BECAUSE......many of them seem to be fixated on "saving" horses from saleyards/knackeries, and leaving the ones who really need help! A smart dealer recognises that a horse is too poor to get meat money for, so he calls on the bleeding hearts...WHO ALWAYS BUY THEM! Great opportunity for the dealer, he doesn't lose money on the skinny/sick ones, he doesn't have to fork out anything, and best of all, he can double what he paid! (I think I'm in the wrong game.) Lately they have been especially clever and claim that every skinny mare is in foal - so naturally you MUST save her because there'll be a cute foal in desperate need. Meanwhile, the true "rescues" are languishing away somewhere and nobody is interested. Why? Because they involve hard work and emotionally stressful situations and no glory. It is easy to buy a skinny horse from a saleyard/knackery and broadcast how wonderful you are because you saved it. Never mind the problems that you don't know about, because you don't know it's history. The same goes for off the track horses - they aren't "rescued" either!
All too often these horses come home to the "rescue" and are proven to be so sick/injured/ancient that the thousands of donated dollars just spent, end up with a dead horse. There was probably a reason they were at the saleyard or knackery in the first place! It doesn't take a lot of smarts to figure out why. That $15,000 you just spent giving one very aged and ill horse a few more days/weeks, probably including a fair bit of suffering through invasive treament, could have actually saved many more, before they ever got to that terrible state. Many more horses that need a little help, but can go on to lead productive lives!
We need to be careful what we "rescue." Unsavoury as it is, we need to save the useful ones, the ones who have a chance, not just grab every skinny horse that the knackery can't get their meat money for. They are just waiting for suckers like you to line their wallets and make their job that much easier. It's nothing to do with having a heart and wanting to give them a chance - it's all business. And that brings me to my next beef (pardon the pun)......
BECAUSE......according to many "rescues," every horse at the saleyards is destined for slaughter and we must save them all! This is not rescue. Sales are attended by the general public, they have many horses who are not unhealthy or in need of rescuing at all, and there are even RIDDEN horses! Sellers CAN set reserve prices, and even specify that the dealers/knackers not buy them. Sometimes the sellers even take the horse back home because they didn't get their price - wow! Yes, all those poor horses were in such desperate need. If you got it from the sales - you didn't rescue it, you bought it. If the meat man didn't get that one, he'll get another. He doesn't care which one.
BECAUSE......too many "rescues" pick up horses that have immense health problems and will cost thousands to bring back to health, if that's even possible, yet other, reasonably healthy horses require their help but are ignored. (SEe my first point above.) Is it because there is more glory in nursing the sick/injured/deformed one back to a life of being a paddock ornament for a few lousy months? How is this saving a life, when a horse requiring minimal care to actually achieve a useful, lengthy existence misses out? This, I do not understand. By all means, use your donations for the one last gift we CAN give them - euthanasia. End the suffering, once and for all, don't prolong it and put them through more for a doubtful outcome. Then, your vet bills won't be so high, you'll have room for the ones who actually have a chance at life, and you'll actually have money to feed them. It ain't rocket science you know! And another point comes to mind......
BECAUSE......every little thing goes up on facebook/twitter/whatever, and every second post is begging for money. I get it - rescues do need money, as even healthy horses are not cheap - but good grief, EVERY F*CKING WEEK?!?! And then it gets spent on gadgets that someone has decided would be nice - things such as equissage, vacuums for the paddock etc, that your every day horse owner DOES NOT HAVE OR NEED. Then comes post after post complaining that feed and vet bills can't be paid! And donated floats......but we still can't go pick up our own horses......we need to pay someone to do that and then get another bill that needs paying by Mr and Mrs General Public. It's all about priorities, people! Driving around vacuuming up your poo to make your life easier does not trump feeding your horse! EVER!
BECAUSE......after all the bleeding heart posts on these social media sites, every keyboard vet jumps right on in with their own magical diagnosis and/or cure - and many people fall for it! Because everybody knows better than the vet, of course, they aren't trying to sell or promote a product, nooooooo. All these horses eating a concoction of herbs, minerals and natural remedies, in a big fat hard feed. Ever heard of re-feeding syndrome? Or perhaps thought that the vet really DOES know what they are talking about? NOTHING is a substitute for veterinary advice, no matter how many pretty testimonials are on someone's fancy website, or how many letters are after their name that do not include BVSc. Which brings up another point - just because someone seems knowledgeable about horses and calls themselves "Doctor" DOES NOT MAKE THEM A VET. They might have a PhD in pure bullshit for all you know, so check wisely before taking ANY advice. Rescue pages seem to attract this sort of "knowledge" (or lack thereof) so be very careful.
BECAUSE......they all seem to keep one or two as "mascots" who tend to stay on someone's property, usually the founder/self-appointed president of the organisation, FOREVER, and are fed, clothed and maintained with donations. You want to play with the pretty ponies, then go buy your own and pay for it yourself, don't use generously donated money to fund your own horse - and that's what it is! I also see "owned" horses mixing with "rescue" horses and wonder seriously how many of these are fed out of donations. Unless you were completely meticulous, you'd never know just whose bale of hay you jsut opened, and would you REALLY open a separate one just for a biscuit for your horse? Let's face it, we've all had those times where you've left your feed store run a bit late......and it'd be all too easy to just "borrow" from the rescues' mouths. If you want to donate to a "rescue" - check their books carefully. By law, a non-profit MUST make them available, so do your homework before sending your hard-earned money.
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