i personally have seen the effects of unwanted horses and not being able to feed ones horses. Our family belong to Spirit Equine Rescue and recently helped with the rescue of over 30 horses where the owner was unable to care for them. It was awful to see the conditions of the horses and their surroundings. It is organizations like these that should have the most support! Local shelters and volunteers put blood, sweat and tears into saving animals. Animals that had choice but to become domestic "pets". Please support all local organizations and shelters. Especially because you never know when you might need these shelters yourself.

my gosh! Evansvillehousewife.. "elect to euthanize your animals"...wow. You think you are being HUMANE?? I agree, to have them run free is horrible, but you say it so casually. I think a better answer is to not have pets in the first place. I certainly hope you dont have any more!

I would eat mac & cheese and ramen noodles every day before I'd put my pets out in the street. Saying that, I don't have any children left at home to feed either. These are horrible times and unfortunately, pets & livestock are going to suffer first. If everyone would just pitch in a little tiny bit, it would make a BIG difference, I think.

I totally disagree with you evansvillehousewife. Life is about choices; kids are not cheap either, would you turn them loose on the streets or kill them? People need to live within their means! I am all about horses and we have four of them, they are like our kids and I could never say that slaughter would be a good answer-EVER.

AMEN! And please do not get me wrong, I love my horses too! I would prefer they go to slaughter rather than starvation or worse, being hit by a car and killing someone because they have been turned loose to fend for themselves!

This doesn't surprise me one bit. The economy has turned south, and people are electing to feed their kids before horses.
See, in 2007 the animal luvvers in Cook County ( read: URBAN non-horse owners) lived under this illusion that horseys were sweet, luvable, and should be treated like lap dogs. They voted to ban horse slaughterhouses, where injured, old, or unwanted horses went, reducing the population of homeless horses sitting around.

As a result, there are no horse processors in the USA, SO, except for the few unfortunates that get shipped to mexican slaughterhouses (where there are NO humane rules like in the US), unwanted horses have no outlet.
In reality, a horse is 1000 pounds with the reflexes of a deer and a daily feed bill of about $10. They are livestock, plain and simple.
Imagine what our streets would look like if no cats or dogs were put to sleep and just let loose and allowed to starve.
In many states, people are letting their horses loose. There are a few in Governor state park, and my sheriff contact in Tennessee says the Rocky mountains are full of them. As these are domestic animals, they are having a tough time.
I despise the thought of my horses, or anyone elses pets- going to slaughter- which is why I elect to euthanize my animals. It makes me sad to think of horses being turned into steaks.
BUT- we have what we WANT, and we have the reality. The reality is horses are EXTREMELY expensive, and after hay, grain, land, fencing, vet, and farrier bills, less and less people can afford them.
I know ALL rescues are going through horribly tough times. I know no rescue that is operating out of the red.
I feel for the horses, and the people. But I think that horse slaughter should be legal.