Penn State Equine Blog

We all have them; –if you own a ranch or farmland you have a horse or two.

By: Dr. Ann Swinker, PSU Extension Horse Specialist

 

My husband and I have five horses on our cattle ranch in Pennsylvania: and we only own one of the horses. The other four horses belong to my father, older and younger sisters. One of the geldings belongs to my sister that asked us to take care of the horse during her pregnancy and now her son is 13 years of age. That horse will be living out his years on our place.

We all have them—“unwanted horses.” So what is an “Unwanted” Horse?

The American Horse Councils’ Unwanted Horse Coalition (2005) definitions them as —horses which are no longer wanted by their current owner because they are old, injured, sick, unmanageable, or fail to meet their owner’s expectations.

Generally speaking some of the unwanted horses are:

–Horses with a non-life threatening disability

–Horses with behavioral problems

–Horses that are dangerous

–Un-adoptable ferial horses

–Geriatric horses

–Or horses that fail to meet owner’s expectations

Unfortunately the horses that fail to meet their owner’s expectations are one or more of the following: unattractive, are not athletic, unmarketable or as little as the wrong color or no color. Many of these horses are normal healthy hoses of varying ages and breeds.

We begin to ask ourselves —What breeds are responsible for this problem?

What’s the average age? Are they registered or grade horses? What was the horses’ past occupation or use? What is their value? But most importantly, what happens to them?

How Many Unwanted Horses are there? And where do they go?

The largest number of horses processed in the United States occurred in the time around 1990-1991. Then the number of horses processed at the slaughter plants leveled off.

There was an 80% decrease in the number of unwanted horses sent to processing plants between 1990 & 2006. Some speculate the reasons for the decreased of processes horses to be:

–Changes in the IRS Tax codes – in the mid and late 1980’s caused owners to dump horses.

–Changing market demands – horse values were down.

–Surplus reduction – less horses were being bred and many were taken out of production.

–Alternative careers/ rescue/ retirement or these horses

According to the Unwanted Horse Coalition, today there are nearly 120,000 head of unwanted horses in this country.

And here is where today’s “Unwanted Horses” go:

About 30,000 horses are exported to Canada annually for processing.*

Nearly 65,000 horses are processed in U.S. annually.*

Around 4,000 horses are exported to Mexico for processing.*

*(2005 -USDA/FASIS Data)

2,000 un-adoptable feral horses are in BLM funded sanctuaries.

6,000 feral horses are in BLM adoption pipelines.

Others are abandoned/ neglected / abused.

It is estimated that there are 8,000 to 10,000 spaces available for unwanted horses at horse rescues and retirement farms across the United States. In the future these organizations could be overwhelmed.

So what is the estimated economic impact of disposing or caring for the

80,000-100,000* unwanted horses /yr. (*USDA & NAHMS 1998 Report)

Cost of Disposal @ $200/head — $14.-18. Million / year

Cost of Care @ $2000 /head /yr — $160-200 Million / year

So, the current options for “Unwanted Horses” have been to try and change their occupation from a race horse to a show horse or a 4H project.

Rescues and retirement facilities are becoming more popular. However, they take volunteers and funding to keep them going or the owner pays an endownment to keep their retirement horse at the facility. An owner can try and adopt their horse out.

Another option would be to donate the horse to a teaching hospital, Equine College or therapeutic riding program. However not all horses are adoptable —for what ever reason.

In many cases the only option for the horse is euthanasia/disposal or processed for meat. The worse case scenario is abandonment and or neglect.

Horse owners need to be responsible owners. What is “responsible” ownership?

When acquiring ownership, you assumed responsibility for the health and welfare of your horse. If something happens and your horse can no longer experience a quality life, is experiencing more pain than pleasure, or is terminally ill or critically injured, or if the financial or emotional cost of treatment is beyond your means, you must make some decisions. With the ownership of livestock, you will be faced with making a life-or-death decision about your animals. Whether you decide to continue treatment or elect euthanasia is a responsibility you assumed as part of taking on ownership.

After euthanasia you have to consider carcass disposal and this is not cheep and there are just a few options for a large carcass:

Burial – disposal of unwanted horses is not as simple as disposal of unwanted cats and dogs. It’s illegal in many states to bury horses and this varies by local and state regulations. It takes a deep hole and must be 150- 200 ft from wells or streams to prevent ground water contamination. And you need a backhoe that can cost $250-500. During extreme weather the frost line may be too deep and you will have to store the carcass until the weather thaws before being able to dig the hole.

Landfill – some will not accept chemically euthanized horses, the cost ranges from $80-150

Rendering- available only in some areas of the country, costs $100-$300

Cremation- Incineration, must follow EPA regulated, cost are expensive $2500 and up.

Some of the newer technologies carcass disposal options are:

Composting – with sawdust and moisture, requires time 6-12 months to compost them down. Several universities have been working in this area. Biodegester uses an alkaline hydrolysis in pressure cooker to solubilize carcass, can be costly.

Can the horse industry, breed registries, welfare groups, horse councils, veterinarians, and governmental agencies reach common ground in order to solve the unwanted horse problem? There are several pending legislations both on the national and state levels that will have a major impact on the horse industry and the unwanted horse. Legislation banning the processing of horsemeat for human consumption, effectively shutting down the nation’s three horse processing plants (located in TX and IL) would have consequences on our horse. The owners of the two horse slaughtering plants in Texas are considering whether to challenge a federal appeals court ruling that upheld a Texas law that banned horse slaughter for the purpose of selling the meat for food. An Illinois State Representative introduced a bill on Feb. 22 that would prohibit the transportation of horses in the state for the purpose of slaughter for human consumption.