Horses: I don't eat what I love

“I don’t eat what I treat,” said my veterinarian, who after all our years together, I just learned is a vegetarian.

I won’t be eating a horse any time soon, especially after learning the U.S. horse-slaughter ban has quietly ended. To “I don’t eat what I treat,” I would add, “I don’t eat what I love.”

Does aversion to eating horses solve the economical dilemma of horse owners who had the foreign-horse-eating market ripped out from under them by the ban? No, but by way of easing the pain, I would offer the Dec. 2012 Horse & Rider magazine article, “8 ways to keep your horse in a down economy” (and avoid having someone else eat him).

Horse & Rider was established in 1961. I have been a newstand reader since the '70s, so believe me when I tell you this is a particularly useful issue. Did you know there were 21 million horses in the United States in 1915? Thanks to slaughter, less than 1 million in the late 1950's. Today: 9.2 million.

Also, check out H&R's "Stop Like a Pro" article. It's right on target. (Click on the Horse and Rider magazine picture in the left-hand column if you need a subscription.)