It is time to speak plainly.
Loudly.
And with purpose.
When I say ‘This is war’! I mean it quite literally. The war on slaughter is becoming far more expansive and far more than any of us can fight alone.
You will see many say ‘We are their voice’. This could not be more true, for to help these horses we MUST speak up where they can not.
Their cries of anguish can be heard in all corners of the world if WE bring enough awareness.
Whether you are religious or not, it holds weight that the bible is riddled with references to ‘Being good shepherds’.
Are we?
‘But now ask the beasts and let them teach you, and the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you .’ (Job 12:7)
Are we listening to them? WHAT are we learning?
And more importantly…
What are we DOING about it?
It is overwhelming, I know. The endless string of horses shipping to slaughter.
The extortion of horses by ‘Kill Buyers’ in America.
The SEEMINGLY surmountable task of forming a plan to affect change on a larger scale.
Overwhelming, it is.
Impossible….it is not.
So yes, ‘This is War’.
Like any war…….it takes an army .
Perhaps you think ‘I can’t do much, I don’t know anything about horses’.
“I can’t do much, I don’t believe in paying kill buyers their extortion feeds’.
‘I don’t have money’.
‘I don’t have land.’
I don’t know how to help’.
‘Someone else will do it, surely’.
I have news for you. You , and I, ARE SOMEONE ELSE!
Every army has divisions., each dedicated to different tasks and no one is less important than another.
In THIS war, we need the same. Leaders. STRONG voices. A coalition.
Those who bail.
Those who haul . Those with land. Those who raise the roof with phone calls, letters, public relations, social media, networking.
Euthanasia stations for those too weak, too far gone, that should be KINDLY euthanized and no longer extorted for their suffering.
YES, in the world we now live this also takes FUNDING. So very little from MANY would create staggering results.
Yes, there is a ‘Safe Act’ in the works, and should that pass….
Fantastic.
WHERE….will all the unwanted horses go? The literal bottleneck of thousands of horses.
THAT is where my focus is, and it is imperative there be a PLAN!
Which brings me back to the army .
We must build it. We MUST spread more awareness, we MUST unite and raise our voices.
It is no longer an option to sit idly by, lest we repeat what former generations have done and think….
‘Someone else will sort it out.’
We….are ‘Someone else’.
If you have a passion for horses, for affecting change……for making this a BETTER world for our horses ….
Please.
As how to help. There are so very many ways, and this will take ALL of us.
We will never all agree on everything. . . .
But we will ALL agree that this must change.
No one of us can do it all..
But we can ALL do something.
And together…..so much more.
YOU can help.
Ask us how.
Randi L. Collier
The war
Randi , YOUR PASSION , YOUR HEART, SO BEAUTIFUL…THE LOVE AND CARE YOU GIVE THESE HORSES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE.
I AM RETIRED AND DISABLED AND AM TIGHT ON FUNDS. I FOSTER A FEW ???ALL I
CAN DO RIGHT NOW IS MY SCRIBBLES OTHER. THAN.DONATE A COUPLE OF $
WITH PAY PAL. IF YOU HAVE A SUGESSTION JUST SEND PRIVATE MESS.IT ‘S EASIER..TOO MANY GMAILS. EFFIE ??❤
The cornerstone should be starting at education. All the money that the KB’s are making off of horses that are set to be shipped has to be funneled into education. The horses on FB are NOT in danger of being shipped. The KB’s never show you the horses that are used to fill their quota. They buy certain horses for the primary reason of extortion. They get everybody all worked into a frenzy to “save” a particular horse because otherwise it faces being shipped to slaughter in a short few days. This is a LIE! They are making a bundle of money, the slaughter pipeline is still filled with horses and the horse you’re raising money for is already safe. Yes, this is a war and their will be casualties. Unfortunately, we have to hit them hard where they profit most. That involves not failing for this million dollar extortion scheme. Stay with me, there is a way out but it will (like you said) take an army but it needs to be an army focusing their money at the source of the problem not at a scheme. So, let’s start where the problem starts and pour our money into changing laws while we wait on the SAFE Act. That way when it finally passed we don’t have 100,000 horses a year to find homes for all at once…that would be a huge mess with many horses dying and suffering a different kind of pain. So let’s prepare!! Step one: do not give another penny to a KB for any reason and raise heck with FB to get this fake scheme stopped. Step two: pour all our money into the reason we have so many extra horses… big breeders. We need to take away breeding incentives. Say you are a quarter horse breeder (who can register every foal produced out of any stud they own) each year. Let’s break that down to where they can only register X amount of horses per year period! This will effect a more responsible program and cut the numbers of horses landing in the wrong place. significantly. We go after the Jockey Club the same way. They produce hundreds of thousands of horses trying to get that one horse that will make them infamously rich (like Secretariat, Seabiscuit, etc. Restricting registrable foals along with them no longer being able to dump horses at auctions for slaughter will make a huge dent. Then we tackle a US pharmaceutical company with billions to spend (so we need to save up) and stop them from making hormone replacement drugs from the urine of pregnant mares. Research this…it is an unending hell for the mares involved. I won’t go into detail at the moment as it’s very easy to google and find out the horrifying details. To recap: stop giving the bad guys money, cut breeders off so they can no longer receive breeding incentives and stop the use of pregnant mare’s urine for HRT. The numbers will drop but it will also put into perspective the reality of owning a horse as there will no longer be a place to dump them when little Sally doesn’t want to feed her pony anymore or mom and dad find out how expensive and time consuming owning a horse that can live to 30 (sometimes more) years. A nationwide campaign that makes people aware that the minute they get a horse they need to have money set aside for its death. Now we are forcing owners to do it right. The excuse of “I don’t have the money to have my horse PTS and buried” is no longer a viable response. That horse gave you his soul…it’s our duty to give them a dignified end to their journey. One final piece and I will shut up. We support our local reputable rescues like nobody’s business. Now those animal neglect cases that are next to impossible to prevent at least have a soft place to land. This problem is multifaceted and so should be the solution. We have to throw our money in the right direction as a nation. This is a war…there will be casualties. So let’s make those lives all for naught. They most be the motivation for a nationwide public campaign. Let’s change the preconceived notion that they are livestock because they aren’t. We need to act now to save our largest companions from a horrific end. Sooner than later, please!
Christy Taylor
Freelance writer