Unfortunately Whispering Willows isn’t the first and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it would be nice if it opened up some eyes as to what can happen if you sell/loan/retire an unridable horse out of your control.
It’s not just the oldies, half an hour on the dodgy dealer FB pages will give you dozens of horror stories. Oldies/unridables are loaned/sold as companions, drugged and sold on where they end up in places like Whispering Willows or doing the rounds of the dodgy dealers.
With a fair wind, and enough Bute to sink a battleship, our retiree could be ridden. She likes to give as good as she gets when she’s out in the field. On a good day you wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with her which is why she won’t be leaving my control.
Also though, irresponsible breeding - all those colts she “rescued” - bought off the meat man. As abhorrent as I find the idea, the meat man does have a place. By buying them, she encouraged irresponsible breeding
I think sometimes ‘we’ think that keeping them going is kind. The idea of them living out their days in beautiful green fields with a gang of buddies is lovely, but in reality they cannot be usefully employed and they cost a fortune to keep. We think it’s the right thing to do because the animal is alive - but at what cost to the animal? I think the right thing to do is what’s in the animal’s best interest, and if someone is unable to keep them, then the only way we can absolutely guarantee they won’t end up with dodgy dealers in or sanctuaries like these is to give them a dignified end. It’s the final kindness we can give them. It’s heartbreaking, yes, I love my oldie to bits and I dread the day we lose her, but it would just be selfish of me not to take responsibility for securing her future
Those photos are heartbreaking. The photos with numbers spray painted on the side upset me the most to be honest. Just reduced to a number
Horses have no concept of tomorrow, this definitely proves there’s a fate worse than death