Going toward Spotted Eagle, there are horses to the west, that have no shelter, standing in water, small pens. Breaks your heart to see them standing alone, with their heads down, no where to go. Does this mean they were there all winter with no shelter? Will they be there all summer with no shelter? If this is a boarding stable, can't the owner(s) bear some responsibility? How much would it cost to put a tarp, something to give the animals something. PLEASE. If they can't afford it, I will gladly donate.

I think that is the Boarding for the college if i remember correctly

Thank you; I will get in touch with them.

Those pens were empty earlier in the week. Might be using temporarily for BHS or some such use.

Thanks Steve, that makes me feel a LOT better!

What do you think range horses do when it rains? They turn their butt to the rain and do fine without protection. This is not normal weather and these pens usually don't have standing water in them that I know of.

I go by there all the time and those horses are always there.Some shelter would be the kind thing to do.Open range horses have a few more options.

This is Montana, not a high dollar equestrian center, drive around and get used to it!

I'm going to be kind and not saying anything to the people that know no better.

Fun Fact: Water is not harmful to horses.

But it is so full of dihydrogen monoxide which can be lethal.

READ UP HERE!
http://www.dhmo.org/

ps. i know.

that website does not exactly tell what Dihydrogen Monoxide is.. it just says what it causes and where its found ect... but not what it is :/
LOL i should have known you was being sarcastic.. haha jokes on me...

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...n_Monoxide

[This message has been edited by Michael LaFayette (5/22/2011)]

[This message has been edited by Michael LaFayette (5/22/2011)]

What a bunch of uncaring people on here. But then there are certain ones that always are. I won't bother to respond again.

We're not uncaring, we've just actually spent many hours and years around horses, cattle, etc. and actually know what bothers them and what doesn't. Believe it or not, these animals are really, really well adapted to being outside...in their natural habitat. Even horses on the range stand in water and out in the open when it's raining. And the sun doesn't bother them. It's only animals that have been babied and acclimated to climates they're not used to, like barns, that struggle in normal weather... which includes rain.

Good point, Stewart. It all comes down to how they're raised as to what they can or cannot tolerate.

I also agree with Stewart.

So... now that we've agreed upon what should be done with WET horses, how about OLD horses?

Or to put it another way: Is the cannery a kindness?

Discuss.

Or to put it another way: Is the cannery a kindness?

Yes

Having watched a couple horses who, according to their owners, "deserved to stay on the ranch as long as they wanted to" get so thin that you could count their ribs from 50 feet away and eventually die of starvation during the winter because they didn't have teeth to chew their hay I would say yes, there reaches a point where you're not doing them any favors by keeping them around.

I second that Levi. The same goes with permanently lame or injured horses. I'd rather put them out of their misery than watch them hobble around for years.

Ironically in my experience the horses we use the most are the healthiest while the ones that are ornery and don't get ridden much are the ones that end up lame or injured. And these aren't horses locked up in a corral, they're running around on the range so they get plenty of exercise.

Too bad some nut in Kentucky with way more money than sense got the legislation passed to do away with canneries. Now the horses are packed into trucks and hauled over the border where we have no control over the humaneness of the slaughter. Or shot in the head and not put to any good use other than fertilizer for some hole in the ground.

Thank you for the truth and common sense concerning a natural occurance like rain, mud and horse slaughter, all of which need to exist for the sake of the animals themselves.

Yes, it is uncomfortable to talk to those that want to treat animals more like humans,through lack of information, but that being said, those that use and raise livestock of any kind, the first priority is the welfare of the animals that serve them and you if it is a meat animal.
Horses are livestock and due to the end of canneries, it has resulted in a glut of horses people cannot or do not want anymore, because when there is no outlet for such, there is no value to the lower end animals even though they may be decent animals, no value equals no one wants them anymore, and it has created a vicious cycle that has affected the values of even top end horses in a huge big dollar industry. All because outsiders do not understand, adn do not seem to really care, or the well-meaning legislation would never have happened, removing horse slaughter has hurt horses more than any other single factor.

Meat and eggs do not originate in a grocery store, and those that make a living raising or caring for these animals, have to take the best care of them as possible and keep up with best ways for handling of both livestock and the land used for them.
In other words, they are stewards of both land and livestock to the fullest as a big part of maintaining and incerasing efficacy and profit of their business, just like Farmers do for their crops and many do both, raising feed and hay for their own use and to sell.