After all, you're gonna need it to hold her up like this poor creature after those back tendons snap!
AQHA Buckskin colt, yearling, tall, show condition, groomed, clipped, quiet. $3700
Black filly with white markings, no papers, sensible, ridden through, 3 y.o. No saled.
Small pony with BAD BAD BAD stringhalt...ridden through by girl who HAD to be 15 or 16. Poor pony. Pictured left. (Look, he's so broke I can ride him backwards! I'm cool!)$175.
Dark bay QH mare, small mare, total saint. Dealt with tail skiing. No shit, some guy grabbed her tail and she dragged him like he was water skiing without blinking an ear. No papers but, damn, she was a bargain. $270I am beyond disappointed at having to write this blog entry.
The rescuer in question is someone who has tirelessly campaigned against horse slaughter. I have been appreciative, for years, of his efforts in this regard. The problem is, when you're out there telling the politicians that ending horse slaughter is the right thing to do and that people will have to be responsible for their horses...you gotta walk the walk. If you don't, it invalidates your entire argument. And for that reason, today, I am terribly, terribly sorry that this individual has become the de facto spokesperson of the anti-slaughter movement. With this posting on the net, and these admissions, he has basically given the pro-slaughter forces more ammunition than President Reagan gave the contras.
I am so, SO disappointed. Beyond words.
Here's the text in case this is deleted from their site, which wouldn't surprise me. My comments are in blue.
The latest breaking news from The Laughing Horse Sanctuary: WE ARE DESPERATE FOR HAY!
Yes folks I said it...DESPERATE! Here in Sandy Level, we have had no rain. I'm not lying about this; none since June. I would post pictures of our pastures for you but it's too depressing to photograph and honestly it looks like January. We have looked everywhere we can think of (within financial reason) for hay around here and the whole region of Southwest Virginia is suffering. Oh we can buy hay for $35 a roll or more but we can't afford that. Currently, no rain is expected to this area and even if we got some, it's too late for hay.
News flash: Hay is like gasoline. The demand is high, it's a necessity, and therefore the prices are high. This should not come as a surprise to anyone. It was the same way last winter. Assuming that rain will fall and everybody will just eat grass all summer and budgeting based upon that gamble is beyond foolish.
So if anybody knows where we can get hay, either by donation or we will buy (at a reasonable price) LET ME KNOW! It doesn't even have to be "horse" hay. Cattle hay will do just fine but it will have to be delivered to us. We have 18 mustangs (The Wild Bunch) here plus the more mellow ones and they need food.
There is no hay "at a reasonable price" unless you're in the midwest. You can, however, buy a semi load there and have it hauled to you by an independent trucker. This shakes out cheaper than what you'll pay locally. It's what the hay brokers and feed stores in your area do. Of course you have to have cash up front and most people don't, which is why the hay brokers and feed stores are making a good profit right now.
The Wild Bunch are doing good. You noticed that I said 18. Yeah, well when you have stallions and mares together and no effective way to separate them, nature steps in and that's where babies come from! Lucky for us, two of the babies have been spoken for so it will be 16 when they are at weaning age. We now (finally) have a round pen and Tom has been working with Whisper, who is now a 2-year-old. We're hoping to get Whisper to the "easy to handle" point and then go to work on the next 2-year-old, which would be Gypsy's Star. The older mares and those stallions will be harder.
I couldn't be more disappointed. Dear God, what did you think you were going to do with mustangs reproducing like bunnies? And what do you mean there is no way to separate them? Hot tape and T posts are cheap! Is this because you can't catch them? News flash, other rescues that work with unhandled adult stock figure it out. They do what they have to ... feed-through tranquilizers, chasing into a catch pen, chute, whatever... and pretty soon Mr. Mustang will never sire another foal. This is not that hard! How can you run around screaming about ending slaughter and responsible ownership for years and then practice the worst form of irresponsible ownership in your own backyard? What were you thinking? Don't you realize how BADLY this discredits literally EVERYTHING you have ever had to say on the topic?
Some of you know and some of you don't know that Tom's health has declined a bit with his pulmonary fibrosis brought on by working with depleted uranium ammo. Thank you Persian Gulf War! It is for that reason that we are switching our focus to more of a retirement home. Tom just doesn't have the strength or breath to work with horses like he would want to. We therefore, will no longer be accepting horses unless they are orphan foals or healthy older horses. We are truly sorry but with just Tom doing the work and me furiously working at my job to provide funds to this rescue, we simply cannot do it. We totally salute those of you who can.
So now we come in with the typical bad health/no help excuse. Ugh. You know what, help is cheap. It really is. You smack an ad on Craigslist and you can find all sorts of young, strong guys to come out and work for $10 an hour. I found a guy to come out and pound t-posts in for me in literally 15 minutes. He was great. People are happy for the work. If Tom can't stand up to the physical demands of working with unhandled stock due to his health, that is understandable. Why doesn't Tom go get a desk job so that you can hire some help? It's this kind of poor-me, throw up the hands, I just don't know what to doooooooo, someone please help us or send us money stuff that drives me insane. Figure it out. It could be the solution here is euthanizing 16 unwanted mustangs. I know rescues that WILL pay for that. I can give you a referral.
For those of you who don't know the story of The Wild Bunch they were 10 (now 18) of the hitchhiking horses rescued from Slick Gardner's California ranch who arrived here on December 1, 2004. They were a little hungry when they first arrived here since they hadn't had anything to eat since Oklahoma City and the green grass in this pasture looked really good to them. They passed by the grain we had out for them because they had never had grain before and didn't know what it was but quickly learned. We had originally thought we were getting six, but destiny being what it is we ended up with 10. Yes 10! Six of these horses are only babies (six months old or younger). What does this mean? It means we need lots of help! Donations are nice but to tell you the truth what we really need are more hands out here helping out. More fencing needs to go up and we need people who are willing to spend time in a pasture with these horses helping them to realize that human beings are okay. Yes it can be boring sitting in a chair for hours with grain trying to entice a horse to come see you but it needs to be done and would be very helpful.
Again, help is cheap on Craigslist. Hire some. As for people willing to sit and commune with mustangs, your experience should be showing you that it is hard to find those people. It is hard to find volunteers to do horse stuff in general. Hey, we have a girl who came by wanting to volunteer. So far, she's done it once in a month. That's ok. We can do the work whether or not we have help. If we have some help, it's a nice little surprise gift for that afternoon. That's how you have to view volunteers. If you are relying upon volunteers to get necessary work done, you're in trouble. Any rescue will tell you that.
The thought that someone trucked these horses 3000 miles cross country so that they could sit on a different coast and breed like bunnies is giving me a headache. I wonder who paid for that? Probably a bunch of bleeding hearts on the Internet who thought they were doing a good thing. Argh.
So if you live in this area or know people who live in this area, hop in your car and come on out. Please? Pretty please?
Our philosophy is simple. We believe there is no such thing as a bad horse, only a misunderstood horse.
That sounds lovely in theory. Unfortunately, try to compile a list of people who want to adopt the biting, striking, knock you over, misunderstood horse, and you will see that it is a very short list.
We also believe that the practice of horse slaughter for human consumption is deplorable and the fact that this practice goes on in our so-called enlightened times and civilized society is horrifying to us since we in America do not consume horsemeat. If you would like to know more about slaughter, please go to our Slaughter Page and do visit some of the pages we have listed in Links.
I'm completely anti-slaughter. But I'm also anti-irresponsible breeding which LEADS to slaughter. You should be, too. What the hell, how could you have let 8 more mustangs just happen? How? How? What kind of rationalization did you dream up to justify this situation taking place in your own backyard?
We also believe firmly that there are NO UNWANTED HORSES, only horses that have been unfortunate in their lives. No matter what the breed, be it a high-priced Friesian or an everyday Quarter Horse, any horse can end up in a situation where they are abused, starved, neglected or even worse, consigned to the slaughterhouse and their meat shipped overseas to be sold as a delicacy.
I disagree. There ARE unwanted horses. Shit, you've got 18 unhandled mustangs in your backyard and I think you're about to find out just how unwanted they are. You don't want them, do you? Right now they are a financial burden you can't handle, and you can't train them, and you're tired of the struggle. They're unwanted horses, and you created 8 of the 18. You created horses who have an extremely poor chance of a future that does not end on a plate. What the hell were you thinking?
The Laughing Horse Sanctuary is also heavily involved in providing educational materials to the public as it relates to horse nutrition, husbandry, safe handling and the difficult end-of-life options other than slaughter. And believe me there are tons of other options and as far as we are concerned, slaughter is not an option and we will fight for as long as it takes to see this practice stopped.
Oh lord, my head hurts. It's the blind leading the blind. Husbandry? Who the hell are you to lecture anybody about responsible animal husbandry? You have 18 mustangs and you're working with one of them? How are their feet getting done? I'm guessing NOT. If you had knocked them out for hoof trimming, you could have gelded them. Deworming? Vet care? You have a herd of horses you can't touch that you left stallions in to breed indiscriminately. You flunked the test, in spades. In terms of responsible horse ownership, you drove off a cliff with your eyes closed.
If you love animals as much as we do, then come on down and visit for a while. We are always looking for kind-hearted, horse and dog-loving people to give us a hand with brushing and gentling and as an added bonus the coffee pot is always full.
Yeah, 'cause everybody's dying to come work with your batshit unhandled mustangs for a cup of joe...And I've got news for you. You don't love animals. You think you do, just like the crying girl at the shelter who is giving up her dog because her boyfriend doesn't like it, or the family who "sadly" has to place their cat due to a move. It's bullshit. A real animal lover would have tranq'ed those stallions and gelded them in the first week.
THANKS FOR READING AND THANKS FOR CARING!!
I wish you'd cared enough to tranq those things and geld them.
Again...if you are going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. I understand that nothing I say has a value unless I live by it myself...and in keeping with that, I will now log off and get off my butt and go out and start mucking.
"Buck is not broke, we have just bred him a few times and have petted him... but he is not in the least bit mean.. he will come to you when you cll him and he is very curious.. would not take much to have him working in just about any way.. he just needs a good home and a gentle touch.. just give me any e-mail."
He was a $200 mustang stallion. He's now marked as sold. My $200 says he's on a plate in France before his foals hit the ground. LOOK AT HIS DAMN HOOF. You sure didn't pet him while he was having a hoof trim, did you? Not to mention his hipbones. How do you have a skinny mustang? Mustangs are air ferns. Argh.
"All around horse loves attention and loves to work. I've swam him, been on a cattle round up, and been around rodeos. Lots of trail riding. He loves cattle and working around them but he is no cutting horse his head is wired to his rear end not the front. sliding stops and role backs. Needs experienced rider. (LIKE YOUR BABY?????????)Very very smart. Not positive on birth date."
You know, Britney Spears got investigated by CPS for having her baby in a car without a car seat. Don't we all agree that a car is safer for a child than an unrestrained Thoroughbred standing in a shitty cattle barn with a low hanging beam that he is going to bonk his head on?
*sigh* Can someone in Eastern Washington go get this horse? I hate to encourage asshats but I want this nice boy to go to a home where they own some grooming implements and a waterproof blanket before winter. He looks beyond sweet and I am afraid the mention of swimming will cause some Omak Suicide Race participant to go pick him up. Besides, these kind of asshats keep e-mailing me and thanking me for the free publicity, so there ya go, everybody wins.
OK, just a small detour here to ask "WTF??? Are you encouraging this stuff to happen?"
And then it gets worse...
OK, I really do want one of you in the local area to get involved on this if you can. We will all be so grateful. Listen up, NO HATE CALLS OR NASTY-GRAMS TO THE OWNER. THE HORSE NEEDS TO GET SAVED FIRST. Argh. I hate people. People suck. I see things like this and I want to buy 100 acres in the middle of nowhere, install satellite internet, and retire from communicating with the outside world. *rescuer head explodes*
Posted to Spokane Craigslist. This is about the Central Washington Livestock Auction in Moses Lake. The person who posted this is Bill Demers. Well, hooray for you, Bill Demers. I am guessing you are not a "crazy animal rights activist" or a "bleeding heart woman who isn't realistic," just two of the epithets I've heard assigned to people who believe old, crippled horses should be put to sleep instead of canned.
For anybody who thinks that you can't change public opinion...read this. You can. It's not just the animal activists who are disgusted when you take your old horse, that you have allowed to go downhill miserably, to the auction. It's your neighbors. Your friends. The people you work with. Everybody is getting the message that this behavior is NOT okay.
Horses for meat --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: sale-466438167@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-11-01, 7:49PM PDT
The Auctioneer at Saturdays auction said no more old, crippled, injured, swaybacked or unsalable horses will be accepted. The meat market will no longer accept these. The price of feed has made the price of horses drop to unbelievably low prices. Many nice horses were not even bringing 150.00 dollars. All horses must be inspected before unloading. A 25.00 dollar fee will now be charged for all horses and must be paid before the horse is unloaded. If you have one of these horses do what is right for an old friend and have him or her put down by your vet!
~~~~~~~~~~
Now, along the same lines...this news story came out:
Dead ponies dumped near popular trail
The news, of course, is acting like this is some kind of sadistic pony murder - which I think there's about a 1% chance of. Meanwhile, all of the pro-slaughter folks are going to jump on this and blame it on slaughter being made illegal (even though that's totally nonsensical, because the kill buyers are right there at Enumclaw, maybe 45 minutes away, tops). Now everybody is hunting down these folks. I predict what happened is they couldn't afford hay (current prices here: orchard grass: $13.50/bale, timothy: $16/bale) and they WEREN'T big enough asshats to turn the ponies over to a killer, but they couldn't afford euth and disposal. So they did it themselves, albeit in a bad location. Was it cruelty? Well, I haven't seen the carcasses so I can't tell you if they were good shots or not. But this IS going to happen until we all accept that healthy horses are going to have to be euthanized because of hay prices and the glut of horses on the market, just like healthy puppies and healthy kittens - and we do something to help the low income people who can't come up with the (in that area) $500-$600. Times two ponies, that's a $1000. It's no wonder this happened. I'll be shocked if it turns out this wasn't the reason.
One of my best friends is an animal control officer. She has to put down pets every day. Nice pets, mean pets, mixed breed pets, purebred pets, old pets, baby pets. Pets that some spineless douchebag dropped off for her or another employee to deal with. It is not a fun thing to have to do, but it is necessary. (For those of you who believe no-kill is possible, please post your address and we'll bring 75 pit bulls with various issues over to live in your yard.)
I've been heavily involved in rescue and (gasp! horrors!) animal rights for a long time. I don't eat meat, I cheer when companies go cruelty-free (and I don't care if they do it because of ethics or because they're scared of the ALF folks), I really do think you should have to sell your possessions for cash if your animal needs vet care and you're broke, but let me tell you, I do not believe no kill is possible. Not for dogs, cats, or horses. Not as long as selfish and lazy humans exist, and we all know we have no way of making them extinct. Let's just suck it up and make sure a humane euthanasia (whether it's chemical or a gunshot from a trained professional) - and a disposal that doesn't endanger public health - is affordable for everyone.
One final note: My oldest cat is being put to sleep today. His name is Bud Man (yes, he came with it) and he is twenty and he's a Russian Blue (no, not the typical blue-gray cat that everybody calls a Russian Blue, but an exotic looking wedge head that I've had breeders identify as most likely purebred). 21 months ago, I pulled him out of the West Valley shelter in Los Angeles, at age 19. His owner had been "transferred." (Apparently to the moon, where you cannot bring your nineteen year old cat.) So Pet Owner of the Year dumped him in the shelter where he sat meowing for someone to save him, and of course I saw him online and drove over on a Saturday morning and bailed his little butt out. Well, in case Bud's original owner is reading this - or you have a friend who had an old gray cat named Bud who abruptly disappeared when he/she moved from Los Angeles - Bud has had a nice 21 months. He's slept in front of the space heater and sunned himself and batted the younger kitties in the face on occasion. No thanks to Asshat Former Owner. Now his heart has gone bad and his limbs are swollen and we can't fix that, so today he will go to Kitty Heaven. Today his time is up. 21 months ago, he was fat and shiny and had a ton of life left, but you didn't care. You cared about your own convenience. And that attitude is why we have a cat problem...and a dog problem...and a horse problem...Shame on you.
2. Once you got 'em so tired that they are swaying and have their feet splayed out for support, that's the time to get on 'em with no halter. There ain't nothin' that impresses those ole scaredy cat lady customers like ridin' 'em with nothin' on!
3. Look, he's a couch! See all them coils of rope left underneath his feet? This is what we call larning to ground tie! Either he'll stand still or he'll get wound up and fall on the ground and larn him a real good lesson.
4. Hey everybody, watch this! I'm King of the Hill!I guess I should have posted this yesterday, to have something scary up on Halloween!
Gawd, not only is this thing structurally yucky (check out the shoulder, he should ride with all the smoothness and comfort of an Army issue Jeep), but he is small, skinny, wormy looking and appears to be living in a place that resembles the surface of the Moon. Nice.
The best part, as always! - is the delusion displayed in the ad text. My comments in blue, as usual.
"Juju is a tobiano paint colt who will be 2 in april. He is on the smaller side which is why i am selling him. Did you know that when you feed them properly, they grow? It's true! It's like magic! My friend has a 13.3 hand stocky, filled-out five month old - perhaps I can send you a picture for reference? I am very sad to sell him becasue he is an awesome horse. He has been worked with since birth (imprinted)and has THE BEST temperment. It's freakin' amazing how quiet they are when they're skinny and wormy, isn't it? You wouldn't want to feed them and make them hot or anything! He has no stud habits and is willing to do anything. Of COURSE, he's NOT GELDED, how did I just fucking KNOW? Since that shitty shoulder and hip just scream Stallion Quality! Juju has packed a saddle, 3 yr olds have sat on him and been led around of course they have, $10 said you'd be Mom of the Year along with Breeder of the Year, loads in trailer(practically on his own) well duh he's hoping to be taken somewhere there is some decent food! I'd load too!, stands for ferrier I always wonder who the ferrier is. Does he have fur and a tail? No wait, that's the furrier. No, wait, maybe the furrier hunts ferriers? That must be it. and vet, bathes ,clips and ties. This is going to be the easiest horse to finish and a perfect child's horse. I was really hoping to keep him becasue who is this Beca Sue you keep talking about? he has great markings he's a garden variety tobiano like a thousand other colts headed for slaughter as we speak and a one of a kind temperment. If kept as a stud i honestly think he will remain laid back and very calm. If kept as a stud, I will hurl. He loves kids and loves attention. He's hoping those kids have food, too. He is not stupid! He will back up if you pull on his tail as opposed to kicking you in the head which is what he really should do and he naturally overstrides what? Are you talking about overreaching like it's a good thing? I'm lost... little kids walk him down the road with no problem. He walks over tarps, through water, over logs, anything you name it he is willing to try in the hopes that he will be rewarded with food. He has NEVER bit or kicked or offered a buck to anyone Again, amazing how underfeeding guarantees a good "temperment" every time! It's the lazy horse trainer's key to success! . This horse is truely awesome. At this point I would have to agree that he is awesomely tolerant and deserves a better home! I have more pictures that i can send upon request. I am asking $2000 because i feel he is worth that and way more. I feel that George Clooney should stop dating those scrawny models and find a nice girl like myself who can clean a mean stall, but that feeling is not based in reality. Neither is yours. I will consider all offers. He is up to date on all vaccinations. Dont miss out on this excellent horse. Im not sure how tall he will be so he may be a pony or small horse. Both his parents were 15.2 hands. and he would have been too if he weren't stunted thanks to you. I would finish him on my own but he is too small for me. since there has been PLENTY of food for me, that's been a high priority budget item, way above buying that expensive California hay!"
And the madness continues...
