Horses in my area

It will when all animals are no longer viewed as disposable. I live out in the country. I have over 30 cats, 16 dogs and horses. 90% of my cats/dogs are drop offs that people just ASSumed that I'd take because I live on a nice ranch with plenty of room to romp and play. They didn't take into account that I already have animals and might not take them. One guy actuaally threw his black lab puppy out of his truck as he drove off. I watched as the puppy landed in a ditch in front of my house. He wound up having a broken back and to this day, still has back problems. But he's a great dog. Just like the 20+ cats that have been dropped off. I can't imagine my life without them, but I just shake my head when another one walks up, thin or just scared out of it's mind after being thrown out of a car or just let go after it's known love and a warm bed all the years it's been alive until now. I tracked down one woman who dumped her cat on my property. She said she "let it go" at my house because she saw another tortise shell cat in my window and thought they could be "Friends" since she had just had twins and the cat "aggrivated" the babies. @@ I just don't get it either.

that is very sad...I hope you're able to keep up, they are great companions.

Unfortunately the cost of feed has continued to go up while the value of horses has gone down unless you have a horse that is trained for specific uses, (rodeo, hunter jumper, equitation, reining, cutting, ect.) At the local horse sale this past fall, I saw some very nice 5-9 year old well broke horses go for under 300$. Because of the cost of gas/diesel, farmers have run into increased costs to harvest grain and hay. The problem that I see more often than not is that people want a horse to have as a "pet" or think it would be neat to have one to look at in their yard, without fully understanding the cost of care and feeeding it requires. Another problem is the horse breeders who continue to breed horses when they can't sell the previous few year's foal crops, but they keep right on breeding mares. It's not unlike the puppy mills and stuff at some places.

probably not - people just don't take into account the cost of caring for their animals and it is the poor animals that suffer... There are some refuge places and the local humane society and there is always someone who wants a horse for nothing...

We can only hope. The slaughter houses in the United States have thankfully been closed down, but this does not stop the hundreds of thousands of horses that are still shipped to Mexican and Canadian borders, as well as other countries, for slaughter. There is currently a bill stating that horses should not be transported or have anything to do with slaughter in the United States, but it is not yet a law; we can only hope that it becomes one. As for now, all we can do is take good care of our own horses and try to save ones in need.