I got a scanner for Christmas and have been playing with it. Here is an old article I scanned last night. It is amazing what man can do to animals! The scale of the suffering is amazing.


The Texas Horse Fiasco

How did 14,000 horses from across the United States and Canada end up in Marlin, Texas?

By GRACIA LINGER
IN THE REMOTE farming com­munity of Marlin, Tex., between mid-December of 1983 and the lat­ter weeks of January 1984 a vast herd of horses, every color and kind, stood in frozen mud dying of exposure, disease, and starvation. As many as 2,400 horses are esti­mated to have died, out of a herd of 14,000, before national media at­tention brought their suffering to an end.
How did 14,000 horses from across the United States and Can­ada end up in Marlin, Texas? Two local promoters conceived a plan to make Falls County, of which Marlin is the county seat, "The horse trading capital of the United States." These men outlined their plan, which consisted of purchas­ing low-cost horses at auctions across America and Canada, trucking the horses to Marlin where the animals would be run on the county's lush winter oat pasture, then fattening them for human consumption (primarily in France, Denmark, and Japan).
The pair, calling themselves Horses Unlimited, sold the horses to local ranchers at prices averag­ing about $300 per head. In 90 days they agreed to repurchase the horses at the original price plus one dollar per day per horse for feeding and fattening. There was very little required on the part of the participating ranchers. All the horses had to do was "grow sleeker and fatter." A rancher pas­turing 1,000 horses for 90 days would make a clear profit of $90,000 since all veterinary bills and wrangler expenses were paid for by Horses Unlimited.
Some local ranchers spurned the plan, calling it "a get rich quick scheme." One county offi­cial, as far back as October of 1983, noted that the situation was po­tentially volatile. "It could easily blow up," he said.
Some old line families became involved. Horses were delivered, fattened on the oats, and repur­chased by Horses Unlimited. Lo­cal citizens were, for the most part, supportive of the plan. It was bringing money into an area that badly needed an economic boost. Citizens who expressed concern about the horses going to slaugh­ter were told that they were old, lame, or former rodeo stock. "If there is a good horse," they were told, "we'll pull it out and sell it to someone."
As other ranchers saw their neighbors making money, they climbed aboard the bandwagon. By December of 1983 at least 14,000 horses, valued at 3 million dollars or more, were pastured on farms and ranches around Marlin. Some 200 ranchers were in­volved-some pasturing only a dozen horses, others with herds of thousands.
The horses were due to be repur­chased by Horses Unlimited on December 28th. On December 20th the area was struck with an unprecedented freeze. It came at a time when weather had already depleted the oat crop causing the stocker calf industry in the county to decrease by almost 75%.
The horses, pasturing only on stubble, were without shelter and many were located in low river bottoms. The temperature dropped to five degrees in the bot­toms. Horses began to die. The ranchers held on, thinking they could dispose of the herd on De­cember 28th. But Horses Unlim­ited contacted the ranchers and said they needed more time to re­purchase the horses. The oats were totally depleted now, the fields literally barren of any for­age. The horses were without food. The owners were not equipped, and in many instances, not finan­cially able to provide feed for the
herds and so, for a period of time, they did nothing.
It will seem strange to horse­men that the plight of the horses did not come to more than local at­tention until January 23rd, when The Dallas News ran a story on page 14. The story was primarily about lawsuits which had been filed against one of the promoters, but the mention of dying horses was enough to arouse reporters across the state.
On January 13th, Friday the 13th, one of the promoters met with the horse owners and told them that he simply could not buy back any more horses.
The ranchers were then caught in a dilemma. They were not equipped to take care of the horses. At this time, horse breeder Don Walker of Rosebud entered the picture. Walker's attention was drawn to the dead and dying horses lying along fence rows on the route taken by the local school bus. The children were upset at the sight and wanted help for the horses. They asked Walker to do something.
He fed the horses himself for a while, then formed Save the Horses Fund to collect feed for the horses, or money with which to purchase it.
Walker stated to the press on January 23rd, "There were 2,000 horses on 60 to 70 acres that was just bare dirt. What it looked like was a Nazi concentration camp, only it was horses instead of peo­ple." Walker, a Viet Nam veteran, was giving his impression of only one herd located near his ranch. There were other herds that he had not seen.
On January 26th The Houston Chronicle reported that 2,000 horses were dead of starvation. Horse protection groups from across the nation descended on Marlin. What ensued was a scramble entailing powerful emotions, conflicting accounts, and legal battles, some of which actually did more harm than good. The num­ber of dead horses will never be known. Jerry Owens, an official of Fund for Animals filed for an in­junction to be given guardianship of the herds. It was denied.
Alex Pacheco of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed cruelty charges against one of the ranchers, stemming from the condition of two horses which Pacheco himself purchased. The PETA veterinarian allegedly con­cluded that the animals were in bad condition. The rancher filed charges on Pacheco and another humane worker for trespassing. A local sheriff called Pacheco "a pub­licity hound" and hinted that he was blowing the situation out of proportion. Later, after Pacheco hired famous Texas attorney Rich­ard "Racehorse" Haynes as his counsel, both sets of charges were dropped.
As the story broke, help poured in for the horses. Dan Rather's news team reportedly "drove like hell" to reach Marlin, and their story and interview with rancher Don Walker brought immense support nationwide and from En­gland.
Over $36,000 in cash poured into the Save the Horses Fund, to Walker personally, and to bank ac­counts set up by the newspapers in Marlin and Rosebud. Semi-truck loads of feed were trucked in to the horses. Many of the benefactors re­main anonymous. Local citizens and ranchers by the hundreds loaded cars, trucks, and trailers with feed and hay and dumped it over fences wherever they saw sick animals. One large flat bed truck came in from Dallas loaded with coastal hay which was un­loaded at a ranch where 2,700 hungry horses watched anxiously. When the unloading was com­pleted the driver saluted and said, "From some horse lovers in Dal­las." No one even asked his name, or the name of the donators.
Ray Bender and his family of Baton Rouge, La., drove in with a loaned semi loaded with 12 tons of feed donated by Baton Rouge area horsemen. He called his delivery "The Louisiana Hayride." Four truck loads of hay arrived that same day from Houston. A busi­nessman in California offered 9( tons of carrots.
One rancher who was holding $750,000 worth of horses when the bubble burst, went public an­nouncing "Horses, any color or size for $350 or less." People flocked to his holding pens in the country to buy horses. Regret was expressed over the large number of colts, yearlings, and obvious pets included in the herd. One buyer from Houston purchased eleven Belgian and Clydesdale draft mares.
In the meantime the slaughter horse market in Texas was glutted and the price dropped from 64¢ per pound for top grade horse flesh to a reported 22¢ for the Marlin horses. After a while the slaughter houses would not take anymore horses.
While some of the horses did find homes with owners who would take care of them, most of the Marlin horses received only a stay of execution. The goodness of the concerned people did not save many of the horses, but only al­lowed them to go to the slaughter pens with a full stomach.
State Livestock Officials, sent by the Texas Attorney General's office at the request of Governor Mark White, set up headquarters in Marlin around February 1 to evaluate the situation.
Their primary concern seemed to be the location of 29 head of horses who had a positive response to the Coggins Test. Ten of the horses had been slaughtered, but the location of the other 19 was un­certain. Because of this a quaran­tine was placed on the herds and this hampered sales of the horses. By February 5th, however, some 700 horses had been released by state inspectors to go to a slaugh­ter facility in Virginia.
By February 15th the vast herds of horses were gone. Most had ended up, after all, sold to slaugh­ter. A few did find homes with peo­ple as saddle horses, broodmares, and pets.
The ordeal of the horses is over. But the questions and problems raised by the fiasco are many. It is obvious that Texas needs stronger, more effective laws governing the movement and assemblage of large herds of horses in the state. New guidelines on cruelty need to be developed and decisions need to
be made as to at just what point a state agency may step in and take over in a situation such as this.
Don Walker received over 5,000 letters in one week. Most of the let­ters were from young people con­cerned over the plight of the horses. Others were from adults who decried the slaughter of "something as beautiful as a horse." A large number of the let­ters were from people who had never owned a horse, or even been around one, but who appreciated them nonetheless.
However, the blame for the fi­asco does not lie only with the ranchers in Marlin, the men who conceived the plan, or the State of Texas. It goes far beyond that. If there had not been people who eat horse meat the scheme could never have been conceived.
But does not some of the respon­sibility rest with the owners of the horses that were purchased at in­credibly low prices from auctions all over the United States and Canada? Why did these people sell their colts, yearlings, and family pets to buyers from slaughter houses? Why would anyone sell a Clydesdale mare, gentle, and not over five years old for less than $250? Or a registered Quarter Horse? Or a well marked Appa­loosa colt?
Some of the horse owners no doubt had to sell their horses due to hardship or tragedy, but it is dif­ficult to imagine that many horse owners having to sell. The horse owners themselves, by lack of con­sideration for their own animals, contributed to this situation.
Jerry Owens of PETA summed up the entire situation with that same word found so often in Don Walker's mail. "It was a blatant, outright act of immorality more than anything else."

THE WESTERN HORSEMAN
May 1984
p. 36

quote:

It goes far beyond that. If there had not been people who eat horse meat the scheme could never have been conceived.

What is wrong with eating Horse Meat?

That was my question. Also, isn't someone from PETA talking about "immorality" an oxymoron?

Wild Horse Anne really screwed things up and a weak ignorant Govt. fell right in...Now the wild horses are destroying range and wiping out deer, antelope and elk in the Pacific North West..

Also you the taxpayer are feeding about a million horses a day that the Govt has in pens and nobody wants the ill bred things..

Sorry, but I ain't no Mustang fan, because their are very few true mustangs left, most are just sorry old ferrel horses that should be shot for the sake of the wildlife. Sometimes life ain't just a bowl of cherries and common since has to be observed and it has not with this can of worms..The land will not continue to support all the horses out there.

quote:

Originally posted by Mickey1:

quote:

It goes far beyond that. If there had not been people who eat horse meat the scheme could never have been conceived.

What is wrong with eating Horse Meat?

I was living in TX at the time that was discovered. As a horse lover, of course I was appalled. I agree with ray. Basically, there's nothing wrong with eating horse meat, if you have to! Or if you're French. But try as I might, the few times I tried it, I was not impressed. However, there is absolutely no reason not to feed horse meat to your pack of hounds. Mine don't seem to relish peas, carrots and spinach too much. I'd rather see the excess wild horses fed to dogs than to adopt them out to people who have more sentiment than brains.......(and who don't know sh t about horses to begin with.)

Deguello,
Whoa! I don't eat horsemeat, that wasn't me, eating horse is akin to cannabalism..I have eaten Zebra but don't care for it, I have eaten burro and didn't care for it either..

Ok, I tried horse once and it rated a 0 on my meat scale..It was dark and strong...Indians liked it but they were hungrier than I have been.

I would eat anything if I was hungry enough and so would anyone on this board including the most liberal democratic split tail in New York City.. YUMMY

I know of a guy that wore the barrel out on an M1 Garand firing Mil Surplus 168 gr. Ball ammo.

Did it shooting mustangs. Feds didn't tell him he could do it, they just told him the local herd should not increase above a certain number. He was just trying to keep nature in balance.

Its going to get far worse than it is now..With the law forbiding the killing of horses for dog meat, about 7 million horses a year are going to be turned loose on Govt. lands in the middle of the night, and on our hiways..

It is already happening, they are finding old, sick live horses on the highways and on the open range and many folks are not branding their horses for this very reason...

These idiots think ALL horses should die of old age, and its going to open the biggest can of worms ever!!

Who wants to see their old good horse just waste away, the killer plants were a humane option. I will shoot my old rope horse when the time comes and illegally bury him on my property.

In time and when its too late, it will become another big political issue like immagration, you let things go untouched for years and bingo it becomes a too big to handle problem..

God bless our politicians, and give them each a brain.