HR 6598 updates today.

Updating on H.R. 6598

Some Committee Members Puzzled By Horse Trafficking Bill [link]
CattleNetwork.com | Sep. 17, 2008

Readers have been asking us about the results of the Judiciary Committee's vote on H.R. 6598, the Equine Cruelty bill. We had alerted readers that the Committee had scheduled a vote for last Wednesday, Sept. 10.

The bill would criminalize the knowing possession, sale, delivery or transport of horses for slaughter for human consumption across state lines or international borders, punishable with fines and prison terms from one to three years.

The committee conducted only a little discussion of the bill during their session but did not vote. Several days later the committee had still not published any transcripts. Sources on Capitol Hill tell us the discussion the committee did conduct raised some of the same questions we asked in our last Sentinel. Committee members asked why this issue was coming up in front of the Judiciary Committee, instead of some more germane committee and why Congress was considering at all the criminalizing of selling horses that might be consumed by humans.

Of course, part of the reason for this strange route for a bill affecting farmers, ranchers and horse owners is the subject matter. When Humane Society of the U.S. CEO Wayne Pacelle appeared last year before a House subcommittee with some knowledge and appropriate jurisdiction over animal agriculture, he did not get the reception he wanted.

The hearing regarding the welfare of animals in agriculture was held in May 2007 by the Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. Afterwards, Pacelle called the hearing "sophomoric," and said, "the Agriculture Committee's knee-jerk hostility to modest animal welfare measures simply means we will have to do an end [run] around the committees or do it on the floor," according to agricultural political correspondent Jerry Hagstrom ("Farm, Animal Welfare Groups Clash Over Animal Protection" Congress Daily, 5/9/07).

So, apparently, this route for H.R. 6598 is one of Pacelle's end runs. His testimony last year covered production animal agriculture, like laying hens, gestation crates, veal calves, foie gras and downer animals, as well as poultry slaughter and dog and cat issues.

Pacelle was promoting legislation even then that used the power of the federal government's food purchasing, for programs like the school lunch program, to force back door changes in animal production practices. The bill would have required producers to not use certain production practices if it wished to sell to the federal government (H.R. 1726- Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act). The bill did not make it out of committee.

The Judiciary Committee has not indicated when it will re-schedule a vote on H.R. 6598.

Latest news is the committee would vote today ... will be watching for results.

Oregon: expect more horses to be turned loose.

Anticipated abandonment increase due to costs of feeding horses skyrocketing out of many owners' reach.

Officials expect more abandoned horses [link]

ED MERRIMAN | Sep. 15, 2008

As fall approaches, Oregon officials expect more horses will be abandoned as a result of record-high hay prices, higher transportation costs, and the closure of the nation's last horse slaughtering plants.

Don Hansen, state veterinarian, said horse abandonment cases rose last year after hay prices shot up to $200 a ton.

Most such cases occur during the fall and winter, Hansen said, when pasture grasses go brown and owners have to feed hay to sustain their horses.

He said horses have been abandoned across the state, including Northeastern Oregon, where he said horses "tend to be abandoned on public lands."

Matt Shirtcliff, Baker County district attorney, warned anyone considering abandoning a horse that if they are convicted of animal neglect they could face penalties of up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine.

"We had a couple of animal neglect cases recently," Shirtcliff said. "We are starting to get a few additional complaints."

"It's not the big ranches that are doing this. It's the people with a few horses," Shirtcliff said. "We had one lady last year who wasn't feeding her horses. She couldn't afford the feed."

Rodger Huffman, the state brand inspector with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said he is aware of several horse abandonment cases that occurred last fall and winter across the state, including some cases in Baker County and other parts of Northeastern Oregon.

As with some other crops, Huffman said hay prices have been driven to record highs due in part to soaring costs for fuel, petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, equipment and labor, and other factors.

So far, most of the horse abandonment cases in Northeastern Oregon have occurred in Malheur County, Huffman said.

"It is not as much of an issue in Baker County at this point, but I anticipate that as fall turns into winter, this is going to be a growing problem," Huffman said.

"These horses just show up on public lands. Because they are not marked, we have not been able to find the owners," Huffman said.

He said ODA officials have met with BLM employees to discuss the problem, because many of the horses abandoned in Northeastern Oregon were turned out on public land BLM manages.

"Hay is even higher this year at $150 to $200 a ton, compared to $120 to $175 last year," Huffman said, adding that a combination of higher hay prices and rising unemployment are likely to prompt more people to abandon horses in 2008.

The closure of the last three horse slaughtering plants in the United States — one in Illinois and two in Texas — due to stricter state and federal laws, essentially eliminated the last markets for horse meat within the United States, Huffman said.

Since those three plants closed, horse traders who used to buy horses for slaughter in the United States have had to ship them to Mexico and Canada; however, that is only economically feasible for horses with plenty of meat on their bones, Huffman said.

"With no more slaughter of horses in the United States, that took away a market that gave horses value at an auction. That has been a big problem," Hansen said.

There's no market left anywhere in the United States, or at export markets, for young and thin or old and thin horse, Huffman said.

The thin horses have traditionally been used in the pet food industry (labeled animal parts or animal by-products) because the whole carcass can be used in pet food products.

"The problem is there's no market for real thin or real old horses because they don't carry enough flesh for human consumption, and the other parts have no value because transportation costs are more than the carcass of a skinny old horse is worth for dog food," Huffman said.

XP

Kentucky - rescue gone wrong?

This is exactly what I fear will happen more and more with the glut of skinny horses being sold at auction for $5, $10, $25 a head.

Animal graveyard [link]
Knox couple charged with 16 counts of animal cruelty after starved, dead dogs and horses found

Samantha Swindler | Sep. 12, 2008

Animal Shelter Manager Amy Young pokes through a collections of teeth and bones and finds a small spinal column — still wearing a rusted choke collar around what was once the creature’s neck.

In a nearby barn on the same property, Young guessed that a mostly-decomposed horse — probably about five years old — died eight months ago, still wearing its harness. More than a dozen other animals, dogs and horses in poor health but still alive, were also removed from the property.

It’s the most grisly animal abuse scene Knox County officials say they’ve witnessed, and a young couple is now facing a total of 16 felony animal abuse charges because of it.

Police were first called out to the Jarvis area home of 24-year-old Earl Enlow and 22-year-old Melanie Rogers Wednesday afternoon after receiving a call that several horses were starved on the property.

“Officer Chad Gregory with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department received a complaint on malnourished horses,” said Carl Bolton, Knox County constable and animal control officer. “He came out here, could not find anybody home, actually found the horses, looked at them, and contacted me. I came out and looked, and we found approximately 15-16 dogs that, some of them were in real, real bad shape. They were being fed but not fed enough. They had sores and stuff like that on them.”

Bolton also discovered the dead horse, left where it had died in a nailed-shut stall. Officials weren’t sure if the stall had been sealed before or after the animal died.

While officers were searching the property, Enlow and Rogers returned to the trailer they were renting and were arrested at approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday. Enlow was charged with 11 counts of animal cruelty and Rogers with five. Recently changed legislation now makes each of these counts a felony in the state of Kentucky.

“We’ve impounded the dogs, we’re in the process of moving the horses to another farm,” Bolton said. “All we could find for the horses to eat was two bales of hay. What field they’ve got out here is not adequate. It’s just a real bad situation. And we’re getting more and more complaints from people in the county about situations like this.”

Bolton noted that a single horse could go through a bale of hay in one day.

Five of the most severely malnourished dogs were seized Wednesday. Eight more dogs, five horses and one pony were retrieved by members of the Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter Thursday morning.

“It’s on the verge of death,” Young said of one of the horses, adding that the dogs had mange, were dehydrated, and some had kennel cough.

In addition to the horse, officials discovered at least five dogs, one rabbit, one cat and three fighting roosters dead on the property. The rabbit and roosters were found dead, still in their cages. Only the cat was given a shallow grave. Young said she just couldn’t understand how the couple could live in the home so close to where the animals were dying.

“You’d have to hear the cries, you’d have to live with it, you’d have to smell it,” she said.

James Earl Smith, an uncle to Enlow who lives nearby, was on scene Thursday morning and had offered to care for some of the horses. Smith said Enlow “has a good job” but has been off work lately due to an injury. Smith claimed he didn’t know about the horses’ condition, but said Enlow had bought them roughly a year ago for about $25 each because they were already malnourished.

“He (Enlow) just basically said he was trying to take care of them and really didn’t have the money to take them to the vet,” Bolton said.

Young said it would take months for the animals to fully recover, but once they do — and after criminal proceedings are completed — the dogs would be available for adoption. The horses will be staying with a foster caregiver, but the shelter is asking for donations of hay and feed to help with their care.

“This is probably one of the worst scenes I’ve seen since I’ve been an animal control officer,” Bolton said.

Enlow and Rogers have been released from the Knox County Detention Center after posting 10 percent of their $2,500 bonds. A phone number listed for Earl Enlow was disconnected.

Photo shows what is reported to be the worst-off horse taken from the property.

Simply put, a huge overpopulation of horses—caused by many varying factors—is at the very core of this problem.

What will solve it?

* UPDATE can be found here

Update: New York horse owner supported.

Interesting article.

Lots of support for Sparks [link]
Rick Pfeiffer | Sep. 11, 2008

A hearing on whether a Grand Island businessman is on the hook to pay the Erie County SPCA for caring for a dozen horses and five sheep they seized from him stretched into the night Thursday.

At press time, an SPCA veterinarian was testifying about what she believes was the “poor condition” of the animals seized on Aug. 12 from Sparks Trading Post on Bedell Road. Peter Sparks, the owner of the trading post, has pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of animal cruelty.

He’ll return to Grand Island Town Court for a hearing on the criminal charges on Oct. 8. The hearing, which had run for seven hours Thursday was in response to an SPCA request that Sparks pony up a bond of more than $9,000 to cover medical care and boarding costs for his horses and five sheep which are now being housed at a barn in the Town of Tonawanda.

The SPCA is billing Sparks at a rate of $164 a day for boarding swith medical costs added on.

In testimony from SPCA agents who participated in the raid and the veterinarian who examined Sparks’ animals, the case appeared to be boiling down to the agency’s claim that the animals were not being properly taken care of and Sparks contentions that, the horses in particular, were not ill cared for, but just old.

It’s a position those who know Sparks support. As they had at his last hearing, some 30 to 40 supporters showed up at the courthouse to watch the proceedings.

“Every Sunday, after church, we would take our kids out riding (at Sparks),” said Jim Gleeson, who said he had come out to support a man he’s known for at least 20 years. “My dad had a farm and I know little about horses. Pete has some old horses. It’s like a nursing home there. But to Pete, they’re beautiful.”

Sparks’ defense attorney Patrick Wesp repeatedly tried to question SPCA witnesses about their care of the animals since they were seized. Wesp took issue with how the horses were transported, as well as how they’ve been housed and cared for by the SPCA.

“The SPCA is seizing someone’s property,” Wesp said. “When they do that, they have a standard of care they have to meet.”

When SPCA lawyer Thomas Viksjo told Town Justice Mark Frentzel it was Sparks’ care of the animals that was the issue, Wesp shot back, “They are asking to keep these animals. It’s relevant that they are not taking care of these animals.”

SPCA investigators and the State Police raided Sparks’ stables after receiving a complaint from someone who had visited there. The investigators said Sparks appeared to have about 50 horses, a herd of sheep, some llamas, chickens and geese on his property.

The investigators described the horses and sheep that were seized as “emaciated” and said the horses had various other conditions and ailments that were effecting their health.

In a testy exchange, Wesp and SPCA assistant barn manager Patricia Burg, argued over the conditions that animals were living in, specifically the cleanliness of their stalls and whether they had a enough food.

“The (cleanliness of the) stables was not why we were called there,” Burg said. “It was the skinny condition of the animals. Having feed on your property doesn’t mean you’re using it.”

Dr. Jean Feldman, a veterinarian specializing in the treatment of large animals, who was called in to assist the SPCA testified that the both the sheep and horses were seized based on a preliminary exam at the trading.

“We went through all the barns and did a preliminary examination looking for animals that were (unusually thin),” Feldman said. “I noticed there were sheep that I could see were critically thin, I could see their ribs through their wool, and need to be taken somewhere else.”

Feldman estimated that the seized horses were between 17 to 25 years old. Wesp has said at least one horse is 35 years old.

Veterinarians expected to take the stand late Thursday night or early Friday morning indicated that they would testify the horses were in good shape for their age.

Though the raid was not the SPCA’s first visit to Sparks’ business, he has no prior animal cruelty arrests.

What do you think?

Oregon: update on abandoned horses.

So, are they better off now?

Abandoned horses sold at auction [link]
The Oregonian | Sep. 11, 2008

Eleven horses abandoned in south Clackamas County last month were auctioned at rock-bottom prices this week.

The horses sold—one for $5 and none for more than $45—at the Woodburn Livestock Exchange on Wednesday.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture sold the horses. The cash will help cover the cost of boarding and transporting the animals, which were found Aug. 31 on South Sawtell Road.

The agriculture department and Clackamas County Sheriff's Office still don't know who dumped the animals. Several horses had small green rectangular tags with four black numbers attached to their rumps, but investigators aren't sure what the tags signify.

You tell me.

Illinois: case update.

Not much known on this one, but could definitely be a landmark case if they propose to define cruelty.

Trial near for man accused of neglecting horses [link]
Judge, attorneys wrestle with defining 'cruelty'

DAVE FOPAY | Sep. 10, 2008

CHARLESTON — A judge and attorneys worked Tuesday to try to help a jury save time when it comes to their consideration of nearly 200 counts of charges against the man accused of neglecting his horses at a Charleston farm last year.

Every indication at the hearing in the case against Ernest C. Rose was that his trial will begin Monday as scheduled.

Circuit Judge Mitchell Shick termed Tuesday’s court session as Rose’s final pretrial hearing. While Rose was allowed to skip the hearing, Shick and the attorneys began working on the instructions jurors will receive to guide them in deciding if Rose is guilty.

Rose is scheduled for trial on misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals, violation of owner’s duties and unlawful disposal of dead animals. Coles County authorities discovered 72 horses that allegedly hadn’t been fed or watered or that were suffering from various afflictions at Rose’s farm at 1050 Coolidge Ave. in August of last year.

With many of the charges against Rose being counts of cruelty to animals, much of Tuesday’s hearing went to addressing the problem that there is no legal definition of “cruelty.”

Shick said he thought he would have to acquit Rose of the charges without the case going to the jury unless the prosecution could say specific acts amounted to cruelty. Assistant State’s Attorney Eric Neumann replied by saying what’s cruel is a “factual matter” that the jury has to decide, leading Shick to ultimately ask for more specifics if possible.

“Do your best,” the judge said. “We’re likely entering new territory.”

Other discussion of what the trial is expected to bring included Neumann’s saying the prosecution plans to show that Rose, who lives in the Chicago area, knew about conditions at the farm though he wasn’t there all the time.

Defense attorney Michael Tague said his evidence would include bills for food and water that Rose purchased at the time the horses were reportedly discovered, with both sides indicating that there would also be evidence that employees were at least partly responsible for the conditions at the farm, either with or without Rose’s knowledge or approval.

According to evidence at earlier hearings in the case, county animal control officers went to the farm on Aug. 1 of last year after a neighbor reported smelling an odor and then finding dead horses on the property.

Rose and authorities then agreed on a plan to remedy the situation, but the last of the horses were removed and charges against Rose were filed after a visit to the farm on Sept. 10, 2007, that allegedly led to the discovery of continued poor conditions.

Each of the allegedly neglected horses in the case have at least one charge referring specifically to that horse, which Neumann said on Tuesday was needed for Rose to forfeit a horse listed in a charge of which he’s convicted.

XP

Farm Bureau urges horse owners to act.

Call and write to oppose H.R. 6598

Horse owners urged to oppose flawed equine welfare bill [link]
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 3:22 PM MDT

BOZEMAN, Mont.—The Montana Farm Bureau is urging Montanans to contact the House Judiciary Committee in opposition of H.R. 6598, deceptively named the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act.

“Now is the time to get off your hands and let all of the congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee know you oppose H.R. 6598,” said Renee Daniels-Mantle, chair of the Montana Farm Bureau Equine Committee. “If enacted into law, this bill would make it a federal crime to buy, sell, own, or transport a horse, alive or dead, with the intent to use it for human consumption. The crime would be punishable with a fine and up to three years in prison. This bill is moving fast."

The bill is moving fast.

"It came up only six weeks ago and is already going to be voted on by a committee Wednesday, Sept. 10," said Daniels-Mantle.

This bill is being driven by animal rights activits. Passing this bill is their way of attempting to permanently ban horse slaughter, said Daniels-Mantle.

“This bill would affect the property rights of horse owners by taking away the value of their property with no compensation," she said. "It will flood the country with unwanted horses and offers no solution to the immediately necessary food, shelter, and care of 100,000 horses a year at a low estimate. This bill will ultimately take away a functioning system, based in an agricultural market, and replace it with a publicly funded welfare program with no solution and no existing funding or bureaucratic monitoring. Most importantly, it will immediately sentence thousands of horses to a long and slow death by starvation and neglect at a time when horse owners and range lands are least able to cope with the rising costs of fuel and feed.”

Even the animal rights movement acknowledges there are too few “sanctuaries” to assimilate these animals. This means in the first year alone, the U.S. would need a minimum additional 2,700 such facilities, according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

At the same time, care standards at existing facilities are not set by USDA, and are lower than those at dog and cat shelters. Plus, it is estimated to cost over $2,000 per year to house and feed each abandoned horse, not including veterinary or farrier services. It will cost $127 million in just the first year to properly care for these animals if this legislation is enacted.

"The people who care the most and know the most about horses and their management should have the greatest influence on the laws that impact our industry and the animals we are devoted to," said Daniels-Mantle. "The animal rights movement has a well established and well-funded political machine already in place. Its voice is drowning out the voice of the horse industry. The time for horse owners to act is now.”

It is time to act. Our representatives need to know that we are horse lovers and we oppose (practically unenforceable) restrictions on transporting them. Criminalizing the act of hauling a horse—when the real issue was and is those who are already breaking humane transport laws in place—will not benefit horses or humans.

The bill was not voted on 9/10 but may come up for vote at any time. Be sure that YOUR legislator knows YOUR view on the issue and not just the very loud, very powerful and very well-funded activist view.

New York: update on Norcrest seizure.

Not exactly about the seizure itself, but how it is affecting one of the owners involved.

Horse Owner Searches for Mare Seized in Breeding Barn Welfare
Case [link]
Pat Raia | Sep. 9, 2008

When horse owner Anne Maria Cray of Grantville, Pa., started spreading the word that her 5-year-old Thoroughbred mare, WeWe C, was available for a breeding lease, she never imagined that the horse would end up in the middle of a welfare case.

WeWe C is one of the 82 allegedly malnourished horses removed from Norcrest (also called Middle Creek) Farm in Troupsburg, N.Y., by the Finger Lakes Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) on Aug. 29 and 30. After investigators moved in, 78 of the horses were placed in foster homes. Another four were euthanized at the scene.

Cray does not know the mare's current location or whether she's alive. "I'd be happy to at least know that she was not one of the mares euthanized," Cray said.

Steuben County Assistant District Attorney Patricio Jimenez said Sept. 8 no charges have been filed in the case. He declined to confirm or deny who might be charged.

Gerry Trupia has been named as the farm's operator in published reports. Her attorney, J. Timothy Embser, was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, Cray is questioning her decision to send her horse so far from home. She had placed WeWe C at Norcrest/Middle Creek on the recommendation of members of an online forum who had previously done business with the farm. According to Cray, Trupia picked the mare up in June and transported her to Norcrest/Middle Creek for a six-month stay. The women stayed in touch by telephone and e-mail, and Cray was assured her horse was well.

She learned about the seizure while perusing online forum postings.

According to New York-based Thoroughbred trainer Laurie McDowell, Cray's experience is not the norm for owners who send their mares out-of-state on long-term breeding leases.

"Most owners never see the farms or even meet the breeders face-to-face," McDowell said. "Most of the time the arrangement works out fine."

Cray is unconvinced.

"We've learned a very hard lesson about trusting people," she said.

Hope she finds good news. Too many of these stories end badly.

California: recovered mare to be sold.

Horse to find a new home, but in this economy, no one can guarantee she won't be back in poor condition again soon.

Neglected Horse Now Healthy, Ready For Adoption [link]
Horse Rescued by County Animal Control Officers in June; Owner Faces Charges
10news.com | Sep. 8, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- A mare found nearly starved to dead in Campo has been nursed back to health in the care of the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services and
is available for adoption.

“The ‘before and after’ pictures of the horse are extremely dramatic. All she needed was someone to care enough to feed her,” said John Carlson, Deputy Director for County Animal Services. “She is just a sweetheart, and there is no excuse for the treatment she received.”

Animal Control Officers went to a corral in Campo in June after receiving a report from the U.S. Border Patrol about a severely neglected horse and dead foal. The mare’s foal appeared to have been dead for some time. The horse had no water available and the hay in the corral was just out of the reach of the horse, according to officials with the San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

Department officials said criminal charges have been filed by the District Attorney’s Office against the owner, Derek Boyd, for animal neglect. He has been arraigned and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 21.

The horse was forfeited under the law. Animal Services is looking to place her into a loving home with someone who knows how to care for horses.

Applications and Sealed Bid forms are available at any County animal shelter or on the Animal Services website. Forms must be received by September 18.

The winning qualified bidder will be notified the following day.

So, once again, charges have been filed but this suspect has been found guilty until proven innocent as is so often the case in these stories. I'm not saying that the horse doesn't look 200% better now, just that it doesn't seem right to sell seized property before the judicial system we take so much pride in has a chance to be put into play.

Horses abandoned, sale barns full of thin animals.

When is an animal a pet, and when is it livestock? One can have a pet cow, but that doesn't mean that cattle are not livestock.

Horse owners increasingly abandoning their animals
KEVIN MURPHY | Sep 07, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Unwanted horses are being left at auction barns, let go in the wild or tied to trees and fences in hopes someone will take them in.

It's a growing problem in the wake of rising feed prices and new laws that bar the slaughter of horses for meat.

"There is no room at the hotel, so to speak, for many of these horses," said Nat Messer, an equine veterinarian at the University of Missouri in Columbia. "Rescue centers and retirement facilities that usually take in these horses are at capacity."

Missouri has 281,000 horses and Kansas about 178,000, according to American Horse Council reports two to three years ago. About 70 percent of horses are for show or recreation, with others mostly for work or racing.

No one knows how many horses are unwanted, but the number is probably at its highest point in 20 or 30 years, said Tom Lenz, a retired Louisburg, Kan., veterinarian and past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

Every week, two or three people call the Northland Therapeutic Riding Center in Kearney hoping to give away a horse, said co-director Mary Jill Webber. The situation is dire, she said. "When you see the shape of a lot of horses, you can tell that people are not able to take care of them or don't take care of them," said Webber, who goes to sale barns sometimes. "They are nothing but skin and bones."

The River Bluff Rescue Ranch in Kansas City took in an abandoned horse two months ago. Last year, it took in a starved horse that a Cass County man said he couldn't afford to feed, ranch owner Elizabeth Hill said. The man, prosecuted for animal abuse, let two horses die, she said. "There are a lot of horses on the market at very reduced prices," she said. "People can't afford the board or hay or grain."

Corn and hay prices have risen sharply. The annual cost of feeding a horse is $2,000 to $2,500, Lenz said, and there are also veterinary bills. About one-third of horse owners have incomes of less than $50,000, according to the American Horse Council. "People are losing their houses and they don't have a place for themselves, let alone a horse," said Rhonda Stephens of the Shannon Foundation, a horse rescue center near St. Clair, Mo.

Unwanted horses are of various ages. Some are ailing, have behavioral issues and are no longer needed or used, according to the equine practitioners group. There are reports of horses being left at auction barns and let loose in public conservation areas, where Lenz said they can't survive for long. Stephens said horses have been found tied to trees, suffering from broken necks and starvation. "It's horrific," she said.

Certain horses still have value, but the prices have dropped sharply in the past two years, partly because people are getting out of the breeding and training business, observers said.

There is now a Web site called DonateMyHorse.com where people can give their animals away. "Two years ago you could not have convinced me there could be a Web site like that," said Sharon Marohl, president of the Missouri Equine Council. "A cow has a minimum value. Horses no longer now have a minimum value."

While the number of unwanted horses is unclear, Messer said that historically about 1 percent of all horses are sold at auctions for slaughter—the previous destiny for many unwanted horses. An average of 100,000 horses were slaughtered annually until last year, when Texas and Illinois became the last two states to prohibit it. "No one wanted to see horses go to slaughter, so the intention was good," Messer said. "It had unintended consequences that people were warned about."

Horses now have to be sent to Mexico or Canada for slaughter, but those more distant markets lowered the horses' value. Fewer horses are probably going there than went to Illinois and Texas, Lenz said. The long trips to Mexico and Canada are hard on horses. Plus, many unwanted horses who do not go to slaughter are suffering from neglect, which flies in the face of what animal rights groups wanted.

But Tori Perry of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the slaughter of horses is inhumane. Many horses may have been sold off by the racing and rodeo industry because they weren't athletic enough, she said. People also may have been under the wrong impression that unwanted horses sold to auction barns by individuals were going to a new home instead of to slaughter. "You wouldn't take the family dog and sell it to a kill buyer for slaughter. The same (should go) for a horse," Perry said. Euthanasia is the best answer for horses that can't be given a new home, she said.

But, Lenz said, euthanasia and disposal of horses can also be cost prohibitive for horse owners. He said his advice to people in controlling the horse population is to euthanize rather than discard, adopt rather than buy, buy rather than breed. "People just need to think about this," Lenz said.

Horses aren't dogs. While some horses may be more like a family member to their owners, horses are still farm animals. One owner might clip, blanket and polish and have a barn floor you could eat off of, but that does not mean that the horse standing in a pasture grazing in the rain is neglected.