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Animals Observations by one of the nation's leading equine neglect and abuse investigators -
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Eohipus, Dawn Horse. Five million years BCE,
a tiny swamp dwelling creature survived and evolved into the modern day horse. Equine,
noble, spirited, symbol of freedom, catalyst of revolution and change. A horse, a
horse, my kingdom for a horse.
The horse changed the face of many nations: Equus caballus carried men to battle,
helped them wage wars and acted as the primary vector to the industrial revolution.
Today , travel within ten minutes or less from many urban and suburban environments
and you will find this magnificent symbol of freedom in pastures, farms and fields
dotting the countryside.
The horse is our symbol of independence, the west, our heritage and status. (Wells
Fargo Bank and Marlbrough Tobacco Co. know that.) But as we travel these country
roads and see the horse grazing lazily in the lush fields of prosperity, there is
another story often sequestered from public view. Things as we know, are rarely what
they seem and the "pasture ornament" horse adorning the front lawns of
America's prosperous, is certainly no exception.
During the Twentieth Century, great advances where made for the protection and advocacy
of the equine. Now, as we leap into the Twenty-first Century, horse protection groups
dot the landscape -- almost as prolific as the horse itself. While the horse enjoys
a renewed or even elevated status by many, there is another chapter in the book of
the horse that remains widely unread.
In my career of animal welfare and humane society development,, horses are the animals
I personally have most concentrated my efforts. I have earned the respect and hate
of many people and have come to accept the monikers or label of "hero"
and "troublemaker", depending on who you are talking to. But no amount
of gossip can change the facts. Let me take you behind the scenes if only for a few
paragraphs into the fact and fiction, plight and plunder of the animal we know as
the horse.
The misconception that the common ranch horse is abused, overworked and underfed
is just that -- a gross misconception. In fact, most real ranch outfits take better
care of their horses than they do themselves. Horses eat first, the cowboy eats second.
This is the cornerstone philosophy of any legitimate ranch. You would never, ever
see a buckaroo, wrangler, cowboy or other ranch-related laborer enter the bunkhouse
or mess hall before the horses were fed and well taken care of. Certain animal rights
groups would paint a picture of drunken cowboys laying in their bunks and horses
starving in the corral. Not so. In fact, 99.9% of the horse neglect and abuse cases
I ever responded to were plain and simply the "backyard horse".
The backyard horse is just what it sounds like. A giant, hay burning lawn ornament
that is either grossly overweight or grossly underweight but rarely in the shape
he should be.
Ironically, the most commonly neglected problem for the horse is the one that most
often goes unreported and unnoticed -- the hoof. Rarely has a citizen called and
complained about a horse being neglected via the hoof. This is because when you drive
by a pasture and look at a horse, you aren't looking at the feet; you are looking
at the body. The calls we get are generally the same. Thin horses, their ribs are
showing etc. In fact, the foundation of any equine animal is his feet, not his gut.
The pumps that circulate blood through the leg are located in the feet not the stomach.
It is fair to say that most real horse neglect goes altogether unreported. Horses
that are used regularly are far less likely to be neglected for two reasons.
One, because the owner has their hands on the horse and can more readily spot a potential
problem as it develops and two, because the person who uses the horse needs
the horse. It would be self defeating not to keep the horse in the best condition
possible.
With few exceptions, it is the backyard horse that is most often neglected. There
are a number of reasons as to why. But the forgotten horse is the neglected horse.
When Suzy was 10, she bothered, begged and pleaded for a horse until her parents
caved in. They bought her a horse and Suzy was content until she was 15 and discovered
boys. Now the horse is relegated to the pasture or back yard corral. Will this horse
have his hooves trimmed every eight weeks as recommended? Will this horse receive
an average of ten fresh gallons of water each day or at least 1 gallon of fresh water
per every one hundreds pounds of body weight per day as recommended? Will this horse
receive the supplements and foodstuffs they need as winter approaches? Statistically
speaking the answer is no. Owner ignorance and the backyard horse go hand in hand.
Throw in a dose of apathy and you have a recipe for neglect. Yes, there are abuse
and neglect cases that occur in surroundings other than the typical backyard horse
scenario but the fact remains that the backyard horse or pasture ornament accounts
for the majority of these cases.
The fact is that horses like to have a job to do. These are intelligent animals with
a sense of purpose and that purpose is only altered when we buy them and stick them
in the backyard without continuing care and stimulation. The horse needs several
things. Adequate feed, hoof care, shelter and health maintenance are the obvious
ones. Stimulation, work and attention, as well as socialization with other equine
animals are equally important.
When you go out to put a halter on your horse, does he run away and is he hard to
catch? If your horse is treated with love and care and is given the appropriate amount
of stimulation, he or she will come running when you go out to gather them up. Trail
rides, working cows, horse camping and other physically challenging activities are
not only good for you horse, they are important to his or her mental well being.
(See photo essay "Camping Cascades Caberellos".)
Historically, there have been abuses in the show ring and at events where there is
money and status to be gained. From the Tennessee Walker races of the East to the
calf roping of the West, abuses inherent with these competitions are born out of
human greed. This does not mitigate the fact that the horse enjoys these activities
when they are conducted properly and without the use of chemical and physical devices
that inflict pain and supposedly enhance the horses' ability.
For the reader who likes numbers, here are some hard statistics taken from an average
year during my career as an equine abuse and neglect investigator: The place is Oregon
and the year is 1997. During this typical year, I handled 678 reports of horse neglect
or abuse.
(It is important that you understand the difference between neglect and abuse. The
legal classification of neglect is when someone fails to provide adequate care, shelter,
food etc. In most states, there are varying levels of neglect. In Oregon, second
degree neglect is when someone has failed to provide one of the above for their horse
to the extent that it constitutes neglect. First degree neglect simply means that
the act resulted in serious injury or death. Animal Abuse on the other hand is different
from neglect. Abuse in almost every state means that someone intentionally committed
some physical act against his or her animal. Typically, we are speaking of beating,
torturing, lighting on fire, stabbing etc and I have handled all of the above many
times. Now that you understand the difference between neglect and abuse, lets go
back and look at our statistics for 1997.)
Out of 678 reported horse complaints, only 305 of them were legitimate. In other
words, more than half of them were unfounded. This can happen when neighbor turns
in neighbor as part of a larger on-going or unrelated dispute. Also, we have family
turning in estranged family and then there is the passer by that thinks what they
are seeing is neglect when it is not. Out of the 305 legitimate cases of neglect
or abuse, only two were abuse. The other 303 were neglect. Of those 303, 300 of them
were resolved by providing education to the owner and in some cases, emergency relief
such as hay, Cobb, veterinary care etc.
These neglect cases are often the result of owner ignorance or apathy or in some
cases, divorce, family illness or physical injury, financial setback such as unemployment
and other aggravated family troubles, have trickled down to impact the horses in
an adverse way. In these cases, helping the family is a win-win situation.
Finally, we have the three cases of neglect and two cases of abuse, that could not
be resolved through advice, aid and so on. One of these cases involved 111 horses
and occurred in Malhuer County on March 17, 1997. This was the largest horse neglect
case in Oregon history. The other two neglect cases involved people who said, "They
are my horses and if I want to starve them, they are mine to starve." Both parties
no longer have animals.
Of the two abuse cases, one involved a trainer who would tie horses and throw them
down and then urinate on them. The other case involved a man who found his estranged
wife dancing with another man and so he stabbed all of her horses to death.
These statistics speak for themselves. Horse neglect and abuse is, as a rule, not
taking place at the ranch. Most of these cases (with rare exceptions) can be resolved
when neighbor helps neighbor and when the horse owner(s) in over their head is able
and willing to ask for help.
There is another part to this equation but it is a lot less black and white than
the typical abuse and neglect case -- the show ring and event arena. Equine sports,
as with any other professional athletic event, are going to have an element of fraud
and neglect. Whenever there are egos combined with financial incentives, you are
going to have certain abuses. Fortunately, the profession world of equine related
events has done a tremendous job during recent years of self-policing and imposing
guidelines that prohibit and limit many of the old abuses.
Improvements are still needed but a lot of ground has been covered. In the final
analysis, if you are looking for a neglected horse, you will most often find them
in the back yard.
The author, Kimball Lewis, was featured in the Western Horseman in the July 1997 Issue. He is considered one of the nation's leading authorities on equine abuse and neglect. Today, Lewis travels the US speaking on horse and other animal neglect and abuse issues as well as the link between animal abuse and violence against people. It is estimated that during his career as an equine abuse and neglect investigator, he has responded to more than 10,000 horse neglect and abuse complaints. Lewis currently lives near Bend Oregon.
Also by Kimball Lewis:
Animal Welfare and Protection for a New Century
Understanding your Animal Shelter System: Fact and Fiction
Valerie Larkin's Summer Remembered "Cascade Camping Con Caballista or High ho, Silver" -- Mountain Horse Camping photo essay will be posted Oct. 27. Worth the wait!