Things to Ponder

So, eighteen horses were recently surrendered to the Humane Society by a man who, by his own admission, could not physically or financially care for them any longer. An article in today's paper said that 16 of the 18 had already been adopted. The remaining yearling filly and an 18 year old stallion are in a foster home. The family that adopted the other stallion thought he would "make a nice addition to their herd". They are hoping he will produce offspring that will be more compact. My first question is this--Why was he not gelded before he was adopted out? Had these been dogs or cats they all would have been spayed or neutered prior to going to their new homes. Seems to me that the responsible thing would have been to geld him or to at least have a no breeding agreement in the adoption contract to help prevent more horses from being produced. I believe the HSUS has a no breeding agreement as part of their standards. My next question is this--What kind of requirements did these adoptive families have to meet in order to qualify as an adoptive family? Did they have to meet certain standards as far as housing? shelter from nasty weather? proper feed? vet care? What requirements had to be met in order to ensure that these horses went to loving homes where they will never be cold, hungry, neglected? The two young men who arrived to pick up the adopted stallion had to bring along another guy because they have trouble loading horses. What?? Why do they think that breeding more horses is a good idea if they aren't capable of doing something as basic as loading them into trailers? Are they lacking in other areas of horse handling abilities? I know that even the most skilled horseman/horsewoman can have trouble loading a horse that doesn't want to load. But it just makes a person wonder. And what about the man who was responsible for the horses in the first place? Sure, he surrendered them of his own accord. But some of them were thin and under nourished. Some had injuries. What part of all this was he held responsible for? Just makes me wonder. And if people don't wonder about things, don't question things, nothing will ever change. Don't get me wrong. I think it is wonderful that people stepped up to help these horses and I really hope they all went to homes where they will be loved and never be hungry again. That they will be warm on these sub-zero nights and that they will have shelter from the sun on days when the thermometer reads 100+. But, this is just one story. This type of situation is happening more and more. Breeding more horses is not going to help the problem. There is a quote that goes something like this-'We are responsible for that which we have tamed.' Some horse breeding facilities are no different from the puppy mills we hear about. But, unfortunately, horses do not receive the same protection (in our state anyway) that other companion animals receive. These beautiful, proud creatures deserve better. It's time to take responsibility "for that which we have tamed". Just some things to ponder.