For the next few columns I will be writing about horses. Horses, the most beautiful and glorious of all large animals, are also the most abused. Horses have served mankind so well for thousands of years and yet so many are exploited and mistreated. Let's see…I guess I can start with racehorses. Even though they seem to be so pampered and adored, they are forced to run at too early an age, are used to feed human greed, are drugged, raced when injured, and many are simply sent to slaughterhouses when their use is over.

Just this week, 21 polo horses were killed by the misuse of a drug for exhausted horses. Exhausted? Why would you exhaust a horse? I know horses get vitamins and such, so maybe it was a mistake, but the drug was being amateurishly made up in a Florida pharmacy. Remember, stupidity is just as deadly as evil.

Last May, a filly died on the track at the Kentucky Derby because she broke her legs. She was too young! The owners knew she was too young. Until we have a law against it, the poor horses will continue to suffer.

Regular horse owners can also cause suffering; sometimes they are cruel on purpose and sometimes just negligent. There are some cases coming up in our area that will stun you, but I can't comment at this time.

Horses in cities that have to pull humans in carriages live a terrible life. They have to breathe in the exhaust of cars, trucks, and buses and often have to endure heat, cold, and boredom. Horses should be in pastures, running free out west or at least have a mix of down time and some interesting rides or work. Log pulling draft horses may not mind a certain amount of that work. I do not know. They certainly are well cared for as are the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Queen's horses in England.

There are many good folks who love their horses, mules, and ponies. Actually most people are good to them, but with the foreclosures lately, the rescue groups have to take in many more horses than they have money for. If you can donate any extra money these great people could use it. You can look up equine rescues on the internet. I was told about an old, white horse in the Town of Crawford who is way too thin. I drove by and did see that his hip bones are showing and you can see some ribs. A healthy horse, no matter what age, should have round hips and no ribs showing. Apparently, the owner claims that the horse is blind and 31 years old. So? Since when does being blind mean you are thin? I know plenty of much older horses who are fat. This man said that he had a vet, but I found out that the vet he named has not practiced for at least 15 years.

The people in the Town of Crawford offices were so helpful and concerned. They tried to get me to an Orange County SPCA. But guess what? No such thing exits. I cannot believe that the entire county has no Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. However, anyone, a citizen or police, can sign a complaint about animal cruelty or neglect. In this case, the police were very kind, concerned, and did their job many times. The police of Crawford checked out the horse, but I think they took the man at his word. They need to go back and require the horse be seen by someone from Pine Bush Equine or another vet who is actually working. The police need to actually see and talk to the vet. The vet needs to check this horse's teeth, see if he needs soft food, or if he has worms. There is no excuse. The owner could surrender the horse to a rescue, but from the looks of his property, the owner can afford to take care of, what I would imagine, was a family pet. The house certainly has expensive landscaping. Every day he may be breaking the law of New York State in the care of an animal. I am for giving people a chance to right a wrong, but I will not give up on getting the right thing done. Being old should not mean everyone stops caring.

COMMENTS about this article (2)