by Suzanne Moore of the Golden Days Blog
“We have a special treat for you today: Our good friends at the Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute posted this very fine article written by our good friend and active equine advocate, Suzanne Moore. If you have hung around SFTHH much and shared a Wrangler Iced Tea with us you know that Ms. Suzanne can keep up with the best of them. So it is with great honor and a tip of my straw hat that I introduce Suzanne – R.T.”
For the Newcomers
Equine Advocate Suzanne Moore
Actually, I’m fairly new to the wild horse situation myself. Due to my personal experiences, stopping horse slaughter was always my passion. I’ve never lived far enough west for wild horses to be a common topic of conversation, and I have never seen a wild herd. But when I heard those rumors about sending captive wild horses to slaughter, I decided I needed to investigate.
If you already know about horses, so much the better, because so many people these days have never even SEEN a live horse, so they can easily be misled by the massive disinformation campaign that the anti-horse people have mounted. You need to be able to set them straight.
Knowing the ins and outs of the slaughter debate will help too because it’s become a big part of the wild horse problems. The MOST important thing is learning what’s REALLY happening with the wild horses – and there’s a lot to learn.
You need to get the background on the horses, the advocates – many of whom have been looking after “their” herds for 15-20 years – and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is the department that was charged with caring for the wild horse herds when the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971.
There is a LOT of history – and politics – in this complex situation. You need to familiarize yourself with all of this because one of the most important things we can do day today is fight the disinformation by commenting on articles in the press, by telling your Senators and Representatives the truth.
But, before you can do this, you have to know what the truth IS. You can get it from these sites. There are MANY others, but these are the ones that I know and trust. When you are researching this, keep in mind that you can’t believe everything you find on the Internet!
The Cloud Foundation
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
Animal Welfare Institute
Habitat for Horses
International Society of the Protection of Mustangs and Burros
Equine Welfare Alliance
Society for Animal Protective Legislation
In Defense of Animals
American Herds
This last one, American Herds, has a lot of well researched historical background.
The first thing we MUST have is a moratorium on the roundups. There is a lawsuit pending, but Judge Friedman won’t be making his final decision before late May. We need an independent investigation of the BLM, an accurate count of how many horses are really out there on the range because no one really knows, certainly not the BLM.
This is what we’re lobbying DC for. We’re calling and writing to our Congress people daily. Also President Obama, but we’ve heard absolutely nothing from him although he campaigned on protecting the wild horses.
Some of the disinformation mongers continue to claim that we are asking for an end to the roundups and NO management for the herds in the future. I guess it’s one of those cases where the idea is that if you repeat something enough times, it will become true. These anti-horse people don’t seem to know what the word “moratorium” means – or at least they pretend they don’t.
We just want the frantic pace of the roundups to stop until the lawsuit is settled and we can get an independent, accurate count of the number of horses still in the wild.
The numbers given out by the BLM don’t “add up,” – and it seems they NEVER did. If the latest roundup in the Calico Complex in Nevada doesn’t prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, I don’t know what could.
So get up to speed on the facts, call and write your Senators and Representatives, and refute the disinformation that’s out there. Some of it is so incredible it would be funny except the situation for the horses is so dire.
And don’t let people brand you an “animal rights wacko radical who lives in an Eastern metropolis and has never even SEEN a horse.” Because that’s the mantra. Some folks seem to think everyone who cares about animal suffering belongs to PETA and lives on the East Coast (though what THAT has to do with anything beats me), is willing to use violence and wants to force everyone to become a vegan.
The anti-horse people use this tactic to frighten the uninformed. It’s far from the truth. Personally, I’m not a radical or a vegan and the majority of the folks I’ve met in this campaign – and in the fight against horse slaughter – aren’t either.
Well, that MUST be enough! If anyone wants to ask me anything, you have my email and my blog. Others on the links I posted can probably answer better than I can, but feel free to contact me anytime.
This is the latest piece of news: BLM envisions tri-state mega complex for wild horses. I don’t quite know what it means, if anything, but it’s certainly different from anything the BLM has ever suggested before.
See ya later!
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Categories: Horse News, The Force of the Horse, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I would like to be the first to leave a comment, here: Suzanne is a living, breathing example of what has happened to the Equine Advocacy Movement over the past year.
There used to be the “Anti-Slaughter” advocates who were always aware of the “Wild Horse” advocates but either side just never seemed to come together, until now…and in a big way. There are no longer two different voices only one and it speaks very loudly.
Revel in this, embrace our friends from both points of few because all of us have become enlightened that we all fight the same fight…it’s all about the horses.
May the Force of the Horse be with You!
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Thank you, R.T.! You are so right – it’s ALL for the HORSES! That’s what people like Sue Wallis cannot understand. That’s why they’re always accusing US of some kind of “hidden agenda.” They don’t appreciate how we feel about horses because they’re not capable of it. They can’t even imagine going to SO much effort “just” for the horses without some sort of payoff. They cannot conceive that, for us, seeing happy, healthy, SAFE horses IS the payoff. And it’s a BIG one!
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Thank you, Suzanne.
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Many thanks to Suzanne for an eloquent and comprehensive article.
It’s is a great resource for anyone who supports our wild ones and opposes slaughter, especially those new to the movement. I wish I had something like this at the beginning of my involvement, and I hope it’s re-posted on as many sites as possible. It also provides a lot of “fodder” for personally contacting the media and legislators.
Question – When and where did Obama even speak about protecting wild horses?
R.T., glad you “went first”, because, as usual, your words speak volumes.
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I can’t remember where he was making this exact speech, but he was stressing his respect for the horses and his desire to see them remain on their home ranges. I guess he musta forgot about THAT remark…
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Suzanne, This is wonderful and Knowing your passion to save our horses from slaughter and the wild ones from captivity has been a great influence on me. You have always told it like it is and with insight and
sometimes howling humor. It is great to be in the fray with you, my FOLM friend. Thanks RT for bringing our friend forward. mar
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Thank YOU, Mar. You’re actually the one who first encouraged me and made me want to dig deeper, my fellow FOLM buddy. :o)
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Good article, Suzanne!
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kind of off-topic, but an FYI, update from BLM, 2 more deaths at Fallon, a yearling colt was euthanized because of colic/diarrhea; a 2 year old was found dead, a necropsy revealed cause of death to be a pulmonary hemorrhage, probably as a result of the anesthetic administered for the day-before’s gelding procedure.
Please keep advocating for an end to this inhumanity; that more horses, possibly the older stallions, may go through this is heartbreaking, IDA has a link to the petition for the herd in Utah that is to be zeroed out later this year. PLease, PLease sign these petitions,
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Thank You Suzanne, you speak for us all.
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Thank you Suzanne, Great piece. I started out on the horse slaughter side of advocacy but quickly came to realize that all the issues regarding horses are really only one issue. There is a lot to learn and at times it can make your head spin. Don’t forget the “California animal rights wackos” . I’ve read comments on articles where they state they can’t wait till we Californians get there–little did they know I was already there with research and intelligence and facts
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It sure can make your head spin – especially the stuff the BLM puts out. I think that is deliberate. They hope you get so dizzy you fall down in a dead faint. Almost have a couple of times!
A pet peeve of mine is how the special interests characterize all of us as the equivalent of PETA. As if PETA cared a flip about the horses. They keep saying that if we win the entire ag/animal ownership lifestyle will be destroyed. Holy Guacamole!
Since most of us are animal owners ourselves, why in the WORLD would we support PETA’s agenda? These people don’t know any more about PETA than they do us. Or, much of anything else either…..
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Well, gee whiz, R.T.! Thanks so much! A few weeks ago I went over to Willie’s site to read and perhaps comment. That’s what this started as – just a comment. Then they emailed me asking if I could make an article out of it as a guide for beginners. So, there it is. ;o)
There is a LOT to learn, as I found out myself as I got deeper and deeper into the wild horse issue. It’s even more convoluted than the politics of slaughter – except for the fact that they are becoming one and the same issue. Just ask Sue W. Gotta love her. She never met a horse she didn’t love – with or without steak sauce.
Thanks again, everyone – especially you, R.T.!
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We love ya, Suzanne!
Sent from R.T.’s iPad
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The feeling is mutual!
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