All Horses Need Care

All of us believe we’re responsible horse owners. We provide adequate care and nutrition, call the veterinarian when our horses don’t seem quite right or need an annual examination, and in many cases treat them like members of our own families. Putting our horses first is a priority for everyone, right?

Unfortunately, not all horses’ owners feel this way, and some horses don’t even

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All of us believe we’re responsible horse owners. We provide adequate care and nutrition, call the veterinarian when our horses don’t seem quite right or need an annual examination, and in many cases treat them like members of our own families. Putting our horses first is a priority for everyone, right?

Unfortunately, not all horses’ owners feel this way, and some horses don’t even receive the basic necessities. Each year, a small percentage of horses fall victim to inadequate care or unfortunate circumstances. An owner may no longer have the financial resources to provide for the horse’s daily needs, the horse may exhibit a behavioral problem that prevents it from being enjoyed by its owner, or for those whose interest in horses is primarily economic, the horse–due to age or injury–may no longer be able to perform the job for which it was intended.

While an entire article could be devoted solely to responsible horse ownership, this commentary will focus on the rescue and retirement options available for horses that find themselves “unwanted.” Rescue and retirement facilities in the United States are playing an increasingly important role in the long-term care and placement of horses whose owners can no longer care for them– or don’t want to.

Since there is no national organizational body for these facilities, it is hard to truly know how many of them exist in the United States. Many are well-established groups, such as the Standardbred and Thoroughbred Retirement Foundations or the Hooved Animal Humane Society, which can rescue and place hundreds of horses each year. Others are smaller, local facilities that might care for a handful of horses. Most rescue and retirement facilities utilize the services of volunteers to care for the horses and maintain the property. Many volunteers have little horse husbandry experience, but are dedicated to relieving suffering and improving the welfare of the animals

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Tom Lenz, DVM, Dipl. ACT, is chairman of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, an organization dedicated to reducing the number of unwanted horses and to improving their welfare through education and the efforts of organizations committed to the health, safety, and responsible care and disposition of these horses. Lenz was the 49th president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and he has served on the American Horse Council’s Animal Welfare Committee and the Research Committee of the American Quarter Horse Association.

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