Bad days for horses

Horses are in the news this summer, and it usually isn't good news
Take a look at undercover video from "Exposed Truths" that reveals horrific conditions at the stables of J.C. Cutters, which bills itself as Chicago's "premiere carriage company."

Consider the story of Heavenly Perfect, a 5-year-old mare who was raced to death.

The horrors of the slaughterhouse have struck a nerve with people. A Boston racetrack has enacted a zero-tolerance slaughter policy. [TheHorse.com; free registration is required]
Now it should take a cold hard look at the common practice of running horses to death.

It's been a deadly spring and summer for horses that pull buggies in rural or less heavily traveled areas, with accidents in Nappanee, and Goshen, Ind.; Lawrenceberg, TN; Lancaster and Meadville, PA.; Mercer County, Ohio; and Alamosa, Colo., to name a few. Human lives were lost in a number of these crashes, at least one of which is a consequence of a drunken motorist who plowed into the buggy.

Conditions cannot be made safe or humane for New York City carriage horses, who travel miles in noisy, heavy traffic. Support a full ban, which is advocated by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Friends of Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States, among a host of others. Let your City Council member hear from you. If you are not a New York City resident, contact the mayor's office and voice your concern for the horses.

Heavenly Perfect, raced to death

It's only three months since Heavenly Perfect was racing her heart out. Her best efforts weren't enough, though. She'd been raced with laminitis, and, left untreated, it had progressed soon enough to the place where bone was coming through the soles of both front feet. Her other injuries were not insignificant: chipped knees, 2 fractures, and severe arthritis. She hadn't run well in her last race, to no one's surprise. So, trainer and owner Jerry Hollendorfer shipped her off. Destined for a Mexican slaughterhouse, she got a reprieve by rescuers who pulled her out of a kill pen 10 days after she'd run her last race.

At the track this brave 5-year-old had been little more than a number (G24671) and a would-be money machine, but her rescuers called her Melody. A caring vet who examined her pronounced her injuries too severe to overcome, and Melody was compassionately euthanized on July 8. Her final days brought her some comfort and, ultimately, a death with dignity rather than an agonizing and horrific stabbing death in a Mexican slaughterhouse. This fate befells so many horses after they are discarded like garbage.
Lean more about Pure Thoughts, Inc., and The Triumph Project, through whose combined efforts Melody was rescued.