Horse Sense Senior Horses
Michael Bouin at Old Farm
Where Do‘ Retired Horses’ Go?
The Fate Facing Horses After Their Working Years
By Dana Benner | Photos by Dana Benner
Whether they are working or riding horses, I love all horses. I often get to thinking,“ What happens to all those horses once they reach retirement age?” I had pie-in-the-sky ideas that retired horses lived out the rest of their lives running around and just being horses. No more pulling plows or carriages; no more racing around a track or being part of a rodeo, just an easy life.
Suddenly, reality slapped me hard, and I found out, sadly, that I was wrong.
The Hard Truth
Horses are one of the most intelligent and loyal animals that humans work with, and once you have gained their trust, they are totally devoted to“ their people”.
Despite this, America alone has about 200,000 horses a year that are cast aside, unwanted. According to the Humane Society, many of these horses are shipped from the U. S. to both Canada and Mexico, where they are slaughtered for both human and pet food. To be clear, the last U. S. slaughter plant closed in 2007. In 2021, more than 23,000 horses were sent to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. In USDA documents, it is said
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