[moorebpd]

I can't understand these "officials" way of thinking. I'm a deputy in mississippi and part of the job is to look at "abused" and "neglected" horses. All we look for is that the horse is being fed and watered and is not skin and bones.... Its not even required for livestock to have shelter, people forget that horses are livestock. I personally provide mine shelter but its not required by law.

[Varisha]

ok I got it finished this is what i'm sending to the link that shows the grey.

In regards to your story "Horses Found Neglected In Carriage Company Tent". From one who even during heavy snow can look out her window and see her horses standing in the field. Yes my horses prefer to be out even in bad weather. They have full access to shelter but choose to be outside instead. The picture you showed did not show a malnourished horse at all, it showed a horse with its winter fuzz walking calmly.

I have a few questions. What experience with horses does Chicago Police Sgt. Mark George have? Does he know how to properly judge a horse’s health? Has anyone who was part of this case ever care for a horse or at least been trained specifically on horse care? By being in the tent the horses had shelter from the wind and their own body heat would warm the space. How many people do you think have a heated barn? A heated barn could prove bad for a horses health because they would be less likely to grow the coat they need to keep warm when outside.

I’m including a link on how to rate the body condition of a horse that I hope makes it into the hands of these authorities. I would put the horse you have shown at a 4 – 4.5 (5 is the ideal). On another news site they had a picture of one that I would have put at a 6, as in a little bit overweight but not bad. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/1010.htm

Now let us go over the following paragraph from your article....
"Horses that should have been paraded with flowing manes and shiny coats were instead covered in mud and around their legs and hooves were clumps of what smelled like manure. It was enough to anger animal lovers and activists who have strongly opposed using horses to draw carriages."

In the winter horses grow out longer hair that protects them from the weather. This hair is typically not shiny at all. And if a flowing mane has anything to do with health then most Appaloosas must not be healthy because part of their breed standard is to have short manes and tails. Does the length of your hair have anything to do with your health? If it did then my bald dad must be sick. As far as the mud around their legs the picture does not show an excessive amount at all. Horses don’t care if they step in a pile and some seem to find the one pile you left unpicked to roll in. As a horse keeper this report angers me because there are horses out there that are skin and bones that even after multiple calls to the ASPCA the horses are left. While these horses that seem fit (by the pictures I have seen) are taken in the first visit.

[SalemsMom]

I wonder what they would say if they took a drive through Ky. as most of the Tbs and other horses are left outside all year,with just lean tos togo in,ours have a barn,and still they prefer to stand outside.

[County]

Varisha I think those letters are GREAT!!!!! If it makes them stop and do a little research on the subject they learn something and it can help all horse owners.

[salukifan2]

Originally Posted by endurgirl

From the article, it sounds like a non-horsey passerby made the call. And it sounds like someone non-horsey inspected the horse. For those comments to say "manure was found near the hoof" (umm, what do you think the horse stands on, ya idiot!!).

Agreed. And the reporter obviously had no clue what he/she was writing about, so it's hard to say what was really going on. Still, you won't find me complaining when there is a quick response to a report of animal abuse. Better to help when help isn't needed than to ignore the complaint.

[BuddyPalAmiga]

Boy, I would really be in trouble. Mine would LOVE to have a tent to stand in I'm sure, but they are out 24/7 with no run in and have lived that way all their lives They get alot of extra hay in the winter to stay warm - and they love it. I'm sure mine would be like alot of others when I get a run in built too - they will stand outside of it in the rain and snow

[slbose61]

I would think that in order for the carriage company to have erected the tent in the first place they would have had to get a permit, and in order to get that permit, they had to meet certain requirements and rules. How long has that tent been there and why all of a sudden is it a bad thing?

I would like to know where the other carriage company owner, whose comment is quoted in the second article, keeps her horses and if it's heated?

[mommadoc]

i honestly think the tent was probably warmer than my barn! The tent would work like a greenhouse, trapping heat from horse and sun. I bet they were nice and comfy in there. Yes, I am glad about the response, but shouldn't they respond to calls and check on things first? Shouldn't the people responding to the calls know what the heck they are looking at?! Horses have survived outside in the cold with no shelter at all for hundreds of years, and all the sudden putting them in a tent and keeping them fed in smaller amounts to keep them in shape (lack of exercise and lots of feed tend to make one fat) is considered neglect. I would really like to get my hands on the activists who think they know what they are doing.... They keep going on and on about the subzero temps.. what are you supposed to do? Make them grow wings and migrate south for the winter? Can't pull a carriage that way... oh wait, that's what it is really all about though, isn't it? They have been complaining that the horses pull the carriages. " It was enough to anger animal lovers and activists who have strongly opposed using horses to draw carriages." If horses aren't meant to work, then why are the called horses and not dogs? With that reasoning, there shouldn't be such a thing as dog sleds, should there?

[cowgurly02]

Great letters guys!

Obviously the people who made this call are NOT horse people at all. I live in Canada, it was between -30 and -40 here for 4 weeks in Dec/Jan. Those were our HIGHS. All of our horses live outside. Their shelters are not heated, they don't need to be. These people really need to come up here and see all the HEALTHY, HAPPY Canadian horses hanging out OUTSIDE in far colder temperatures than these horses were in LOL!!!

[harp918]

Cowgurly02, I thought of you immediately when I read the quote about how horses couldn't live in the cold for more than a few days. LOL

I LOVE THE LETTER. Good job.