Our Valentines Day Hope
from the Horses of New Hope Horse Shelter
in the photo: Jet & Prince, Dec. 2009, at New Hope Horse Shelter
We hope that horse owners who cannot afford to provide proper nutrition, shelter, deworming, vaccinations, hoof & dental care, age-appropriate training, and overall living conditions that are safe, spacious, clean, comfortable, and healthy for the horses they already own, we hope they will not encourage and allow their horses to reproduce and that they certainly will not acquire any additional horses.
We hope that horse owners who dump off their young horses at low-end salebarns with no cares as to what happens to the horses after that, we hope they will seriously re-evaluate their breeding program and business plan; and not encourage and allow their horses to reproduce.
At the same time, our organization is quick to thank and congratulate the responsible, kind, compassionate, humane horse breeders for their successful programs that focus on quality vs quantity, and enhancing the horse industry vs. giving the industry a bad name.
We hope that law enforcement will enlist the knowledge of Equine Veterinarians or, in an emergency, at least properly educated personnel who are Equine Professionals, when they are sent to investigate reports of suspected neglect & starvation, and to evaluate the condition of horses. And we hope that if dead, suffering, or emaciated horses are found during an investigation, we hope they will receive immediate Equine Veterinarian attention and that the people who allowed the horses to suffer or starve will take responsibility for their bad behavior, and not be allowed to own horses until they can prove that they can care for them properly.
We hope that we can work together on both ends of the issue:
One end being responsible horse ownership.
And the other end being enforcement of laws that deal with serious cases of starvation and inhumane treatment.
And we hope that if we can find a way to work together on both ends of the issue at the same time, we will all meet somwhere in between.
Perhaps somewhere near the heart.
And that is our Valentines Day Hope,
from the Horses of New Hope Horse Shelter.
