Because CVI stands for certificate of veterinary inspection. The health cert required to transport and sell animals can only be issued legally by a vet
Help save beautiful horses 🐎 horses 🐎 ❤️ life's matters ,thank you for recuse beautiful horses 🐎 it takes a village of heart ❤️ 💙 💜 souls of humans 😊 to care about safety welfare and their health care system needs to stop testing drugs and others programs needs help save beautiful pet's horses 🐎 horses 🐎 🐕 🐈 monkey 🐒 🙈 🙊 others animals need save 😊
The tomfoolery is so bad that my vet had pictures of every animal in his practice for the last few years. It ate up a lot of cloud space! It is easy to copy government forms. It was nice when you had a lost pet to get returned, but a shame an honest man had to go such expense, to protect himself.
35:44 holy hell that poor girl 💔 Fingers crossed for that draft mare. My husband is a police officer … he sees a lot of terrible things. And when people say “I don’t know how you can stand it”, he says that pain and suffering happens whether we look or not. If we look, we can do something about it. If we don’t, it happens anyway but in silence. It’s hard as hell to see animals in this condition, but you’re stopping it now for these animals who need you so badly. I’m so glad you’re saving them from a long rough final ride.
Since they've all got "health certificates," why not press charges on the vet that signed off, since that's the only actual documentation that came with the suffering horses. They're not keeping up with their hippocratic oath of "do no harm."
A health certificate is basically saying free of communicable disease not that the animal is healthy. Dr Lydia was calling it a CVI Certificate of Veterinary Inspection which honestly is a better name for it because the vet saw the animal but that's about it
CVI is the right name for the cert by a vet that the animal is free of communicable disease to the best of their knowledge. The point is how does a vet say “sure this horse can only use 3 legs to stand, go ahead and put it on a trailer”
At my former workplace vets would change their demeanor around a horse depending on how much they were worth. I’m so so happy to see that Dr. Lydia and Dr. Gina treat every horse with so much compassion and grace - because they’re all worthy of our love 🧡
You’ve mentioned CA’s downed horse law that makes it illegal to transport a horse that can’t stand up, and how it wouldn’t stop most of the cases you get including the first one with the bent over front leg. I’m so glad Horse Plus is advocating for better laws!!!
Thank you giving these beautiful babies dignity in their last moments, they probably haven’t been given that along with love for a long time, it makes me mad that these babies give us humans all they have and these spitefully cruel people can’t give them the same respect so THANK YOU again for all you do xx 💔
I feel the same way you do it is horrible I train standardbreds for almost 50 years I am now retired and it makes me sick to see what is going on in this world with these animals things need to change.
I know it is necessary for a lot of the horses to be given the last act of kindness. It’s just very difficult to watch when it seems the horses in the worst shape are so sweet and trusting. I find myself wishing some could be given just a little while longer to enjoy a few good meals, to be treated kindly, to feel the sun on their faces.
Shameful how cruel people can be. Doubly shameful lawmakers haven’t enacted laws to prevent these atrocities. 😢 I pray along with all of you, that things change to protect equines very soon. 🙏
Tawnee on one of the other videos has information on contacting our national legislators to sponsor bills to stop horse abuse. I'm sorry I don't remember which one. but it's a very recent one.
It is called the "Horse Safe Act"...call your congressman to vote YES...in DC....Will make these meat auctions illegal even to transport to Mexico.........
That 18hh gelding with the star 😍 I have a soft spot for giants, he just needs to know that a human hand won’t hurt him anymore. If I could own a horse it would be a big baby like him. Thank you for all your care to all these horses giving them the best. ❤
I commend Corey and the others having to intercept and watch these horses come off that trailer and not just knock those people's lights out for hauling horses like that
A lot of these horses would go down and die on the trailer to Mexico, and that’s why you’re getting them. You’re giving more than they would go for at auction and these jerks know that too 🤬🤬🤬. All you can do is live for the few you can save, and God bless you for your care for all of them
🩵 It's beautiful to watch Dr. Gina be so gentle with the horses and treat them with such respect and care. Her playful communication with them makes me smile each time. Its like she is looking after her own pets. 🐴😊
When Dr. Lydia recommends the last act for horses, it is not so hard on my heartstrings as she openly shows her love for the animal and willingness to do everything she knows to save them. Thank you Dr. Lydia for openly showing just how much you care as a person, not just a doctor. Be Blessed, always.
😢 💔 I'm speechless. These poor animals are in really rough shape. Thank God for HP to intervene in the lives of these poor animals. I 💯 percent trust the doctors in their evaluations and assessments and making the very tough decision for last act of kindness... No more pain 😢
What a hard, and very sad intake day 😢. Sooo many that needed the "last act of kindness" BUT, at the same time, I'm so happy they made it to HP instead of Mexico in the slaughter pipeline. This way at least they all knew love at the end 🐴. Love and God Bless you all for everything you do for all these poor neglected "thrown away" horses 💜 ✝️ Jennifer
Woah, what a day. Such heartbreak and hope side by side. Thank you for putting the whole intake process with the vet play by play. Dr Lydia is amazing. I missed the intake and seeing all the horses. You are a blessing to the world ❤ Thank you.
Thats why they call it the COFFIN bone.. if its gone, so are they. My grandpa used to say that..also, anything tbat has HOOVES and 4 legs cant live with only 3 love it enough to put it down....if it has PAWS it can.. quality of life, not quanity of life. I always loved the wisdom my grandpa had. He had another saying , but its kinda before we had the vet care we have now..he used to often say, one bullet, and some sadness and pain for you, is kinder than a lifetime of pain for it so you dont have to feel pain..do the right thing. .
Join the membership $9.99 a month. Every dollar goes to a rescue shelter and protect all the animals we have here at the shelter. To buy the membership, go to the homepage on our RU-vid channel and click "join" or click on this link! ru-vid.comjoin thank you so much!🐴
First bay off the trailer is a standardbred named Mr.Cornbread , he was foaled 4/21/2017 in clarksville , pa , he was owned by Stephen k White of Carmichael, pa
It always seems the sweetest, calmest, horses, are always the most loving, and almost always the worst broken ones that have recived or endured the most abuse.
Mr Mustang looked so cute trying to follow Kory after the headcollar was taken off. Awwwww the lil bay baby is so cute! Got some real cuties in this intake!
I would like to know how long it takes to get a horse to the slaughter facilities. You can be a belive in slaughter, but no horse should be forced to travel in their conditions. That mare with the bad heart would have suffered and died in route. The gelding with the bad leg and founder would have suffered every mile on the truck. THAT is what is wrong with the slaughter process.
I am no expert, but I suspect it can be greatly depending on the horse. I know they can bounce around between quite a few sales before they go to the border.
Amazing content, I learned so much! It's so nice to see the new vet, Dr. Jeana(?) acclimating to the crazy world of Horse Plus. We all adore Dr. Lidia, and I'm willing to bet that we are all going to fall in love with her too!
That’s the problem know one wants to take blame for these poor horses. The bad thing is that the horse will do anything for you hurt or not hurt. These horses have more heart than the people who had them. It’s a major thanks to HP n to the awesome vets there for always doing the right call for them. ❤🇨🇦
I have been watching for years, I have never cried so hard when I saw that red seriously injured mare. If your caught doing this to a dog, you get charged with animal cruelty. How do horses get so bad and no one is charged with anything!!! I am so disgusted on what has happened to her. My heart breaks for her little spirit had to go threw all that pain.
I really enjoyed the content of this video. I appreciate the individual evals. I am so so sorry so many had to say good-bye. Such a terrible waste to ignore the health and lives of these precious souls. Thank you all for doing all you can for these darlings.
That draft horse mare was so happy to munch some grass. I hope the infection on her leg can be sorted out. That poor gelding. He had to have been in some bad pain with his coffin bones basically stabbing his feet from the inside every time he took a step and yet really didn't show it. Fair journeys to him. That mustang was so cute following Kory after having the halter removed to get more pets. It was "Hey! Wait a minute! You aren't done yet!" As calm as he was through the intake, I suspect he's going to be an easy one to train and make an amazing horse for somebody. Wow, Ivermectin being used for what it was designed for. What a cute donkey baby. Even better if he's already gelded. Considering the shape of some of the horses in this intake, it's so nice to see him looking totally healthy. He's as big now as some adult donkeys that are full grown so yeah, going to be a big one. As sweet as he is being handled. I expect he'll be adopted soon after his quarantine ends.
Only half way through and I'm heartbroken 💔 💔😥💔😥.. how can ANY VET with an ounce of compassion and a belief in their job take blood from these horses before they are shipped knowing the absolute pain they are already in..l know they do it for the money but fgs how do they sleep at night..every last one of these horses has been polite..well behaved..inspite if the bloody awful treatment they've obviously had..good god people..TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR OWN HORSE.. anyone who does that to a horse or indeed ANY animal they own truly DISGUST ME..SHAME ON YOU..KARMA IS A BITCH..so watch out..sorry guys but I'm so upset and its made me ANGRY AS HELL..I'm 64 and I've had to say goodbye to so many of my furry babies over the years..l just cannot comprehend how people can just neglect their duty to look after their animals..they give you love..loyalty..some are working animals..even more reason to look after them in their old age..and then make that decision if you have to for their sake..please people..watch this and take responsibility..seriously..!!
May I give a slightly different perspective? I'm going to change the names and particulars of some of my personal story as there were people who were a great help and others not so much. Plus some of it I found out much later after my regular vet returned. Almost 20 years ago, I had a wonderful pony mare, Miranda, a 20+ year old retired broodmare, who loved people almost as much as she loved her food and was a joy to jump on bareback with a halter and ride around in the pasture. One morning I went out to feed all my ponies and I heard a loud roaring sound. It was coming from Miranda whenever she took a breath. I hurried to the house to call the vet. He was out of town, so I had to call the On Call Vet. On Call Vet came out later in the evening with another younger Vet, who, by my estimation, had just graduated from Vet school and gotten her license. First thing I mentioned was that I didn't have a lot of money to spend on this little mare as finances were tight. On Call Vet's response was, "You HAVE GOT to give this pony a chance!" I was shocked at her reply. The only reason I mentioned it at all was I wanted her to know that I didn't have tens of thousands of dollars to go looking for lots of different possibilities, something that my regular vet was aware of. A neighbor across the street (rural area of the state) came up to the barn and asked the On Call Vet if she could come over and plow out his driveway with the blade on her truck as he was snowed in. She agreed and left. So I'm dealing with a brand new vet. New Vet took blood that On Call Vet had drawn while also giving her a steroid shot to calm her breathing, leaving New Vet to further check her over. New Vet handed me some antibiotics and told me she would run the blood work and get back to me the next day. She left to join On Call Vet to return to their clinic. So the next morning I go out and Miranda was having a harder time breathing than she had the night before and she hadn't eating anything at all. In all the years I had her that had NEVER happened. So I call my vet's office to see if they had any info from the blood work and they told me that New Vet had yet to call for the results. Since I'm not a vet, I cannot get the results. It's almost noon before New Vet calls me to see how my pony is doing. It sounded like she had just gotten up. (In her defense, she may have had some late night calls...) By this time I knew Miranda had to be euthanized and told New Vet this. She told me ABSOLUTELY NOT that she would contact my vet and tell him that I could NOT put down my pony. Fortunately, my vet, who was out of state at a conference, told New Vet that I knew my pony very well after having her for several years and if I wanted her put down, she needed to do so. The ONLY thing that kept me sane during that very difficult day was my regular vet's office would take my calls and comfort me with not only the stress of putting Miranda down and figuring out what I could do with her body (the ground was frozen so I couldn't bury her at home) and fighting with the New Vet to get her to come out and euthanize Miranda who wasn't getting better, but worse. I had even tried to find any other local vet to euthanize her and they all turned me down as I wasn't a regular client. Later in the afternoon, after I had called a large animal disposal company and made an appointment with them, I got a call from the On Call Vet. She wanted to know how my pony was doing. I ROARED "I want her put down! " On Call Vet said she understood that but wanted to know if it could be later as they had an emergency to deal with first. When I mentioned that the disposal company closed before they would come and I didn't want my pony lying dead, overnight where the neighbors could see her, she replied that she would contact the company and work it out. This company showed up first, but when the driver saw that we didn't have Miranda put down yet, he very kindly waited at the end of my very long (over 300 feet) driveway. Meanwhile my 2 daughters-in-law have come with my elementary school age grandson to help wherever they could and to say goodby to Miranda. Since I had to go into the house to write a check to the On Call Vet, I asked my 2 daughters-in-law to bring her up to the house. They had some difficulty putting the halter on as they aren't horsewomen but got it on before I got to the barn. I brought her up to the house and New Vet was the one to euthanize her while On Call Vet held her. New Vet had the hardest time finding the vein with Miranda struggling after being poked several times. It would not have surprised me if you had told me that New Vet had never had to euthanize an equine before. I had to turn my back as I knew it had to be done, but it was torture for both her and me. When my vet returned, about a week later, he called me to see what had happened. When he found out that I had never gotten the blood tests results back, he told me that all were normal, no sign of infection at all. So he thought she was probably dying of cancer as she was gray and this particular breed of pony has a high incidence of cancer in grays. In fact she was part of a study to find the link for the cancer gene, the results of that study are still not definitive as of April 1, 2024. My experience isn't unusual. About 5 years before my story, I was reading in a horse publication where vets were becoming more and more reluctant to euthanize horses, especially if they could be "rehabilitated" with expensive protocols that the owner couldn't afford. As HPHS mentions it's not cheap to rehabilitate and care for a horse with chronic life-long health issues. So, in my opinion, this situation needs to be addressed too.
I have had to soak alfalfa cubes for older horses, one I had live to 40 years old, as he had no molars and just nubs for front teeth! They can live with no teeth!
Agreed. They must not have the resources to care for a horse with no teeth or something in which case they shouldn’t be agreeing to take on so many animals if soaking food and providing an alternative to hay is too much work for them
Taking a horse to a vet for euthanasia has become extremely expensive. I can see why so many people are not wanting that expense. That doesn't mean I condone it but our last horse cost us over $600 to have put to sleep and have his remains taken care of. I'm sure part of that is because of where we live in California and the lack of a permanent horse veterinarian but that is still a lot of money compared to what it used to be.
The cost of so many things has gone up so this is not too surprising to me. I think this is where the emphasis on education comes in… though it may not reach or be accepted by all communities, helping owners to plan and set aside funds including end of life care seems so important. Of course with this prices always rising maybe the education could suggest owners reevaluate costs of care every so many years and adjust the money they have set aside. I am not a horse or pet owner but it seems these plans, maybe even pre-payment or some sort of separate account is imperative to avoid cruelty and neglect. There is definitely something very off with how it is being dealt with now on a large scale.
It's the fact that a vet certified him to be sound to sell at auction and stood by him with that injury and did absolutely nothing. I hope he can't sleep at night and gets his license taken away. Cause that's bad veterinary practice. Goes against everything they typically believe in. Wow. I still can't believe that. That poor horse. Well, at least he had kindness in the end. 😢
The CIV is only done to make sure that equines have no that could spread to other areas of the nation. That's different than a soundness/vet exam that people get when they show their horses or before someone purchases a equine. I did that on several horses/ponies. One pre-purchase exam on one I wanted to purchase, was a grade 1 lame so could be ridden lightly, but since I wanted her for a broodmare, I bought her anyway and rode her lightly which helped keep her joints working well.
It should not matter. As nurses we have to report possible child abuse. Someone brings a baby in for fever/rash and one sees bruises , cig burns you can bet it's addressed whether or not we are there for the " other" issue. Get real!!
Are the kill buyers feeding you the worst horses and keeping the better ones for their profit killings? How many good horses are doomed because they cost just that much more to buy out?
I own a standard breed (its his birthday tomorrow) he's 18 and hes a rescue. He makes me so happy and so I do everything I can to make him and his best friend happy, his best friend and companion is one of my sisters two horses and hes an apendix. They are both so sweet. When I see other horses especially standard breeds in really bad shape it makes me so sad. It's my horses birthday tomorrow so I picked him up his favorite brand of oatmeal, its the first birthday he's ever celebrated and he deserves so much better than what he got. They all do. Registered standards, their age is legally increased by one year on January first so for me, celebrating on his actual birthday is a way of acknowledging what happened to him, saying "look, he's his own horse not just a number" and giving him the appreciation his life deserves. All horses deserve love and the fact that I have the chance to give him that makes me so happy he's here.
I have just subscribed to yourchannel.what is the % of horses that are euthanised. It is a Great thing you do. God loves you for taki hg careof his horses. God bless you all for your work.
I didn't realize at the time that the big 2 deck tractor and trailers were full of horses going to slaughter! We have a Livestock Aution here in Kingsport, Tn.. i worked there when I was 12 to 16! I only dealt with the animals never went into the sale part.. I've helped these POS load these beautiful babies.. I'm now 49! But, I'm still at every Auction telling the drivers that they work for a twisted occupation!
I’m crying this is so hard to see I don’t know how you all deal with this so much… f ing bastards who allow this shit… I feel for you all. It’s just heartbreaking. I’m so sorry for all this pain and suffering…
The team did an amazing job on intake in the most heart breaking episode i have watched. I hope the government gets involved and get the laws changed so these animals will no longer be able to get through the slaughter pipeline and shut it down for good. Auction houses that allow sick and wounded horse and founder in their facilities should be held accountable this is absolutely heart breaking so many horses needing the last act of kindness and feel loved for the first time ever or the first time in a long time only to be put to sleep because someone should have done this for the animal before it got to this stage. Owners should be held responsible for animals that are sick old and sick or have medical conditions of symptoms of an incurable disease cancer being one of them if you cannot afford the treatment please be a responsible owner and have the vet perform the last act of kindness it is the very least you can do. Please don't let your animal suffer don't let wounds fester keep wounds clean, sterile if you can, Change dressings when the vet tells you to change the dressings if the horse manages to get the dressing off put on another one but make sure you clean it before putting a new dressing on the would keep replacing and cleaning it when the vet tells you its ok to leave it off do just that. This episode was so heart breaking so many critical horses. Owners need to own up to their neglect even the basic of care hooves and teeth horses are a herd animal their instinct if to fight or flight which means they need their legs and hooves to hold up if they feel the need to run away founder is a progressive thing if you catch it early enough the horse can live a good life when their bones are being reabsorbed or they are at too much of an angel that the hoof or the horse can no longer be saved that horse should not have to endure being forced to run around the auction ring or being so doped up that it doesn't care anymore if it hurt. We humans that have had foot pain for one reason or another know how painful it can get so imagine being between 800 and 1400 Ibs and having to walk around how painful it would be to a horse. Animals feel pain the same way we humans do they don't seem like they are in excruciating pain because horses show it in their biology rather screaming out in pain like we humans do. if they are walking funny there is something wrong get a vet out to look at your horse and take ownership of the horse make the right choice. Our horses only want to please us and be loved by us why do we just send them to an auction that horse is still in the same pain as when you had him or her do you think they suddenly get well cos they are sent to auction. what's the thinkin? It is disgusting how many people are literally getting away with murder, neglect and incompetence. Horses deserve better than this treatment at least Horse Plus Humane society does what is right by these horses.
When you have the horses that are visibly, distressingly unwell or in pain they still do a seemingly comprehensive record of their health before giving the final act of kindness and Im just curious if they do that to keep records that can be traced back on the horse even after its passed ?. I would imagine that the rescue would be so stretched with animal care that they maybe wouldnt have the time or manpower to be able to trace these mistreated horses journeys. I found the first horse really difficult to watch. Every step he tried to make had me full body cringing. As it should. I know these lovely souls would never deliberately allow an animal to be in any unecessary pain so I was just curious about the process.
I think it is cruel to drag those poor horses from one auction to the next. I have no real issue with them being used for dog food if the slaughter house is regulated and humane methods that are policed. It should not be a pipeline where they are taken around suffering. It should be a vet check - assessment of poor prognosis and then put out of misery. The process itself needs to be changed. If they have serious problems as assessed by a vet they should not be put on a trailer and put out of their misery straight away.
I can only hope it has to do with lack of money in a bad life situation and not intentional neglect. Some cannot bear to put the beloved animal down. I think most don’t understand how much pain the animal is in. I also hope sometimes that it’s because of a mental health issue the cannot help the animal. Thinking that is much better than entertaining the idea that they are just plain cruel. My mind goes over and over these things and it really seems like there are way too many situations in which horses come out on the bottom. no easy answers. What horse plus is doing is certainly helping. Now we just need more full circle of life shelters, spreading throughout the country, and more horse owners learning about them. Stopping the slaughter pipeline would help. Though I have encountered horse people on RU-vid who say things were better when horses could be slaughtered here in the US. They say at least the suffering horses weren’t being transported long distances and traded so much between auctions before being put down. Again No easy answers. Just ruminating.
I am absolutely bawling my eyes out for that poor horse with the damaged foot. I feel absolute rage at the vets that give these horses a health certificate I think this is an area that needs more attention as I’m sure they’re getting paid for this job. SHAME ON YOU VETS!!
I really agree as a health cert not only means they are free of infectious disease, but that they are stable enough to travel and no vet I know would have ever signed a health cert for that horse. I can say the only time this would happen is if the vet was lied to as in "I'm taking them to the major university equine hospital just over the border and can't go without a health cert." To travel they must be able to bear weight on all four feet as they can fall down and trailers and the road are bumpy and you can lose balance with just three. That horse was at risk to be traveling in a trailer as they could have fallen and really hurt themselves. Vets are licensed professionals just like any other doctor and it's a very expensive career to go into. . . . .they can always be reported and the video and the x-rays from that horse can be submitted to the board who oversees that vet asking how that horse got a health cert. and was fit for travel across state line.
It's very nice of "Horse Plus" to have rescued the horses from going to slaughter but, they euthanize a lot of the older horses. It sounds like the message they're sending is that the older horses are not worth it. That one horse who fell out of the truck... nobody said anything. They can afford to put a bumper under the truck.
Hey , love what you do , you guys are amazing . Just a casual comment , with horses that are blind or compromised with movement , can you look at getting a trailer that has a slight ramp to help them. ??. You save so many to give them ' The last rights ' which is so selfless and hard to do but I see so many horses trying so hard to get up and off a trailer that has a step up and step off , especially ones with hoof/ leg injuries and blindness. Not a criticism at all just an observation Keep up the good work , you guys are angels to the ones that can't talk
Oh that brown old man with his head all grey😢such an old horse you need to be thankfull to for all his work and feed him delicious mash 6 times a day and take small walks together, next to him....
I wish the owners who neglected care, could go thru what these poor horses did. If you cant provide care to your pets, call hors plus or another shelter. Your pets have been true to you, be true to them.
Agree about the having their licenses taken away who sign off on the health reports, but like all other businesses they are protected even though they are a bunch of cruel, useless pieces of trash who have no heart and shouldn't have the title of veterinarian, true vets care for the animals such as Dr Lydia who you can tell she is a true veterinarian and deserves the title.
Why can't you have them deliver the horses? Intercepting them is tougher on horses & everybody. Maybe offering them less $$ if they want you to intercept will encourage them to deliver again?
The amount of horses y'all see in a day is mind blowing. I have serious respect for what each one of you do there throughout the process. I definitely have to give major kudos for the ones on last act of kindness duty for the day. I can only imagine how difficult it must be. I know it may be a better end than the kill auction, but I also know you truly wish that rehabilitation was possible for each of them. 😢 Again thank you for all you do!❤ I absolutely wish I were somebody who could offer a home to one of these or even 2. The 6 month colt and 2 year filly just tickled my heart strings. Yes I know the colt will be a big boy! I love draft horses! The filly was just precious, her main was cute poking out all over the place. She will be absolutely beautiful when she is an adult!😊❤😊
Tawnee I was wondering if you provide counseling to your staff and also yourself to cope with giving the last act of kindness which must be so stressful for you all. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you for the amazing work you with little or no thanks. 🙏🙏🤩🤩🇦🇺🇦🇺
I've got to say that you folks are amazing and thanks for all the kindness that you have shown. I can't believe how people can allow these beautiful creatures can get to the state that they are in. I would image that to police this cruelty would be extremely difficult to manage. Surely there must be legislation in place to prevent this level of cruelty. Thanks once again for what you do. Is there a follow up on the horses that you saved?
42:57 - perhaps mention too, that people can bring them to you guys if they are unable to pay for their care?? I worry that if there ARE laws in place that prosecute people for taking an unwell horse to, well, wherever, they may not get them help (surrendering even) because they are too afraid of what might happen to THEM!! 😢😢 I love that you guys are there for these animals. I do work at a horse rescue place near me, and nursing them back to health is very rewarding! 😊❤
I was horrified the first time I "went to auction" with you guys, but I have to say that the "buy outs" is even beyond what was seen at the auction . These horses are for the most part at the end of their natural lives, and on top of that have been subjected to goodness knows what being dragged around to auctions, getting beat up in the trailers and more. I thought for a bit that the buy out option was going to be ok, but what I am seeing is the majority of the animals are simply getting a ride to HS to be euthanized and that should have been done goodness knows how far back. At last a few of your auction buys were able to be treated, and even become adoptable, but this particular bunch in both of the trailers are mostly either at death's door or have no quality of life because of medical issues. I would rather see you guys travel to buy at auctions because there are more that can actually be saved depending on who is there buying as kill buyers. I think the word may be spreading for traders to go around and buy up all the lost cause cases for pennies and then come to you all and sell them to you at four to six times what they paid. I am considering that now Horse Plus is being taken advantage of to just dump horses knowing full well they will be euthanized shortly after arrival. I am not being critical please know, but I am not sure this is the route to stay on. Many donors will potentially stop donating when there seems to be no hope week aftet week with the buyouts. One of the motivations for donating is to help at least SOME of them go on to more life in adoptions, but when most need to be euthanized there is going to be fewer donors who know that most of the donation monies are going for euthanization and cremation. I will still send my small all I can afford donations, but there has to be a better way than simply buying animals that are for all intensive purposes already dead. Ending their suffering is all you can do for them and after the 450 to buy, then the cost of euthanasia and disposal, a lot of money that might have gone to horses that could actually be brought back to health isn't something that the fans of your organization will want to see be the only way forward. It is bad when two to four have to be euthanized but when it becomes the majority, I think this will sear on all of you and your staff including both of your wonderful vets. Burn out will take hold when there is little hope .
One of the efforts they are making is to get the laws changed. Also the nation- wide group of shelters that are Circle of Life shelters are working to help the original horse owners be responsible for the hole lives if their horses. This will then reduce the numbers going to auctions. Also the education factor of videos like this one will help change attitudes.
I get so emotional when they are being unloaded. To see all the sad conditions that tell the stories of neglect, abuse, and pain. I do not know how you survive the tragedy of it all.
