Opinion | by Tami Johnson, Developer of MorganShowcase
I am not on the board of any horse rescue organizations, nor am I in any way associated with rescues for operational reasons, other than to occasionally list horses needing adoption by approved rescues or acquaintances here on MorganShowcase at my discretion.
For all of you that feel sorry for yourselves because some equine rescue or other charitable organization didn’t run to your rescue, shame on you. You bought, bred or acquired these horses. You are the only one that can project your future (or change your destiny). You may have fallen on hard times, but rarely is this something that you can’t see coming in some way, shape or form.
Horses are expensive, plain and simple. They are a luxury. If you have trouble feeding and housing yourself, or you’re getting older and the time is coming when you’ll be unable to properly care for your horses, you should not be waiting until it’s desperation time to do something about it.
Horses that are sound, healthy and well trained for a job (trail riding is ALWAYS popular) can be sold and are generally marketable at some price. It’s just a matter of getting the word out and putting a reasonable price on them. FYI, a “reasonable price” does not mean you add up all the feed and maintenance you’ve put into this horse over the years you’ve owned it and that’s what you think you should be paid for the horse.
Most equine rescues were organized to buy horses from brokers or auctions that are one step away from the butcher block. NOT to help every Tom, Dick or Henrietta find a home for the horse they should have sold or rehomed years ago.
If you have a horse you need to sell, train it, groom it, take a few attractive photos, do a short video and post it to YouTube, then spread the word through the myriad of sales sites on the internet, classified ads or network of friends or Facebook. If it can’t be trained, is mentally unstable or difficult to handle, or isn’t sound or healthy, do the right thing and have it euthanized because no one else wants it either.
Make an effort. Your horse deserves it.