OT Horses Donkeys

Back in the 40s-- we always had a horse or two. We worked the garden with them, a little field work and used them for transportation to the neighbors. It got to the point that nobody wanted to fool with horses with tractors and cars coming on the scene. You couldn't give them away; they bought them over at the stockyards in Ft Worth and made dog food out of them. It is strange how history repeats it's self. Good times follow bad times and bad times follow good times. People had money, came out to the country, bought land and horses. Now times are getting hard, gasoline is high, horse feed is high. They are beginning to get rid of both. Problem is, again, nobody wants them. The PITA people got a law passed prohibiting horse murder, so no more dog food. We got a lot of furrow hogs around here. (I can see with hard times, the hogs being taken care of) I don't know what's going to happen to the horses though. I am afraid that we are going to have furrow horses soon. Somebody went to the local livestock sale last week and said donkeys were selling for $2 apiece and there were no buyers. If I had a donkey I would give somebody $2 to take it. I got a neighbor that has a couple of donkeys. They start braying about 5 minutes before the train comes through. Kind of an early train warning system. Don’t know any thing else they are good for though. Them big ears can hear that train a long way off.

I know what else donkey's are good for. If you are a rancher who has trouble with coyotes or stray dogs in with your cattle, get a couple of donkeys. They are brutal when it comes to those. They hate dogs and coyotes with a passion. Kick the living shmuck out of them! Donkeys eat very little in the winter. Well worth their keep.

couple farms in my county had extra horses show up in the pastures with their kids horses. seems people couldnt afford to feed them and just let em go in the pasture.

Here in MO. I get a Native Grass newsletter and there was an article in the last issue about so many people dumping horses in the Ozarks down around the National Scenic Riverways. Real problem. It's the tree huggers. They outlawed the slaughter of unwanted horses, so now rather than being something of value to both the seller and the Meat processor and the horse having a quick painless death, they are left to starve.

I remember years ago, when I was trapping some, the anit-fur outifts caused the Hollywood elite and all the pretty people to quit buying fur, then Russia stopped buying US fur, prices went to crap, then about a year later we had thousands of coons dying from distemper cause they were overpopulated.

Coyotes in Kansas City are carrying off folks pets from their back yards. Wonder what the Friends of the Coyote think of that.

Bottom line, when do gooders get involved, they screw up the system.


Gene

Horses haven't been used for dog food for decades -- the primary market is export to continental Europe & Japan. Much more valuable for human consumption. Only parts that would go to dog food are the same left overs like beef and sheep miscellaneous protein parts.

English speaking countries are one of the relatively few cultures with a strong aversion to horse meat, and it seems to be a very old taboo -- there are no English words to describe different horse meat like beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, bacon, ham, etc.

My Dad told me when he got his tractor in the late 30's, he had no more use for his horses. He took them to the zoo to be used for lion food. He said he cried all the way home. Stan

There is alot of that going on here now too. There was a new story on tv the last few nights. 8 colts were dumped on the side of the road in IN. There have been some stories, starting last year when hay went high and now people don't have money, where people let there ponies out in LBL and some of the public ground in eastern KY.

Dave

You better lay some blame on the guy that wrote and introduced the bill that banned slaughtering horses. Dan Burton R-Ind. Not just a nnalert but a far right nnalert who is very involved with such far right groups as the NRA, Farm Bureau, US Chamber of Commerce, Family Research Council, National Federation of Independent Business and the like and receiving awards from these groups and others. Don't just focus your blame at liberals!

I agree with GenMo. The do gooders are abunch of fake people. Trying to make a name for themselves.
Then when the problems is out of hand. You don't hear are see one of them.
I was in a blog a few years ago. Pita people were there. They got to telling me how I being a fisherman was hurting the worms! That the worms had feelings and I was sticking them and killing them with my fish hooks.
I did tell them were to get off! lol

Who mentioned liberals? If he wrote the law, then I guess the tree hugger types got to him.
Maybe he is a closet tree hugger, who knows. I dont care nnalert, nnalert, or Shite. If you write ignorant laws, then you get ignorant results.


Gene

Makes my daughter happy. She is horse nuts and figures this increases the chance her tightwad Father. Just might open his wallet with bargains around.
Need to build a drive shed/larger shop first. Might justify the project to management by calling it a horse barn and putting a couple of stalls in one end???
Fences to build, hay making equipment to purchase and productive land now used to feed a hayburner.Still it's better than her getting interested in boys.

Just saying put the blame everywhere that it belongs and not just on one group. Maybe I should have said tree huggers as you put it. Point is still the same.