South Texas Horse Slaughter

[Yeso Bill]

Delmonico,
     "Bucky" was one of the best all around cow horses I ever threw a leg over.  His mother was a mustang.  I hope to run into "Bucky" up in the "Great Pasture" some day.  A neighbor bought about 10 head of young horses off the Mescaleros and they made outstanding cow horses.  They weren't much to look at though.

But you are absolutely right.  The mustangs of the U.S. need to be managed as a business, not as an endangered species.
     I would never find this again but I once read somewhere that sometime in the early 20th Century, remount stallions were turned into some herds.  So, at some time, somebody had the right idea. 

Likely, most on this board aren't aware of it, "but the save the horse extremists" did away with the federal funding of the federal meat inspectors that were inspecting horse carcasses.  That killed the horse packing plant industry which resulted in a huge population of back yard horses.  (I consider my herd as back yard)  Now they have brought back the funding but for all practical purposes, the industry is gone.  A fellow just recently tried to open a plant in Roswell and due to "public outcry" our new governor stopped his permits.

So, unless things have changed, if I want to get rid of a ruined cow horse, I give him to our local horse trader.  Once he gets a truck load of these, he attests that they are all broke and useable and they are parted out in Mexico.

The U.S. is in one of the worst droughts in history and corn and hay prices have soared over last years unheard of prices.  Freight / trucking keeps escalating.  Dairies are folding in Roswell due to the price of hay and there the Feds are, helping to further drive the market up in order to feed a bunch of horses that a whole lot of nuts don't even want put in a corral?

I realize there is suppose to be no politics on this board and this is a long way from Shotgun's original query but it hits a nerve I guess.

Bill

[Delmonico]

Bill it explains the situation to those who don't know.  I don't own horses but working in a large western store and having many friends who have horses I keep up with it better than most. 

[Major 2]

Besides, the last I knew, unless they moved it Palo Duro is not in south Texas.

I never said otherwise.... the orginal post asked that  ,

the fellow I was responding to ...stated

Quote from: Bugscuffle on August 16, 2012, 04:44:24 pm
I don't know about any horse slaughters in South Texas, but there was one at Palo Duro Canyon in the texas panhandle, but I do  not recall the details. If my memory serves me, it was after a battle between th U.S. Cavalry and Comanches. The Comanches had used Palo Duro as a hiding place for many years and they probably would have been safe there except for the interdiction of another Indian tribe, hostile to the Comanches, and again I am unsure of which tribe that may have been. Palo Duro is virtually invisilble until you are stnding on th rim of it. But, back to the point. The U.S Cavalry drove off or killed the Comances that were in the canyon tending to the horses and then the cavalry kiled the 35,000 horses that were storehoused there. I believe that this story is recounted in S.C. Gwynne's book "Empire of the Summer Moon".

he was wrong about the 35,000

[Delmonico]

Major if I implied you didn't know which end of Texas Palo Duro was in, I sure didn't mean it.  Was just wonderin' how it ended up in south Texas unless they dang college kids took it down there on spring break.

Somewhere I've seen estimates on how many were killed there but it wasn't 35,000, doubt the troops had that much ammo on hand, if they did it would have run them pretty dry.

[Major 2]

Major if I implied you didn't know which end of Texas Palo Duro was in, I sure didn't mean it.  Was just wonderin' how it ended up in south Texas unless they dang college kids took it down there on spring break.

Somewhere I've seen estimates on how many were killed there but it wasn't 35,000, doubt the troops had that much ammo on hand, if they did it would have run them pretty dry.

I took no offence at all... see that  smiley   

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
I had a Mustang that came from Rock Spring ,Wyoming . She was an excellent gun Horse , I worked with her so I could shoot off her . Remember it's the 2nd shot that is always the hardest to make . 

[Delmonico]

There are some Mustangs in the Mounted Shooting around here also, but then some of them also do the Pony Express re-ride also.  That's big around here because the trail came right through this area.

[Shotgun Franklin]

Given the huge numbers of Mustangs given away, sold or auctioned off by the Gov't it only stands to reason that there are a lot of'm that make good horses. There are also plenty that are old, crippled or wild 'til the day they die. I own and like horses but firmly believe that the only way to bring this problem into hand is to kill off the undesirable horses. What else ya gonna do?

[Tascosa Joe]

We can always thank Willie Nelson and some of his buddies for helping close down the horse slaughter houses.  As Bill was saying you have to give the cripples away because there is no slaughter market.  God Bless their little hearts. 

[Ima Sure Shot]

The problem is not only in the west.  We in Eastern Kentucky have a similar problem.  Mountain top removal mining has caused  areas that resemble small Prairies/desert sometimes. Perhaps 1,000 acres of flat in grass? weeds waist high, no fences.  Some persons have just turned their horses out on these to fend for themselves. We have some small herds that are now wild as they have produced offspring. Celeste

[Shotgun Franklin]

If the horses are for sure wild/feral, not claimed by anyone, and it's public land or you have permission on private land; they aren't to hard to hunt and are pretty good to eat.

[Yeso Bill]

If (or when) caught, you would probably find yourself facing animal cruelty charges, which you don't want.  I don't understand why it is ok to slaughter the feral pigs by helicopter but you don't dare shoot a horse.  I guess though we should all be happy the pig hasn't reached that status.