I am a horse owner and have been most of my adult life. I have seen the horse market continually change
and with this the values of horses going up and down. The economy is a major part of why the values change
but the Anti-slaughter law sure didn't help matters what so ever. I am one of the first to admit that the current techniques used to kill a horse in the rendering plants could be changed to be more humane. I know that they will find ways to make this happen.
Personally to see horses turned out into the wild to fend for themselves is way beyond cruel. They may have wild ancestors in their lines but that does not mean they will know where the water sources are or how to find food. When that instinct does kick in, if it does, its too late. Internal organs and the nervous system, muscles and skeletal system have already suffered irreparable damage and the horse is literally dying from the inside out. I am in support of making penalties for releasing unwanted domestic horses stiffer. The same can be said for those who release horses from private pastures onto highways or from boarding facilities. That is not saving them, that is only endangering them as well as the innocent motorists who hit these animals.
