Fugly person of the day
Jul 30 2007
Had to pass this one along. Check out today’s Craigslist asshat. In a previous posting, he noted that little kids can ride her but that is it because “her feet are too sore.” Lovely.
25 yo mare needs retirement home NOW!
Reply to: comm-385285473@craigslist.orgDate: 2007-07-30, 10:45AM PDT FREE!!! My mare needs somewhere to go where she can retire! She is registered, so you could try to breed her, but no guarantees that she will take with her age. If I had a big pasture to put her out on, I would keep her, but I dont.. and I dont wanna feed her through the winter.. I have too many young horses who need the extra feed. I am donating her to the local Tiger Park if no one comes to get her by the weekend. Shes a sweet mare, and I dont wanna do that.. but I dont really have a choice! Thanks! SHE IS FREE!
I posted in response and told him he was an asshole and he then e-mailed me and said “why are you sending me this, I don’t even own a horse.” Um, no one sent YOU anything. I posted on Craigslist. You are responding to my posting because you do, in fact, own a horse – one which you are going to send to the Tiger Park because you are a cheap asshole who has too many horses and did not plan for winter, and are upset I called you on your evil, irresponsible behavior. Will Romaine at handofman@msn.com, you are not one of this century’s great thinkers.
If any of the rest of you agree with my thoughts on Mr. Romaine, feel free to let him know your thoughts on his posting!
And if anybody in the Grants Pass, Oregon area has space for this poor mare, who sounds absolutely crippled and I suspect may even be an actionable neglect case, please head on over with a trailer – and take a lot of pictures.
$100 says he’s got at least one baby out of this mare…
Backyard breeders, you suck.
(Back to our regularly scheduled programming later today)
65 comments to “Fugly person of the day”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment. Not a member? Registering is free, and you do it here!
This is so sad. What an evil asshole. And I’ll tell him so, too. And to even suggest someone “could try to breed her” is about as bad as it gets. Maybe someone should send HIM to the Tiger Park!
People SUCK. Wow.
(not that a tiger sanctuary is a bad end for a horse, but the whole attitude: “i don’t want to feed her through the winter… come and get her OR ELSE!” just SUCKS)
What a lovely advert, poor old girl I suspect she’s better off going to the Tiger Park but thats cracking emotional blackmail. We don’t tend to see so many thin horses in the UK as you do in the US but I was surprised to see the state of this pony in horse deals magazine – I’d be mortified if it was mine! http://www.horsedeals.co.uk/horsedetails.aspx?horseid=28705
That’s so sad and so stupid. Geeze, I dunno … how about humanely euthanizing this poor mare (you ever loving selfish,a-hole bast-turd, mutha-fruitloopin’, sack of skat).
Yeah … I get a little irked when I see people throwing away horses when they’re just “done” with them. Especially older horses that have done their years service to their owners. How heartless can you get? I mean spend a couple hundred dollars and give your poor horse a nice, calm passing (you cheap sack of refuse).
I always hope that Karma is taking notes and that when these anti owners get to their senior years that they’re kids chuck ‘em in a low end old folks home — ya know, the kinds you hear stories about. Hey, fair is fair right?
Chamfron, Some folks believe that starving a mini as a youngster will make them stay small. I have seen many young minis that people only feed literally handfuls of feed “So they don’t grow too much”. It is stupid and negligent.
What a wonderful post with the wanted poster!!
I bet your right about having a foal out of her.
Do we have any pics of her?
Yep, we see the same with pot-bellied pigs — starve them so they will stay small! (OTOH I have seen some seriously obese pot-bellied pigs.)
That poor little mini needs some wormer and good food. There might be a nice little horse underneath that terrible condition.
People are just so stupid about animals sometimes. Drives me crazy!
(and Champon Stud — nice foals!)
This poor girl how awful can you get to threaten the life of someone who has been a good and faithful friend. What is wrong with people. Thankfully the sweetheart I learned to ride on died in her sleep with her owners at age 34 and was buried in the file next to her best friend who had died a few years earlier. That is the way this darlings should go out.
Amy
“…how about humanely euthanizing this poor mare …”
I can’t say for sure (not knowing the practices of the Tiger Park), but in most cases, donating to a wild-life rehab facility would be considered a humane euthansia. The Wolf Center near my place will “euthanize” the animal with a bullet.
When I had to put my horse down due to colic, my vet informed me that animals that were euthanized with drug overdoses should not be used for food for other animals (due to the drugs in the system), nor should they be left out for scavengers. If I wanted my horse’s body to be used to feed the wolves, he would have to be put down with a bullet.
Now, whether this mare should be discarded at all is the question. A lot would depend on her current condition. The owner may have let her go too far (health & condition), and euthansia (by a vet or a Tiger Park) may be the only option.
FuglyHorseOfTheDay: I love your blog. I discovered it a few weeks ago through the “vile” DreamHorse link and have found your blog to be informative and amusing. I know this must be a lot of work for you, thanks for helping to spread the word!
Stupid breeding humans. Again with that “poor horsey will die and it’ll be YOUR fault if you don’t RESCUE her” with that tiger sanctuary bit.
Hope he gets hit by a train.
Yes, I emailed him and ripped him a new ass for it. I’ll let you know if/how he responds.
I just found a person on craigslist in Oregon looking for a companion horse and told them about this poor mare. Maybe they will go get her.
Why can people not give the respect to these old horses that they deserve? For all their years of service they have earned green pastures and good feed. I lost my old boy over a year ago at the age of 34. He was 18 when I got him and fully retired at 28. He was treated like GOLD his retirement years. Did the odd pony ride for a small child, lots of pasture, foals or mini’s to babysit. He was king of the barn and earned every minute of it. This poor mare doesn’t deserve anything but the best of care for her remaining years…poor girl. I hope someone sees that ad and gives her a really fantastic home.
I love your blog and had to sign up so I could tell you. And may this evil bastid have a raging case of crotch fleas and his arms be too short to scratch. I have two wonderful old mares and I can’t imagine treating them with such a lack of caring and respect.
Better the tiger park then starve.
We have a zoo nearby where old, lame, unsound horses are taken to feed the big cats. They are humanely put down.
Greatpaints..Good job, that is a far more constructive way to handle this,I hope they look into helping this mare.
I have 2 old guys retired here at the momment and I couldn’t imagine making them have to adjust to a new home at this stage in there lives! To be honest if I could not feed them any longer I would either have a vet put them down OR if that wasn’t an option and I was going to donate them to be tiger food I would shoot them myself and haul the carcas. I would not let my guys be affraid or suffer if at all possible to prevent it.
There is nothing wrong with euthanization the ol fashioned way – aka – a well-aimed bullet – which is what the “Tiger Park” would most likely do.
The whole idea of an injection being less painful or whatever is ridiculous. It’s less painful for the HUMAN to watch.
In most cases, a bullet is just as good, if not better – it’s certainly faster.
The emotional blackmail is wrong, the irresponsibility of having so many horses and trying to pawn responsibility off on others is wrong – but taking that mare to the “Tiger Park” is not. It’s probably the best thing he can do in his situation.
I think the tiger park is the highest and best use of a horse that is to be euthanized. They take care of it humanely, better than lethal injection (which is not easy on the horse). If you don’t want your horse to be put down there (and have to smell the predators)have someone put them down with a bullet at home.
The chemical cocktail makes their carcass useless.
This is why I am immensely glad to know someone like the woman who owns the riding school I work at. She owns a whole other yard, quite far from her house and her riding school, where she keeps all of her older horses, as well as a couple who are injured. She knows she will never be able to do anything with these horses again, but refuses to part company with them after long years of service. She feeds, rugs, grooms and stables them, and spends a significant amount of time every day just going all the way there to care for them.
When Danny, the 28 year old Welsh Cob, finally succumbs to arthritis and can no longer carry kiddies on hacks, he’ll be heading off the the ‘oldies’ yard where he’ll live out the rest of his days. Danny isn’t even my YO’s riding horse – most riding schools would just consider him a commodity they had used in his latter, quiet years to get money of of kids – but she will still put the same amount of care and attention into him. She knows it’s impractical, but she says she can’t bring herself to sell them knowing where they’ll end up.
Maybe she’s too kind-hearted, having ended up with 12 ‘useless’ horses running round her fields, including a livery whose owner just can’t be bothered to do anything with or sell, and I know some people simply can’t afford to do this, but I think it’s a wonderful and admirable thing to do with her older horses, giving them the best after they’ve been such good friends to her, us, and many children over the years.
I have nightmares about what will happen to my beloved Oddie if my YO ever has to sell him. He’s damn right fugly. And in his 20s. He’ll jump decently and has got a bit of spark in him, but he’s a grumpy sod and no one buying is ever going to take the time to look past that. I know YO would never ever sell him, but if something did happen and she was forced to, I’d have to buy him myself, just because I’d be terrified of where he’d end up.
I don’t think I could ever bring myself to sell on an elderly horse – even if you sell it to a nice home, who’s to know if they will later sell it on to a worse fate.
Seeing adverts like these make me sick to my stomach when I wonder if this is how some of the horses I know will end up.
Chamfrom stud is right – you do see less of thing horses over here.
Although, thinking about that, it may be due to the fact that, while in the US you get the dry ‘dirt’ lots you guys mentions, it’s hard to get the grass to STOP growing in the UK.
Yeah, no dirt lots here! Just sand.. which is horribly worse.
I’ve never heard of doing that with your horses, feeding them to those animals. Makes sense.
hey! i’m going to cali this weekend and won’t be back until september…here is the website i was talking about where i made extra summer cash. Later! the website is here
People who emotionally blackmail with crap like “if you don’t come get her before Saturday, she’s going to be dog meat” absolutely suck and should be punched in the head. As for the Tiger santuary thing, when we die, we are all going to get eaten by something. Who the shit cares whether it is a tiger, croc, wolf, or a bunch of worms. Dead is dead. A bullet is faster and the horse seldom knows it’s coming as opposed to a needle. One of my horses hates the vet and needles terrify him so euthania by the vet would be cruel in my opinion. I don’t want my boy, who has given me many great years, to die in terror. JMO.
I would not object to the tiger park as a fate for this mare, but the owner’s complete a**holeish manipulation is disgusting!
Well, at least he isn’t charging an “adoption” or “rehoming” fee..
I am not so sure about the Tiger Park thing. I mean, if you can handle it, more power to you. I have to agree it is – umm, efficient. But I tried to imagine my beautiful beloved horse getting butchered up. shivers. I can’t. I don’t know why the thought of him decomposing under my back pasture is more palatable- but it is.
I have to say that I am also ashamed that I have had the vet euthanize two grand ladies when their time was up. Neither was an easy kill. For both, their hearts refused to stop beating. My daughter’s beloved pony needed “enough to kill an elephant” according to my vet. And then a few years later her sweet, gentle elderly arab mare had a stroke and the vet had to ask his tech to run back to the clinic for more of whatever it was to stop her heart.
Both of those episodes were hard to watch. Butfor me, it would be hard to watch someone shooting them. I do believe it would be quicker and more humane, I hope I don’t need to worry about this for a long time.
Shovels: If you have ever had to run a real live horse shelter and keep from going bankrupt, you TOO would charge an adoption fee. Adoption fees also prevent aholios from pretending they’re a loving home and take your “Free” horse to the auction or resell it to the meat guy for a quick buck. Plus, shelters often get to pick up the check for rehabbing, retraining, and nourishing a starved, abused, untrained, or injured animal that someone else failed. Example, we had to pay 750 to keep a gorgeous but chronically starved Haffie stud off the meat truck (you know, the extortion bit again). Then we spend 8 months feeding him and rehabbing him, vetting him, and having his hooves trimmed every 2 weeks until he could stand normally again because his feet were 8 inches overgrown. Then we spend another 1500 having him gelded because there are complications. All told, we have about 4000 into this now adoptable gelding, which we will be fortunate to get adopted out at about a 1500 fee once his under-saddle work has begun. Rescues get lots of shit for what some morons see as “profiteering” while simultaneously taking it up the ass financially. We don’t do it to please anyone but to save a few horses from a real shitty deal. Until you have done it day in and day out for a few years at your own expense, shut your pie hole about adoption fees.
Wow well said Horsewings
What an absolute asshole.
I also just got done informing someone that breeding a HYPP N/H mare was not the most effective way of using one’s brain.
I am seriously tired of all these shitfucks that have no common sense and are merely out to save a dollar or earn one.
I want to start a zoo. Not with animals, but with all these shitfuck breeders. I want to breed the hell out of them. Then, I’d like to strip them of proper feed, medical care, shelter and water. And at the end of every day, when they are thirsty, hungry and hurting enough, I want to jump on their back, put that handy chain saw of a bit in their mouth and just ride the fuck out of them. And when they stop and plead not to go any further, I’ll blame it on bad behavior and whip the shit out of em’ even more.
Then, maybe after 25 years of this, I’ll decide winters going to be tough because I didn’t pull my head out of my ass in time, and give the guys a break by sending them to be eaten by fucking wolves because it was somehow, my only option.
I’m morbid and now I need a cigarette.
Just read Picklejuice’s note and I think I love you.
Horse Ads: This is from the “I SHIT YOU NOT” files, these were found in my local paper
7yr old Gelding,GREENBROKE by KIDS-WTF?! Are you kidding me
LOST NEAR CHATTAROY on Sands Road, evening of July 23rd. Black and White paint mare (bonus they know the sex)WEARING saddle, bridle and halter, PLEASE CALL..
Picklejuice, I’ll be your partner on that project!
I have another Fugly person of the day for you FHD. This one is from Australia.
” Black QH Filly
Height – 13 hh Age – 1 yo Price – $800 – Horses $1000 & Under
13hh, 16 months old. Half broken. Easy to handle, quiet nature. Rugged. $800. Ph (02) 6737 6829, NSW.”
http://www.horsedeals.com.au/content/enlarged/100745.jpg
Not only does this guy look too big for the horse, but training at 16months? Yeepers! I would hate to be that poor horse!
Thank you FHD for providing an informative source about horse conformation and breeding. I’ve learnt quite alot about reading your blog already.
Wow, and here I thought taking proper care of my horses until the day they died of natural causes or needed to be euthanized was part of the horse owner package.
How stupid of me. I could’ve given my 4 away or sent them to be tiger food. *slaps her forehead.*
I’m sure this guy also thinks it’s fine to marry your cousin as well..
Picklejuice! Strong words *be still my beating heart* LOL
FuglyHorse blogger I love you!
You are a great comic writer and the pics are well chosen. Have you thought of maybe writing a book based on this blog? And if you ever fancy coming to England, do come and stay with me!
Meanwhile, here’s my dilemma, which I think will be a familiar one to many owners of good stallions:
I am the very proud owner of a beautiful 3yo Arab stallion – an international in-hand (I think you call it ‘halter’) champion with excellent conformation, type, movement, presence, pedigree, etc.
[IMG]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/htobago/tobagomalvern0122-1.jpg[/IMG]
He’s just finishing his first season at stud – as the most popular first-season Arab stallion in the UK, getting lots of really super champion mares.
Inevitably, on several occasions I’ve had people wanting to breed mares to him that I didn’t consider to be good enough. Not fugly by any means, but just not what I would regard as breeding quality – for example a pure-bred Arab mare with decent enough conformation, but very coarse and heavy and clunky-looking, more like a Welsh Cob than an Arab. Others had conformation faults which, although not glaringly awful, one would not particularly wish to see passed on.
Some of my friends said I should accept these mares, on the grounds that their owners were determined to breed from them anyway, so it would be better if they were bred to a high-class stallion who could improve on them, rather than a poor quality stallion who would only make things worse, or at best produce something as mediocre as the dam.
Although I could see their point, in the end I just couldn’t bring myself to accept these mares. And yes, their owners went off and bred them to lower-quality stallions.
So, one or two friends are now saying that there will be some mediocre foals on the ground next year that could have been significantly better-quality foals, had I not been so fussy/snobby/picky about the mares. I.e. I am responsible, albeit indirectly, for adding to the population of poor-quality horses.
What do you think? Did I do the right thing?
(P.S. Sorry if this sounds a bit braggy about my boy – I’m really not taking any credit: I didn’t breed him, and he was already an international champion when I bought him, so I didn’t even ‘discover’ him!)
What a waste of festered foreskin this guy is. MY god i hate ads that threaten like that. IF you are going to make her tiger food.shut the fuck up and do it. Don’t announce to the world what a waste of flesh you are. I hope some one takes her home. She deserves so much better then what she has gotten from that dick dribble.
Arabgirl , you are right. If a mare does not pass approval why breed it. When she throws her faults the stallion gets blamed . So why go there why let those faults be added to the gene pool yet again.
Sometimes kind-hearted people find adverts and repost them on Craigslist trying to help the horse. I know one lady who works with a rescue who regularly does that. I hope the person you are emailing is actually the owner and not someone who was just trying to help the horse by getting the word out.
arabgirl- Congratulations on owning a quality stallion.
You didn’t ask me, but I will give you my opinion anyway. People who breed poor quality horses are going to keep doing that whether you breed their mares or not.
As witchy said, your stallion will be blamed for any faults the foal has. And, think about any poor quality fillies by your stallion being used as broodmares later on. His reputation as a sire AND a broodmare sire is at stake. The mares can be more influential on a foal than the stallion at times, so again, another strike against your stallion if that is the case.
I think you did the right thing. Just because others are breeding poor quality horses, doesn’t mean you have to oblige them and drag your stallion down with them.
Arabgirl, I think you made the right choice. Mediocre quality foals are not only unnecessary, but they make YOUR stallion look bad. Better to be choosy and have fewer foals on the ground by your stallion but have those be in high demand. That will improve their chances of staying in good situations for life.
I never e-mailed anyone, to clarify. I posted on Craigslist in response; someone e-mailed ME and therefore admitted by doing so that they were the one.
A tiger’s gotta eat. Sorry. Better fate than many horses around these parts are going to have this winter. Hay prices are shooting up with more farmers planting corn for fuel and the drought we’re in. Our unemployment is the highest in the nation. Auction prices are under a hundred bucks a head. Better a bullet than a slow death.
What a jerk. I just don’t like his attitude. Okay I am tired of you so lets just dump you somewhere!! He is probably the same person that would dump his parents in an old home and forget about them!!!
Personally I could not handle the fact of my old friend going to a Tiger Park. I know that the tigers have to eat to but I just could not stomach it. I personally have lost 2-horses. One I buried on my property the other I had cremated and will stay with me.
Whatever happened to responsibility??? I have 3 retired geldings now. 19, 21, and 23 when they get to that point I will make the choice and have them put down with me by their side. Never would I send them off with strangers in their last hours!!! I will never sell them either if I can’t afford to take care of them I will have them put down. I have seen to many cases of abuse and I WILL NOT let one of mine become one!!!
Arabgirl: You did the right thing! Would you rather be producing high end, quality foals that will help promote your quality stallion, or let these mediocre mares breed to him and produce mediocre babies? Your stud can only contribute so much, and the mares have glaring flaws that would definately contribute to making less then stellar babies. Yes, the people would breed anyways – but regardless of who they bred to they weren’t going to get a great baby, because no matter how good the sire, the dam gives 50% of the genes to produce that baby.
BTW, a lady at our barn just retired her multi-national champion (Canada and US) dressage Arabian stud, who is also a top 10 sporthorse in hand from Arabian nationals. She is picky who he breeds as well. On occassion she has offered a discount stud fee to HIGH quality mares, but she has other mares that she flat out tells to go elsewhere.
Wow, well, I have a Fugly Person of the Day, myself! In fact, its a vet! And when you hear the way SHE put down a horse, the bullet to the head or sending them to be tiger dinner is going to sound VERY pleasant to you.
She drove out to where I train a couple horses (50 miles from ciliization). She was at the property just next door. The owners had called her to put their horse down, he was old and suffering and had a GREAT life. The owner’s wife left for work as she didn’t want to be there for it.
The vet got there and started to get everything out of the back of her truck when idiot vet realizes, “Oh Noez! I forgot my shots and sh*t to put him down!” But thats ok, never fear, we have an idiot here!! She did what she heard was a good idea at times like this since she didn’t want to drive back to town to get her stuff.
Ready for this??
She SEVERED his spinal cord!!
Horse thrashed around for a while before she could even CUT into the spine. The man was appaled and asked what he should do with all the BLOOD in his arena. “Oh, just drag it around in the dirt with your tractor so your wife doesn’t see it!”
Mind you, this is also the same woman vet who went to a show barn and put down the WRONG horse. Not sure how that works.
To my amazement as well as the others who detest her, she’s still in business. Mind explaining that one??
Holly crap!! How could that vet have done something like that? What about hubby? Did he not know?
I would have thrown her off my property and reported her to the authorities!!!
My god! How can these people even sleep at night knowing they are writing this crap! Goes to prove that they just don’t care, god knows what they live in or how they live if this is what they write about their animals. I just shiver….
Hoodsey – my vet recommends reporting her to the American Assn of Equine Practitioners and any other vet assns she may belong to. Good lord! Though I know my vet would never do anything like that…it’s a lesson to me to be there at the end – no matter how hard it is to watch.
As for the asshat of the day. WOW. Were I to even consider such a thing, I sure as hell wouldn’t SHARE it with the world. JERK.
FHD – thanks for this blog. I’ve been reading for a couple weeks now, and you’re right on! I’m getting a good brush-up on conformation. My non-horsey husband (who received a horse for his wedding gift from me a year ago and therefore now has to learn about them) is learning a heck of a lot too – the pics and descriptions are certainly more useful to him than my trying to explain stuff piecemeal. Thanks for your work here! (And, as other folks have asked….can I send you pics of my horses to critique? I’d love to get your insight!)
hoodsey, I agree, I would report this woman, in NO WAY is that an acceptable way to put down a horse (the reason you never leave the clinic without enough stuff to kill a horse, or at least a pistol and bullets). You can do that to frogs and small lab rodents. God that’s horrifying–I’ll be a vet in 2 years and if I had a colleague who did that, I’d report them straight away. On another note, I love this blog, I learn a lot and it’s nice to see other people feel as I do about people trying to breed low quality animals.
Craft Wench- nobody’s asking you to do anything suggested, nor are they bashing you for your choices.
Hoodsey- if you went and shot that bitch in the face, I swear I’d kick in money for your bail AND hide you out if you could get here. The others would help, I’m sure.
ABSOLUTELY REPORT THAT VET!
That is horrid.
As for the Tiger Park, I agree that it’s a kinder fate than the auction. What I do not appreciate is (a) threat posts and (b) people too fucking cheap to spring for a peaceful proper euthanasia at home.
Trust me, my neighbors and I have called about he many times, but since the owner of the horse never called, “It’s not our business and we must be mistaken” If my vet suggested that, you’d better believe SHE’D be the one with the severed spinal cord!
When she first started practicing, she came to us a few times (before I knew the horror)… and she totally ruined my horse’s shoulder! He had cut his shoulder open and when she came to stitch him up, she did the first 3 stitches REALLY tight and then the rest she did loosely so it just sloughed open. Made me sick, my horse was only 6months at the time. I reported her and she was no longer able to practice in Norco, CA. My horse has a horrid scar now.
We’ve called on this woman many times, but until the people she’s practicing for report her, we are just the standerbyers. Tried to get the neighbor to call but he said then his wife would find out and he doesn’t want that. My partner and I are putting together a report on her from an event that happened a while ago, so we’re hoping it’ll be the final straw for her…
horsewings..
I can’t call anyone who pays “extortion” fees a rescuer, sorry – just perpetuating the very market this blog is trying to stop, my opinion. Do I rescue? Heck no, but I sure won’t turn down a bargain when I find one (though one mare had become a poster child for one of our local rescues because I’d “rescued” her off the track – guess I paid a $15K extortion fee)
I’ve been doing this since the 1st flux of city folk moved out and thought their dearies needed to see a baby being born, then years later discovered a field of inbreds outback, found a 1200# horsie playing tag was scary, got tired of feeding every day, etc.
I’ve sent money to what I consider to be a legitimate rehab facility for years (my opinion, but maybe 1 out of 2500 rescues are what I’d consider legitimate, actually caring about THE horse, not what makes the PEOPLE feel good). I’ve never seen “rescue” or “adoption fee” in their literature.
Sure, the Yuppies will fall for anything to feel good about themselves – support the Gypzeeloosa breeder and all the rescuers who follow. Sorry appy folks about the loosa, but when I showed the names that these “breeders” invent, the yuppier types all thought “loosa” in a name was really cute – great marketing scheme.
Can someone explain why a person who buys a few decent horses at a sale, puts the time & money in em and sells them at a reasonable market price is a nasty “horse trader”, yet when this same person bought the same type horses (and worse – the worse the better she said), put an “adoption fee” of 2 to 3 Xs (sometimes 10Xs – the worse the better) what she was selling em for, she’s a wonderful “rescuer” and couldn’t keep up with the new “market”?
I’m sorry, but if you can’t “sell” a horse, or take care of it yourself so another rescuer doesn’t end up with it, then you pretty much help keep this blog going, again, my opinion (and a minority one from cruising the net).
FHD, keep it up. If you prevent just one horse from appearing here, you’ve done well in life.
Shovels:
You can think what you want about rescues and adoption fees. I’m not doing what I do for you. And if you can sleep at night after turning your back on horses you could have helped out of an abusive or severely neglectful situation, then I’d say you rank right up there with BYB’s yourself in my book. I’m not perpetuating the problem because I’m not fucking breeding. Nor am I out there actively searching for the dregs of equine society, they find me! But I’ll tell you what, I sleep at night because I know that for at least the 6 horses out in my pasture that get excellent care and are loving life now I have made a DIFFERENCE. BTW, buying an OTTB isn’t rescue. Perhaps you need to get a better idea of what genuine rescue work is really all about. Rescue isn’t buying a skinny horse and putting a few pounds on it. Rescue isn’t always just taking in old, lame horses that the owner doesn’t want to bother with anymore, though some do that too. Rescue IS about taking in horses that can and should be saved from some fuckwad’s cruelty or neglect. Rescue is not knowing if the horse will survive the night because it is so dehydrated or malnourished. Rescue is having to slowly reintroduce food to a horse that will literally eat itself to death because it hasn’t eaten ANYTHING but boards, rope, dirt, feces, and its own muscle tissue in weeks. Rescue is having to give Maalox to a pony so starved that she has ulcers from the acid in her stomach eating at her stomach lining. Rescue is crying when the one you thought was turning the corner took a nosedive and died anyway.
The only people I ever had complain about the adoption fee, btw, were of the same caliber as BYB’s who either a)always expect something for nothing; or b)couldn’t afford to take care of a horse anyway.
Shovels – to me the difference between the trader and the rescuer is that the trader buys a horse for $200 at a sale and turns it over for $800 two days later without doing a thing other than throwing some hay at it. The rescuer buys a horse for $200 at a sale and turns it over 4 months later for $800 after floating its teeth for $250, trimming its screwed up feet twice for $70, spending 25 hours of personal time helping it get over its fear of ropes, and buying it $200 of supplements to correct its nutritional imbalances.
I don’t begrudge the rescues an adoption fee at all – IF they do it the way I just described. Now the “feedlot” rescues that scream “the truck is coming!” and get a bunch of gullible folks to pay $800 for a $100 horse…that’s a different matter. That’s just the con game du jour.
Ugh, this asshole reminds me of the people who dump their 10 y/o dog at the shelter because they want a new puppy. Fucking waste of air.
Actually wtf, I wasn’t commenting on anything anyone said here. I was commenting, sarcastically, about the douche that was deemed fugly person of the day.
Cheers.
God, what a Dickhead. This makes me so mad. Like, you didn’t have a knowledge of the seasons and didn’t know winter was coming? He didn’t even say that he couldn’t afford to feed the mare and would love someone to help her out, he said ” I don’t want to feed her”. Jackass. This makes me so mad.
I toattaly hate that “i dont want 2 feed her dipshits.i hate ppl like that they piss me off.
Wings: We can agree to disagree? You haven’t a clue what I have here, obviously. What I was trying to impress was if you’re paying someone $750 for a $5 horse, you’ve just allowed that person to get a bunch more and keep the cycle going. Ya know what I mean (cruel, maybe – does keeping the cycle going really help)? Yes, horror of horrors, I am a BYB. If you’d like to rescue one, $30K or she goes to auction (it will save me ~10 to 15K to ship her, have her prepped, trained, etc, and the risk something will happen prior to her actually getting in the ring – so even if I expect to get at least 50K, I’d be eliminating the risks, we both can feel good then).
FHD: Ahh, yes, but this women was doing the same thing – just found a nice, juicy market with “adoptions” (PT Barnum would be proud).
Who rescues from the rescues? I’m sick of watching horses pass from rescue to rescue.
Why are people stupid enough to fall for the “save it from the truck”? Why not buy it in the lot for pennies a lb direct from the dealer (as the rescues do)? The gullability of people never ceases to amaze me. If people keep money flowing in this cycle, there will always be plenty of fodder for this blog. My guess is if someone actually figured out how much a Gypzeeloosa actually made people through it’s life, it would be way more than a well bred, using horse – not much incentive to stop the cycle.
Why is it horse traders always get bashed?? I thought this was about a jerk dumping his old horse. I am a horse trader, actually I prefer broker and I do take offense. Yes I do make money @ what I do but that doesn’t mean I am a horrible person that just sells a horse to the highest bidder. I buy all types of horses that are poor, have problems, etc. We fix the problems put weight on them, give them there shots, worming, feet trimmed etc.. Then place them in the right home. We have refused sales before because we didn’t think the people buying were going to take care of them. Please don’t lump all horse traders in the same group because some of us are in it to help the horse to not just the money. I have done rescues to. Take a look at this mare:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/
x276/spinningpeppy/IM000924.jpg
I paid $200.00 for her to get her out of a sand lot w/ no water and no feed, metal everywhere, no shade or shelter. This picture is after having her 3-weeks and 100 pounds later. We wormed her (about 5-times), gave her shots, trimmed her, got her teeth done and finished putting about 200 more pounds on her. After 3-months found her a wonderfull home for $400.00 So if you think this horse trader made any money on that deal then I guess that makes me just in it for the money!!
I wouldn’t bash traders. There are some fantastic ones out there. My yard owner, for instance, takes on young ponies that have had nothing done with them their whole lives except been used as a lawnmower, works on them for a time (in some cases over a year) and sells them on once they’ve been trained for a purpose in life.
But then, of course, you get THOSE traders.
Can we coin the term BYT – back yard traders?
I like the term BYT. I also used to do a lot of business with a GOOD trader. He did NOT sell to kill and he was very honest about horses. There is nothing wrong with selling horses – I’m just opposed to those who misrepresent them, sell them with problems to people who are not experienced enough to deal with those problems, etc.
FHD;
Sadly, when “horse tradin” became a nasty business,the type of trader that made it such found a better marketing scheme. Instead of buy/sell, they rescue/adopt – to the same end. Even better for them, they don’t have to show a profit, get charity breaks, etc. Heck, some in these parts actually buy em and starve em down to make more money – I don’t get it!
ALso, I am a BYB/BYT, but if my barns/fields are in front of the house, am I really a FYB/FYT?
Thanks everyone and FHD for the replies to my ‘dilemma’!
Phew – glad I did the right thing. A couple of people have been making me feel rather guilty – saying I was protecting my own stallion’s reputation at the expense of horses in general…
I have to say that apart from one with a serious conformation flaw, these were not ‘bad’ mares that I was turning down, just so-so, ho-hum kind of mares.
I have compromised a wee bit on Arab type/’prettiness’ with a few mares – e.g. accepted a few whose heads were a bit plainer than one would like, that sort of thing, as a good typey stallion should be able to improve on this…and if he doesn’t then the result will still be a well-conformed, useful riding horse. (And we had enough pretty show-champions booked to ensure that he got a fair chance of producing some top-class show babies as well.)
But I suppose we all draw a line somewhere….
Or not, in the case of the breeders that FHD is bringing to our attention!
Keep up the good work FHD!
WTF is a tiger park???
please tell me he’s not threatening to send the horse to be eaten by tigers.
Poor baby! what a jerk with nerve to say to the world he is going to quote, “donate” his poor elderly mare to be eaten by tigers at the friendly neighborhood tiger buffet. Poor horse.