Monday, November 17, 2008

A picture says a thousand words...

(Click to see it larger)

Really...what more can I add? $1500, not-broke-to-do-anything-but-breed-APHA-stallion. Sagging barbed wire fence that the horses are reaching through to eat (did they actually feed them on the other side of the fence? Amazing...) Here's the description:

"This guy is gentle but has not been messed with since last summer. Now he does not want to be caught. I am willing to take offers. His DNA has been done. Grandson of BLUE MAX"

$1500 for an unbroke, hony-sized so-not-breeding-quality stallion you're probably going to have to rope to catch. Clearly someone did not get the memo about the state of the horse market! Hey, anybody want to bet those are mares he is turned out with? Next year, he will be for sale for $500...but advertised as a "proven" sire!

And this, boys and girls, is why we still have people arguing we need slaughter. If we'd just stop creating these useless horses, we wouldn't have a useless horse problem. Again, it's not brain surgery: breed good quality and avoid genetic problems via testing wherever possible, train it appropriate to its age, keep it up to date on shots, deworming and feet, and if you intend to keep it as breeding stock, promote it whether that is via horseshows or another competitive event in which it proves itself to be better than most of its peers. If everybody did that, slaughter wouldn't be an issue because there would hardly be any horses cheap enough for that to be their fate.