HorseCountryonline Editorial                                                            May 20, 2008 Since many of our “concerned citizens” have been successful in shutting down all legally licensed horse disposal plants in the United States it leaves one to wonder what the alternative is.  Organizations that promote an all or nothing outcome often fail to assess the consequences of their actions.  They play on people’s emotions and distort the facts and never seem to realize that real common sense solutions usually lay somewhere in the middle. While there were some legitimate claims of abuse in the transportation of these horses to the plants, in most cases there were laws in place to prevent such abuse.  The aim should have been at strengthening existing regulations instead of eliminating an entire industry.  It is also understandable that the sentiment of the public would side against this type of industry and it is true that there were many horses that found their way to the plants that should not have.   All of that does not undermine that fact that there is a legitimate need for such facilities here in the U.S. whether we like it or not. Certainly horse ownership is a huge responsibility and should not be taken lightly and I am certain that most horse owners truly enjoy the pleasure of equine companionship. But there are situations beyond our control when we must be real about our options. What do you do when your horse is injured or develops a respiratory problem beyond repair that prevents him with any kind of physical activity ever again?  If it is a younger animal are you going to put two to three thousand dollars a year in feed in him for the next fifteen years until he dies of old age?  No true horseman likes to destroy an animal but sometimes it must be done. Obviously you can have the animal euthanized but today with most rendering plants shut down the only option available is to bury the animal yourself, which may be a huge problem for someone living in an area where that may not be possible. Few would disagree that the wholesale slaughter of horses purely for profit should not be allowed.  There should be a remedy out their somewhere.  Perhaps if those responsible for shutting down the killing plants would open up a facility and provide the funding to feed ten to fifteen thousand horses a year and let them live out their lives naturally ---- forget it, it won’t happen.  Maybe a better approach would be to reopen a few “test” plants and allow only truly disabled animals with a Veterinary concurrence to be put to rest. _________________________________________________________________ Go Big Brown, go.  Will he become the next Triple Crown winner?  My money says yes. .