER its an organization that takes horses off race tracks to give them homes. Doesn't mean they were raced to death and cannot be ridden more. It may just mean the horses didn't have the heart to race. They were not interested. Doesn't mean they are broken and worthless. This bitch needs to rot in hell, I have met this bitch. I cannot believe she would do such a thing.

hs321-

your father should have humanely euthanized the horses. slaughter houses are horrific.

kiki

death is death and NONE of it is 'humane' at least the meat went to some good rather than rotting away in a mass grave.

And you know none of it's humane how exactly?

HS321--- you say there are 2 alternatives, selling them or watching them starve. As someone pointed out there is a third, humane euthanasia. When you father was making money off the horses it was fine, but now that there is no market due to over breeding and people with a false sense of being rich buying horses or going into the breeding business, then he turns his back on them. Where is his sense of loyalty? Of responsibility?
The race horse 'industry' is particularly horrible and I would love to see it banned. All about human ego and making money, none of it is to benefit the horses. Totally about greed.
Horses are not cattle and slaughter is a horrible way to die. The horses are afraid and suffer greatly. They trust the people that lead them to their deaths. What a horrible betrayal! Horses have served humans for thousands of years. We rode them into wars and to settle the west of the USA and this is how we repay them? Is this how you would like God to see humans who have served Him? As disposable?
I also disagree that humans are primarily meat eaters...we may be able to eat meat but we are NOT obligate carnivores like the big cats. Just look at our teeth. I believe we are omnivores, but primarily vegetarian.
I can't understand humans that look upon the suffering of animals and have no compassion and yet go to church and ask God for all sorts of favors for themselves. Are we not to take care of His animals and planet as well as each other? God must be ashamed of His creation that is so self centered and blind.

Doesn't anybody know how to post an original comment, or do we just continue to reply to this one?

@hs321- your father would euthanize those horses if he had any decency. he and you are just trying to justify making a buck off their death. I have little doubt that a Texas rancher couldn't find someone with a gun and a backhoe to solve his 'too many horse' problem for minimal financial outlay. somebody who has lost their home and who can't afford to feed their dog anymore, so decides to sell it to the local Chinese restaurant for food would be called a jerk by anyone who heard about it. this is no different.

and anyone who claims there is no evidence that slaughter houses are inhumane, try googling it. there are tons of video's of what is done in slaughterhouses to horses. furthermore, horse slaughter for human consumption is no longer legal in the USA, so most horses are shipped to Mexico for slaughter. you should be able to figure out how well regulated and humane the Mexican slaughter industry is without me spelling it out. all of this info is available to anyone who will click over right now and open a browser window and google it.

Diana..."that doesn't make her right in the eyes of the law and it SHOULDN'T make her right in yours either." Its not right in my eyes. Quote from my original comment: "She should have stopped taking them in after that, instead of sending them to slaughter on the sly, which I agree is disgusting."

SanDiego..."Doesn't mean they were raced to death and cannot be ridden more." Never wrote or implied that. I said the horses were of no use to the people who raced them and were giving them up.

kiki..."your father should have humanely euthanized the horses." Allen has it right. I would rather know someone's pet dog got the protein than think of the horses lives being a complete waste. Besides, do you know how much it cost to have a vet come out and properly euthanize a animal?

WisePati (and Allie)..."When you father was making money off the horses it was fine." My father had about 125 head of cattle. Now all sold due to the drought. One horse was a many-years retired cutting horse and was pet like the rest. Buck passed away at the ripe old age of 32 recently. My Dad never made a dime off of any of them. If anything, they were very expensive pets. No way what little money might be gotten at an auction would ever make up for the expenses.

Jump to conclusions much? We still have the horses, losing money feeding them the $100.00 a bail hay and still trying to find someone we can give them to.

I will give you all the benefit of the doubt and assume you responded the way you did because you are compassionate about animals.

(F Walsh. Just like to compliment you on your reading comprehension.)

Why bother even prosecuting her, just send her to the Asian sex-slave market, end of story.

Well if she couldn't find good homes for the horses i doubt if she can find good ones for the sex slaves.

Disgusting. If I had trusted her to find a promised good home for my horse and the found out it went to the slaughterhouse I would be heartbroken and would want justice!

And all she will get is a slap on her wrists.

Of course she lied and got a hell of a lot more than $36,000 dollars.

I sincerely hope that the judge finds a way to punish her with fines much more than that amount. I am sure her lawyers will drain down her bank account.

I hope this woman rots in jail for what she did to the horses under her care

sending horses to slaughterhouses is NOT humane .. horses at a slaughterhouse are not always processed the same day they arrive and may be there for days even weeks before its their time to enter the kill box, mean while they get no food or water and are crammed into small holding pens like sardines with no room to move around or even lay down, standing in their own piss and crap until its their turn to die ..

over 90% of the horses have to have a stun bolt gun used more then 2 times which regulations state more than 1 time is considered cruel and inhumane .. not only that over 80% of horses "come to" after they have been strung up by their hind legs as the processor is slitting their throat so they can bleed out, which is due to the fact the horses brain doesn't sit right up against the forehead but is actually an inch or so away from it so in actuality the stun bolt gun usually only punches an empty hole in the forehead instead of rendering the horse totally unconscious with the first blow. If you have the ball and stomach, go to YouTube and search for "horse slaughter" to see what hidden cameras in Canadian slaughterhouses have caught on camera about the actual treatment of horses at a slaughterhouse .. while watching them just remember one thing .. conditions are bad in Canadian slaughterhouses but are far worse in the Mexican ones, because there are NO regulations in place or enforced.

Horses are NOT raised as a food animal and the Equine Veterinary Association has deemed all US horsemeat UNSAFE to be consumed by humans due to the types and amount of drugs and medications horses are required by law to receive to not only compete as show or racehorses but also even to keep them at a boarding facility as these drugs and medications have been BANNED for use in food animals by the FDA and USDA. the main reason for that is because there is no known withdrawl period documented, meaning from the time the animal is given a banned drug/medication until it tests a 0 level of the substance in its system is not known as it is in other food animals which is any where from 6 months to a year before that animal can be slaughtered .. horses will still test positive for the substances even 2 years later and all these banned drugs/medications have been proven to cause cancer and birth defects in humans along with other health issues.

you talk about sending a horse to slaughter as a better alternative then watching it starve to death well if the horses are not fat and healthy but are skinny, old, sickly or pregnant, they are turned away from Mexican slaughterhouses and then the kill buyers are taking them to remote areas and just turning them loose to fend for themselves to die a slow agonizing death by starvation or thirst .. or worse the cartels find them, and use them with very little food or water until the horses collapse. Kill buyers will ship any horse to Mexicao for slaughter but usually only fat healthy horses are bought by kill buyers shipping to the Canadian slaughterhouses ... kill buyers shipping to Canada will very rarely buy old, sick or skinny horses so then those horses either stay around the auction yard until the next auction with very little food and water or they are shipped off to another state for auction there.

as an alternative to sending horses to auction/slaughter, owners should talk to their vet or local humane society and find a legitimate large animal or horse rescue who will take the horse in and find it a good home .. there are many of them all over the US and they never turn a horse away for any reason either keeping the horse on their site or putting it into foster care, after its been evaluated for quality of life by a licensed vet, until its adopted.

Not all animals are here for hunting or food. Many enrich our lives as companions. Most of western civilization, at least the people with a soul, consider it a crime to kill an animal companion.

She scammed over 100 people, taking their money and animals under false pretenses to make a greedy profit, and you think that should be a misdemeanor??

Where is this 'soul' you talk about. I can't seem to located it.

Sense of balance...???

three combat marines pee on a dead enemy and the country wants to hang them. But an actors son has a DUI accident and its "your honor he is just a kid who made a mistake why punish him for the rest of his life?"

You can fire up a joint and get support of the world, fir up a ciggarette and get fined and attacked.

Kill an unborn baby and get government financing to do it, kill a horse and people will burn you at the stake.....

I think we lost "balance" decades ago Sir.

NO there are not many people that would give these horses homes. It costs about the same as a mortgage on a house to keep a horse if you don't own a farm. Even then, the prices of hay and grain have gone up. There is also veterinary care and other costs to consider. The average person cannot afford a horse. This woman took those horses under false pretenses so she should be prosecuted but selling horses for slaughter is legal. Personally, if I won the lottery I'd save as many as I could but sadly this is the end for many unwanted horses - most are off the race track.

And Dave, obviously you've never been around horses. They are highly intelligent sensitive animals. I am not against farming animals for food but these horses were bred for other purposes and then they were cast aside. This does not say much for the human race. The laws in Europe regarding the breeding and racing of horses are far more strict than in the US. These horses should not be considered disposable, any more than the massive amounts of unwanted cats and dogs that end up in shelters. If a person is not willing to care for an animal until it dies, then they shouldn't breed them or buy them. If they want to sell horses for food, then raise them for that purpose. In that case it would be regulated.

f

DaveT - the only retarded one we see here is you actually.

See, that's where you're wrong. I have been around horses. I spent 3 years working on a farm taking care of their needs. I know how the personalities of horses are. Each one is their own 'person' in horse form. They're very smart animals.

But that's where the separation is. They're ANIMALS.

I'm sorry, but they're lower on the food chain. Getting attached to an animal is not anyone fault but your own.

And I'll use the term 'retarded' as I please. Get over it.

wow david-

your response is "are you retarded?". that's the best you can do? brenda was just stating the facts about slaughterhouses.

if YOU can't handle what is written, YOU need to go somewhere else. way to be tolerant of others.

"The entire practice of horses or any animals going to a slaughterhouse in this manner is cruel and inhumane."

People have been hunting and killing animals for thousands of years. And now it's a real shocker to people that animals have to be killed for food? OMG!!

Yeah, PETA is all over this article. Either them or the vegetarians.

I'm going to move on. Continuing this conversation is like beating a dead horse. LOL! Seriously though, this conversation is like having a religious debate. Never a good ending, and no resolution. =:D

Dave,
If you would like to eat a big race horse steak go right ahead. There are fed a steady diet of steroids that starts early. I know - I watched my little horse go through withdrawal. She was given so much she had heart palpitations after being off the track for six months. There's also a bevy of other black market drugs that are given on the sly. Yes by all means, feed it to your family.

Dave, are YOU retarded?! There is a HUGE difference between a quick death on the farm and being shipped in crowded trucks to a slaughterhouse that stinks of death and fear. YES, there ARE humane farming practices! I choose to eat meat, so I raise my own.If I couldn't raise my own, I would buy from a farmer that provides his/her animals a decent life. My animals have clean food and water, clean and dry housing, plenty of land to wander, companionship of other animals, and any necessary medical attention they need. They get to live a decent life until the moment of "dispatch," which is done as quickly, painlessly, and respectfully as possible. One does not have to be a heartless ogre who gives no thought at all to the sacrifice these animals make to sustain us! Tell me, what thought do you give to the animal you are eating when you prepare a steak you bought at the local grocer? Do you care if that animal had fresh pasture and sunshine, or if it spent its life cooped up in a dark barn and tiny feed lot just to fatten it up for you? You criticize those who express such concerns, yet you and those who think like you are the ones who are out of touch with the realities of giant agribusiness. You claim to be the one "aware" of where meat comes from ... well, apparently not, because there is a whole lifetime, of good or bad quality, that precedes that trip to the slaughterhouse, and YOU are the one who seems to completely disregard that.

There are not people to take horses. At one time I had the rescue facility for two counties where I lived and after I got the horses well enough to go somewhere and strong enough to ride it was a continual problem to find homes. Some people that thought they wanted them didn't have a clue how much care and feeding cost.

The Slaughter house is the best place for some of those horses.

Oh Dave, sorry you feel you have to go drag your knuckles somewhere else. We'll really miss you... NOT! LOL.

Actually horse meat is very good as is dog meat. Americans are to wraped up in pets. Animal are meat and meat is food. In case you are wondering I am also not a supporter of PETA.

Currently the Japanese are buying horses through Canada and shipping them live over to japan as a replacement for blue Fin tuna. I fthe USa wooul dcancel teh ban on killing horses the price would go up to maybe $1,800.00 per horse so people could make a profit.

Joe i'm so sorry that you've apparently never had the luxury of a companion pet. It would have probably done you a world of good mentally and emotionally if you had. Instead of you being a callous heartless ass.

We will? We've been doing it for tens of thousands of years.

Andrea...how about the inhumanity we have inflicted on each other? Lets not drag religion into a simple case of doing away with uneeded ANIMALS.

Allen - she said, "... as well as one another." READ buddy! And where in her comment did she write anything about religion???

Andrea is right...didn't you people see Planet of the Apes!!! the monkeys will rise up and rule!!!! ;)

Allan - unneeded animals? Says who? You? Please don't make me laugh. Just yet another example of a holier than thou Human animal who think they know everything about everything. Guess what Allan - you are made out of meat. We all share this planet TOGETHER - go ahead say it - TOGETHER. Although the human population is sadly out of control, this planet is not OURS to destroy at will - but it's probably too late for us. Because humans are a truly selfish, egotistical, greedy, demanding, possessive, destructive 2 legged animal who just can't get enough of raping the planet.

So from one 2 legged animal to another - WAKE THE HELL UP.

There is no such thing as HUMANE horse slaughter. Horses are flight animals. They will NOT simply stand there as you put a bolt gun to their head. Recently in Canada stories have come to light about horses being SHOT over and over and over again, 8,9,10 plus times. Then they are hung up by one leg while still alive, and their throat is cut, and they are still alive as they bleed to death.

Pregnant mares will have their foals cut from the body while still ALIVE, and they full term foal thrown in the trash, or also hung up and have their throat cut.

So what exactly is humane about that hrm?

EVER eat meat Jenncool?? How souless can you be???

So according to you, those who eat meat have no soul. Wow. Bit of a stretch there.

What a great example for whatever poor offspring you may have.

Of course, looking at your picture pretty much gives us all a clue in to your thinking. Gotta compensate for your obvious shortcomings by being a tough guy.

It would be interesting if there were an investigation into those organic or free-range farms to see if the owners should be charged with deceiptful business practices and theft by deceipt as this person was.

bookem:

I agree wholeheartedly. As someone who DOES use organic farming practices, I get furious when I think about others abusing the consumers' trust by making bogus claims. People who choose organic foods do so from a legitimate concern about not only their own health, but about food production practices as well. Misleading these consumers does not render those concerns trivial, but rather illustrates the moral bankruptcy of those who mislead them. I am not a big proponent of most government controls, but this is one area where labeling practices really do need closer scrutiny and tighter controls. Until then, however, concerned consumers must take it upon themselves to do what research they can about the brands they buy, or else buy locally so they can be more assured about what they are getting. Shop the farmer's market for produce, visit the chicken farm for eggs, and locate a meat market that buys locally and is willing to discuss its sources and their practices. It's not easy, but it can be done.

i actually agree a lot with bookem' and spiritdance. the word "organic" is a buzz term and a big moneymaker. i can eat food from whole foods and food from the regular grocery store and i can't tell the difference. the only difference is in the price. i'm sure many will disagree, but it's kind of like buying grey goose vodka, can you really tell the difference or is it all just in your head? people convince themselves that somehow they are getting a better quality end product for twice the price simply because they are paying twice the price and it comes in fancy packaging.

buying organic food for moral and ethical reasons, especially when it supports local farmers is a good thing. but you have to do your due diligence and really understand where your food is being sourced and the practices of the actual farms where they are sourced from. just buying into the term "organic" and assuming because you bought it at whole foods that everything is all good is just ignorance.

nosferatu-499026, Yes that's really me smart guy! I am a 400 pound man with a mullet and the face of Rosie O'donnell. Dude, you really are a dumba$$.

The fact that you rescued a racehorse says a lot about your character. I agree, I hope the racing industry becomes a thing of the past one day.

The MAJORITY of racehorses end up at the slaughterhouse. A lucky few get rescued. The owners of these horses had to know in their hearts that this woman was a scammer. They just looked the other way. I rescued my boy (named Water Czar, sired by Moscow Ballet and descended from Secretariat) who had been injected with steroids. He has ringbone and arthritis from his race career which was long. He can only walk/trot now because of his legs. I feed him all kinds of drugs to keep him in health such as Bute and wormers. He gets shots for viruses too. I hope the Japanese, French and Belgians are poisoned by the horse flesh they eat. I do not eat meat so I am not being a hypocrite. Meat is bad for you-it lingers in your system for many days. It is full of chemicals.

For the poster who thinks riding a horse is cruel. You should see the pampered life my horses live. No spurs even. They get to play with each other, get great food, and lots of love. They are fat and happy.

To the people who make the same old cliched claims about killing lettuces - get a life!

it's called evolving-you might try it sometime.

I don't think you should hold your breath waiting for that.

I'll gladly provide whatever you need to "take one for the team" as it were.

Fatty McFurry: Apples to oranges:

Once said animal is sold or transferred to new owner its no longer your business, what happens to said animal. If you cared so much about the said animal then don't get rid of it.

Coast of maintaining one horse cost $$$ a lot of money and right now I don't really see a really good market for taking care of uses horses. So what do you do with theses animals since there are no buyers, hell you could try to give them away and still not find anyone to take them. Why they cost a lot of $$$$ so what would be the best interest of everyone including the horses. Letting them grow hungry, thirsty or selling them to a slaughter house to become someones meal.

I have been raising/training/selling horses off and on for decades now. I love horses. I like horses more than I like people, in fact I have killed more people than I have horses. But I also know they are livestock NOT pets, NOT family members.

No matter how much you love them and enjoy them at the end of the day they are livestock.

The biggest problem in the horse industry is idiot amatuer back yard horse owners who buy one or two horses and pen them up in a little back yard corral with no room, treat them like pets and then realize they cant afford them or the problems that come with them. Then what do you do with them.

I dont want to see them sent to slaughter, I also dont want to see them abandoned and neglected to die from starvation and disease........but they are not mine and I am not paying for them either way.

I do find humor in the hypocrosy of the matter when there are people who will march for the right to kill an unwanted child in the womb...but scream hatred over killing an animal for any reason.

Go figure....we have a seriously messed up society.

AzRancher...it is a fetus in the womb, not a child. And where are all the 'Right to Life' folks who should be screaming over the killing of these animals? Oh, only humans have a right to life? Really? They need to change their name then.
I don't think humans have the 'right' to destroy everything else on the planet. Ideally there would be no human conception except by two caring adults who want a child. And ideally humans would care for God's creation in a compassionate way and see that there is a planet left for future generations. Of course with 7 Billion people and more being born every day, I am not sure that is possible anymore.
Humans don't need to eat nearly as much meat as they do. Read Diet For A Small Planet.

It is my opinion that people do not have to live their lives according to you just because YOU deem people dont need to do this or that. I feel people are FREE to do as they please regarding their own affairs, yes even if you dont approve. If you own it then do what you want with it. I may not agree with how a neighbor treats his wife or trains his dog or how he drives his car......but thats his concern not mine huh?

I dont condone killing off 120 horses myself, but then I am not houseing feeding and paying for them either now am I. If you personally want an abortion thats your business not mine. I have my opinion of the matter but in the end I am not the one carrying it huh???

I just like pointing out the hypocrosy of it all.

It may me just a fetus to you, like to others it may be just a horse. I like the fact that people with all differing opinions can voice them here and I like different opinions because even if I dont agree I usually learn something and thats good.

But every now and again some stuck up snooty jerk wants to force their belief on others, not just toss out an opinion so thanks for coming out publically in that, but I really dont care what you think others should do or how others should live.......I leave that up to them, you should try it soemtimes.

I am slightly impressed that you can read a book.

omg......who would take a 5th grader (this wasnt a field trip was it??) to a freaking slaughter house????

I have seen enough to know it's nothing any kid should see...let alone an adult. It's horrific and sad that we allow this stuff to go on.

The problem is most of us see our meat processed in it's end form- nicely packaged with a price and expiration date on it. I know humans love to eat meat, but I wonder how many people would still be eating meat if it wasn't industrialized and de-personalized. It's a shame that this is what the modern farming industry has become. If people had to look into the eyes of the animal they had to kill just to get their McDonald's burger, I'm sure we wouldn't have the health and obesity problems we have now with all this gluttonous eating.

Fatty McFurry:

Even if people still had to go out hunting for meat it would not stop. Why industrialized meat market is saving tons of animals that live around the cities and towns in America. Why because the majority of the population don't hunt. You see the industrialization of meat as a bad thing, but it possibly was the best thing for animals.

Do to without it the majority of the population would still be hunters going out everyday trying to bag dinner.

Lots of people ate meat after killing and butchering it themselves, you know, back before there were grocery stores. Didn't stop them then.

I grew up on a ranch and as the oldest son it was my job to do the killing of our soon to be food. We had chickens for eggs, those that quit laying eggs went to the kill pen. My grandmother would tell me to go get three chickens so she could make dinner...which meant I had to go kill three chickens,clean them, wash them and bring them to her. We butchered our own steers for beef every month, along with domestic rabbits and any game I could hunt like deer & turkey. We never bought meat or vegetables (we grew our own).

Now I do the same, raise and butcher my own. If most people had to harvest their own food the population would drop significantly. Most people today are helpless and if some one else does not provide for them they would die.

Azrancher....I think that may be the point of a couple of these posts.....if people had to do it themselves or at least witness the killing, maybe probably would think twice about eating meat.

There are a couple "good" documentaries out now about the incredible inhumanity and to be perfectly honest, the incredible safety issues that are in the process with these huge corporations that have industrialized the meat market. What the corporations have done is turn this into a secretive business and do everything they can from letting the world know what they do in these slaughter house factories.

What you did as a child and still do is much safer and cleaner. These corporations don't want us to realize that.

Rob in Warwick NY
omg......who would take a 5th grader (this wasnt a field trip was it??) to a freaking slaughter house????

Fatty McFurryvia Facebook
The problem is most of us see our meat processed in it's end form- nicely packaged with a price and expiration date on it. I know humans love to eat meat, but I wonder how many people would still be eating meat if it wasn't industrialized and de-personalized.

AzrancherI grew up on a ranch and as the oldest son it was my job to do the killing of our soon to be food.

Can't help but wonder if there would be as many kids up on murder charges if they had been raised on a farm or ranch and understood what killing something really means as opposed to what they see on TV or in a video game.

Some acquaintances bought one of those heritage free range organic turkeys for Thanksgiving. What was shipped to them was an intact bird minus the feathers. Gutting it, removing the head, etc was beyond them and they were so grossed out that they gave it away.

Rob, I am right there with you on that brother. I rasie quality grass fed beef and I eat it and feed it to my family. But after its sold what feeder lots and markets do to it is almost unholy. I always recommend finding a quality butcher shop for meat purchase as they often have a good supplier and sell quality meats and select cuts. Avoid grocery stores and wal-mart type store meats....it horrible if you know meat.

As far as fast food goes...when is the last time anyone actually tasted the beef in their burger????

Vegetarians.....good for you, they will always have my support. Because people should be free to choose for themselves. Just show others that same courtesy. Dont live on salads and tell me I shouldnt eat steak. To each their own.

A lot of us donate as much as we can to shelters and animal rescue organizations. Some of us feel this is important and don't need to show off we're tough guys to impress people.

Ever hear of karma also?

So you pay to elongate the lives of miserable animals in unsanitary cages for years possibly, only to have them euthanized as the end result. Smart, very smart. Oh, and karma just keeps me awake most nights, probably like you crying yourself to sleep on your special pillow in your grandma's basement.

Malthuin, you conviently forget one small fact....this woman would take these horses off people's hands with the promise of them having a good life.

it's one thing, if she reached a point where her kindness just over took her ability to fullfill her promises, but from the sounds of it, her intentions were to get the horses with a wink and a handshake and then as soon as the owner was gone, ship it off to some slaughterhouse to make a quick buck.

I'd like to see her in prison.

hdw1515: I could say the same for you do some research, throw the book at her for what. Horses are now back on the menu. That means its not illegal to sell or buy horses meat to eat in the US.

Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a 5-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up and running in as little as a month.

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9114827-horse-meat-may-be-back-on-the-menu

Don't waste your breath. It's like arguing with 2 year olds. Most of 'em are just talking tough to compensate for their numerous other shortcomings. Makes 'em feel more like a man.

Unless its some new out of the ordinary slaughter house they kill ALL livestock the same way....they are run into the alley and shot in the forehead with an air gun from which a metal spike pops out and pierces the brain causing instant death, pigs/cattle and even horses. They are dead before they hit the floor. Then a person hooks their back legs and they are lifted upside down where another worker slices the neck to drain the blood out, after than its conveyor to another room for disembowlment, conveyor to another room for skinning (hides go to make clothing) and another room for cutting into quarters etc etc....

If you "research" the old US Cavalry manuals from the military this is how soldiers were instructed to humanely put down a horse that was wounded or injured .......you take a piece of chalk and draw a line from the left ear to the right eye, then from the right ear to the left eye....and where the lines cross you place the muzzle of your weapon and shot. I have had to put down a few injured horses and the vet advised this was still a sound and valid method other than IV drugs.

So I did my research, I dont have to like it, but its facts. There is a lot of "truth" I dont like, but it is still truth. Recognizing and accepting that makes you an adult.

Azrancher

Horses are not "killed" the same as cows or pigs .. most horses are not slaughtered at the same facility as pigs and cows but at facilities designed specifically for the slaughter of horses.... the stun bolt gun is not an air pistol and is only designed to render a horse "unconscious beyond feeling pain" not cause instant death so the animal is still breathing and its heart is still beating as it is strung up and the throat slit .. its even been documented on video of horses "coming to" after they have been strung up as the processor is slitting their throats to bleed them out or in the process of gutting them ...go to youtube and search "Canadian horse slaughter" where the inhumane treatment has been caught on hidden cameras in 4 different Canadian slaughterhouses and watch as horses are shot with the stun bolt gun more then once, which is all the regulations state is allowed otherwise its considered cruel and inhumane .... there is one video that shows a horse in the kill box being hit 11 times in the forehead with 2 different stun bolt guns before it was deemed unconscious enough to be strung up, meanwhile its forehead had many holes in it, it was in pain, bleeding and suffering.

I am well aware of where my meat comes from .. we don't eat any beef or pork but do eat fish and poultry and we only buy from our local farmers markets, local fisherman and a small local butcher shop that gets its meats from their own animals which you have to actually place an order for.

I have no issue with anyone who eats what they kill but i am totally against any inhumane treatment involving any food animals where the animal suffers before death and horses suffer the most. the Equine Veterinary Association has deemed horsemeat unsafe to be consumed by humans not only because of the drugs and medications they are given which have been banned by the FDA and USDA for use in any animals raised for human consumption but also because the withdrawl time frame is unknown where as with other food animals the withdrawl period is between 6 months to a year .. horses are not tested to see if they have any levels of the drugs in their systems, 0 is the only acceptable level allowed in any food animal, horses arriving at slaughterhouses either have false documentation about their past drug/medication history or do not have any at all. one of the youtube video shows a semi famous racehorse from the west coast, who won alot of money for his owners and ended up at slaughter when he was retired from racing at the age of 4, .. the medical history that arrived with him stated he had not received any drugs/medications since he was 6 months old yet his real medical paperwork, produced by the vet who vetted him since he was a yearling, clearly documents the horse receiving his yearly vaccinations 2 months prior to his ending up at the slaughterhouse .. vaccination drugs that are on the ban list with the FDA and USDA.

while there are regulations in place for Canadian horse slaughterhouses, they are loosely enforced and paperwork arriving with the horses is very rarely checked, some horses arriving have the wrong documents or incorrect paperwork or no paperwork and no regulations are known to exist for horse slaughterhouses in Mexico where some video has actually documented horses being bashed in the head repeatedly with baseball bats, crowbars and other objects, until they are unconscious or dead, after the stun bolt gun failed to render the horse unconscious after 2 or 3 times.

most horses bought by kill buyers at auction at fat healthy horses .... the skinny, old and sick horses that end up in the slaughter pipeline are usually not bought by kill buyers shipping to Canada and most are turned away at the Mexican border by the slaughterhouses so the kill buyers are taking them to remote areas and just turning them loose to fend for themselves and many die a slow agonizing death by starvation or thirst, many are found with the auction tag still on. if they dont get sold at 1 auction they will either be kept until the next auction with little to no food or water or they are shipped off from auction to auction all over the US until they are sold or die .. which ever comes first

if someone cant afford to have a vet euthanize their horse and have it hauled away, contacting their vet or local humane society can get them information as to where they can take the horse rather then it going to auction and ending up in the slaughter pipeline. there are many legitimate horse rescues all over the US that will take horses for any reason, no questions asked, and either put the horse in foster or on their own property until it is re-homed.

while shooting a horse the old Cavalry way is still considered a humane way of killing a horse, if euthanizing is not an option, since its a fast kill, the owner still has to figure out how to get rid of the body if state or local laws prohibit burying it on the property. if a person has a local zoo with large predatory animals like tigers and lions, they can also contact them as some zoos will take horses to feed the meat eaters and kill them humanely as well.

Do you honestly think your beef doesn't have those same drugs in them? There is also a time limit. If yhou don't know the stock, beef or horse, you are supposed to place them on pasture for a prescribed time period before sending them to slaughter in order to clear our what ever drugs have been used.

Yea right....where do you sell cattle? Land (ie pasture) = money. At 3 steers per acre grazing good grass a herd of 100 steers would require about 35 acres. A slaughterhouse runs 500 head per day at least so each slaughterhouse would require hundreds of acres of cultivated pasture for this "waiting period"???

Not happening. Go visit a slaughterhouse. The come right out of my stocktrailers into a holding pen, they are counted and weighed and run through a dip tank/tunnel to wash off exterior dirt into another holding pen which runs right into the kill room. The first steers are being killed as they average out my weight/count and write my check. Later that same day they come out the other side in boxes and into my refer trailers for delivery.

A feeder lot will buy cattle and hold them in closely packed pens feeding high protien feed and steroids and growth hormones to "beef" them up before selling them to a slaughter house.

There is no 30 day cleansing period, whoever told you that tall tale has a good imagination.

Land (ie pasture) = money. At 3 steers per acre grazing good grass a herd of 100 steers would require about 35 acres.

Off topic but you brought to mind what a grass fed beef ranch up in the mountains not far from here has done. For 750 Gs you can buy a 100 acre building site (pasture), you get use of their guest house/club house or whatever the heck it is, a nice big lake, and they retain grazing rights. Not a bad idea if you have the kind of land that will attract buyers.

Rick:

Once said animal is sold or transferred to new owner its no longer your business, what happens to said animal. If you cared so much about the said animal then don't get rid of it.

Leatherneck> Where the horses ended up is not the issue. The representations made to the formers owners is the issue. I don't have a problem with sending a tired old animal to slaughter. Better than letting the animal die in your back yard.

Rick: better sending a tired old animal to slaughter, than letting the animal die in your back yard.

Do you know for a fact that this person did not try to find a new home and since one could not be found they decided it was better to sell it to a slaughter house, then letting them die out in the backyard so to speak.

For me I find it funny for people to say that this person should get jail, punished or something other done to them.

I go back to the simples truth of why do you ****ing care.

Once said animal is sold or transferred to new owner its no longer your business, what happens to said animal. If you cared so much about the said animal then don't get rid of it.

Latherneck> Evidently the leather also covers your eyes and impairs your understanding. I was very clear in what I said and I did not suggest the trainer be punished in any way. I simply said the entire thing was pathetic. I care about horses as a former horse owner. It's just that simple and that's why I @!$%#ing care.

Rick You Say impairs my understanding of what you said. LOL I restated your argument and add a reply with again my opinion.

Once said animal is sold or transferred to new owner its no longer your business, what happens to said animal. If you cared so much about the said animal then don't get rid of it. Since you care so much for horses.....

So understand, I did understand what you were saying and comprehended it quit well. Again:

The representations made to the formers owners is the issue=

Do you know for a fact that this person did not try to find a new home and since one could not be found they decided it was better to sell it to a slaughter house, then letting them die out in the backyard so to speak. Apart of your argument>>>>>>>>>>

Leatherneck, the only argument I have against what you are saying (letting them die) is in an article on the subject I found where one of the owners of the horse had given her money as well as a few weeks of feed. That horse was shipped to the kill barn within a week of receipt - found by lip tatoos as being the horse in question. According to statements, the prior owner also offered to pay more to have her keep the horse until a suitable home was found.

She presented herself as working with rescue organizations to find homes. Had the prior owners had reasonable beliefs that she would send the horses to slaughter, they would have sought others to re-home the horses.

If my business is to sell horses or meat to Canadian slaughterhouses, what business is that of yours? It in no way harms you. So, until it actually causes harm to others, allowing people to operate in a market of selling horses for slaughter for human consumption should be none of your concern.

We need the slaughter houses. You bleeding hearts that don't know anything about the horse business or animals have already caused more problems that you could ever imagine.

Well, since you seem to know it all Keith-1952, please enlighten us. Or do you prefer to be like everyone else on Internet message boards and just make blanket statements without any real knowledge or information to back up what they say?

It isn't a problem to come up with an example. I know a man whos father has a stable of pretty good stock that raises race horses. He has told his father to will the estate to the State of LA because he couldn't dispose of the old or worthless horses under the laws as they were last year. It would cost him more than the estate is worth to keep the bad horses. Better to give it to the State and let them worry with it.

Just because you don't agree with me doesn't make me wrong Brock. I also was the rescue person for two counties in the State of Washington for a couple of years. If the laws had been as they are now I wouldn't have been able to save the 60 or so horses that I saved. I also sent about 30 to slaughter because they had too much wrong with them to save.

yes I agree ken....she could have called the people who had originally owned the horses & asked them what they wanted her to do when it became impossible for her to keep her promise....she will never have credibility in the horse world & had better study real hard for her next career

Ok, how about this.. On the next KDerby day, tie her down (face up) on the track right at the finish line. Then have the field of 20+ thoroughbreds leave plenty of hoof prints all over her..

Nahh, just kiddin'. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.. (just saying)