Horse Slaughter does not help prevent abuse and neglect..it encourages it...and HIDES it! 

When we save horses from slaughter we know we are saving them from a cruel and horrible end. For the most part the horses we save are in good flesh, good ages, trained and able to be ridden. But every so often, we will rescue horses that are severely neglected. Sometimes it is very obvious and the horses need to be euthanized immediately. But sometimes, the months and even years of neglect are masked. It is a PROVEN fact that when the slaughter houses were closed in the state of Texas and California the abuse and neglect rates went down.

We repeatedly hear the pro-slaughter people say: If there were no horse slaughter, there would be more abuse and neglect of horses. Well, I am confident these people have not been to the kill auctions lately, because THE AUCTIONS are where the abused and neglected horses are…. And no one knows this fact… because no one wants to go to a kill auction, nor do the kill

auctions make it easy for the private

Billy at the auction... left there, injured, sick, horribly thin and a terrible
infection in him. Did not have the energy to stand he was so thin. It took
10 days before he could be transported he was so weak

buyers. The neglected and abused horses are brought there, go through the auction, and almost always bought by a killbuyer and then shipped to slaughter. No one knew their names, no one saw these horses, no one knew the neglect and abuse that happened to these horses… and no one will remember them the Monday following the auction… because no one cared enough… THAT my friends is what horse slaughter is promoting! This allows anonymity to the people who have committed the crimes of abuse and neglect against these horses (punishable by law). They have withheld the proper feed and water, they have worked them to within inches of their lives and have not provided them with proper medical care… So, not only does horse slaughter provide anonymity to these people who neglect their horses, but they actually reward them for it. They are not arrested, they are not fined, they do not face any charges… no accountability! They receive a check for their horse when he or she is sold to slaughter, and receive money as a “reward” for the horrible, cruel way they have treated their animals…
Is this acceptable in our country?

  We have saved many horses from slaughter that needed to be put down because of neglect and abuse. We have also saved many horses that we are able to rehab. We cannot report the owners of these horses because we do not know the names….anonymity.  They are protected by the auction that will not give us a name. Case in point…. Billy Boy is a four-year-old Belgian who is fighting for his life. At first we thought Billy was starved, but every time we cross one hurdle with him medically, another one faces us. Now Billy is fighting for his life because he was severely abused and neglected, then sent to the kill auction. Billy was hurt and proper medical care was withheld from him. Billy could no longer work because of his poor condition, so he was starved… And when Billy could not longer walk, he was brought to the kill auction to ship to slaughter.   His owner who hurt him and committed these punishable crimes received a check as a reward for the lack of care that he gave Billy…. This time however, it was not from the kill buyer, this time the check came from us, a rescue. We will now face thousands of dollars in medical bills, but his owner got a check so he can now go buy another horse and commit the same acts of cruelty against that horse. This is what horse slaughter does…..it hides the crime. Horse Slaughter in our country aids and abets the people who commit animal cruelty crimes.  Horse Slaughter does not help prevent the abuse and neglect to the horses of our country… it encourages it and wraps it up in its’ blanket of “dirty little secrets” in this country. To read more about Billy and his battle to live or to donate to his medical treatment you can visit: https://www.purethoughtshorserescue.com/miraclesaveteamhorse/billy.php 

 The Triumph Project – Victoria McCullough of the Davis-McCullough Foundation founded the Triumph Project as an awareness campaign to enlighten the world through unified efforts, both in the United States as well as abroad, of the betrayal of our equine ally. Throughout history, horses have served us by escorting us to battle, tilling our fields, drawing our carriages, and enriching our lives as our companions and friends.                                

                                                                                                     
                                                                                                  Billy stands for x-rays to insure that the infection has not
                                                                                                  gone into the bone.

Pure Thoughts Inc. - is an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of horses, yearlings and foals that were intended to go to slaughter for human consumption. These horses would have been brutally tortured and slaughtered. Pure Thoughts Inc. Horse & Foal Rescue also rescues horses from starvation, abuse and neglect, any horse in need. To date, over 1150 innocent equines have been saved and we will continue to fight for the horses. We cannot do this alone...we need your help!! Please help us and others save these beautiful animals and please remember in your thoughts the ones we were unable to reach.

Kill Auction.. the beginning of the End

We Will Speak For The Horses

As you approach the auction house the first thing you see are the eyes looking out through rusted caged windows. The horses get as close as they can to the air, the sunlight they know is out there, but they can’t get too close or their eyes will be impaled by the bent and rusted prongs. Still, they look out, hoping to see something familiar, someone coming to take them home.

Every horse has a different story. For the horses at auction, the look in their eyes all begs the same question: what did I do to deserve this? These horses are in a dark, man-made and operated cement hell. They are poked and prodded and crammed, sometimes 50 horses, into single pens. Some horses fight, some try to stay to the side to avoid getting kicked. Some are hurt; some are mares trying to protect their foals. Others are just trying to stay on their feet so they don’t get trampled. There are tired and wounded workhorses. Colicking horses. Injured racehorses standing on three legs that still wear sweat from their last race.

This horror is just the first step in a torturous journey that these horses are on. It’s a journey that some of us as Americans, horse lovers and humanitarians allow in our country. And just when I think it can’t get worse, they open the gates and shove another horse in there, and the ruckus starts again, as the horses shift and struggle for position. A few strong ones can fight for a little bit of hay in the corner. Many horses have their heads stuck out of the pen in hopes a passerby will give them a pet on the head, in hopes someone will see them and take them out of there. Their quiet pleas seem somehow louder than the screams of the horses that are scared and hurt.

The horses do not have to have a voice to tell their story. The workhorses and Standardbreds, injured and abused and yet often clearly fresh from work, are the most painful to watch. These horses have given their lives to work for their owners and then they are delivered to a painful death. The Amish, the people who use these horses for their means of transportation and agriculture, in many cases provide the most horrible cases of neglect and abuse. A bullet to the head is more humane than what they do to these horses. What in their faith allows for this cruelty? The auction at Sugarcreek is the dumping grounds. Most people will bring their horses there to be sold, but they will buy their horses from better auctions. They will go to Mt. Hope or and spend thousands on a beautiful Standardbred with bows in her hair right off the track. In a year or two this same horse will be at the kill auction in Sugarcreek: weak, abused and destined for slaughter. They will go to a draft farms and spend thousands on a beautiful team or a draft horse, usually a Belgian and the same things will happen. This horse will be used and worked to within days of its life and then sent to the kill auction. That is the reward these horses receive for their work and servitude. If the horses are injured, they don’t care for them. They simply work them until they can no longer work, then they are sent to the killbuyer. I know there are Amish people out there who take good care of their horses, but we see so, so many that don’t.       And it’s not only the Amish. The racing industry joins them in the cruelest act. Gleaming muscled racehorses are top choice for the killbuyers. On May 23rd Pure Thoughts bought more than 15 tattooed thoroughbreds. A man who said he would deliver them to a therapeutic riding center picked some of these horses up at Moutaineer racetrack. Instead he planned to deliver them to killbuyers. Fortunately for those horses we were there and brought them home. What happened to Eight Belles is truly heartbreaking and it seems the racing community is trying to change practices and policies. But what about this behind-the-scenes atrocity. Do all of the people who mourned the loss of Eight Belles know what happens to many racehorses every Friday at Sugarcreek?

Next time you enjoy a day at the races, think about the ones that did not make it that far or the horses that came in last in their race. Chances are there next stop is an inhumane slaughter. Is that really worth the exhilaration you felt as the horses crossed the finish line? Is their life worth our recreation? Are we, as a nation saying "It is okay that these horses experience a horrific death" is that what we want to define us as horse lovers?

But there is more. It’s not just the racing industry and the Amish. The slaughter pens hold many of beautiful horses, show horses, ponies, trail horses, pets, workhorses. Mares and week old foals are bought by killbuyers. They will be taken from the auction together but a stop will be made. At this stop the foal will be ripped from its' mother and either left to die or fattened up until it can be pass as a six-month old and then it will be sent to slaughter. The mare thinks losing her foal is a heartbreak, she has no idea what she is in for, this is nothing. Pregnant mares who are just days from giving birth are in the killpens after auction. They will be slaughtered. Killbuyer and slaughterhouses do not want our sick, old and lame. They want the healthy horses. Slaughter does not care what is on the registration papers it just wants flesh. 

But we haven’t even gotten to the process of slaughter yet. After the auction, the next horror these horses go through is the transport. Usually this is done unlawfully and without morals. The horses are crammed, again, into a trailer. Stallions, yearlings, mare, foals ponies are jammed in together. There is no water. There are no stops. They drive across the country to Canada or Mexico and don’t get off-loaded until they reach the slaughterhouse. Some will die on the way. If they act up, they are beaten harshly.

And yet, the American public turns a blind eye to this practice. So far we haven’t forced our government to listen to cries of the horses. Horse owners and lovers sometimes are in the dark, not educated on the cruel truths of horse auctions. That nice man who seems to be buying up many good horses is NOT taking them back to his ranch. He is buying them for meat and he will smile at you politely and soon those horses will begin their long hellish journey, one that will end with him or her gasping for their last breath after being mutilated and tortured.

As rescuers we dance with the devil every day for the sake of the horses. We play the game we must play in order to be able to attend these auctions, work with the killbuyers and purchase these horses. We keep our stories amongst ourselves in order not to ruffle any feathers. We all filled with anger and rage over what happens and the tears are a river that runs constant. The story I tell is one I have lived with, it haunts my dreams and fills my soul. I look at the ones we save and cannot help but think of the ones we were unable to save. When I learned of horse slaughter, it changed my life. I gave up the life I had for a life that was once unknown to me and now I live and breathe it. My goal now is to speak for the horses and do my best to bring an end to this dirty little secret. From slaughter to nursemare foals. Cruelty and misuse of horses is inhumane and intolerable. For those who cannot speak ... I will.

On May 23, 2008, Pure Thoughts Horse and Foal Rescue saved all the horses that were intended to go to slaughter at the horse kill auction known at Sugarcreek Livestock auction. We did it with help from Victoria McCullough of the Davis-McCullough Foundation, which has spent years dedicating itself to the needs children and animals. All equines were safe that day, including some from the week before who were waiting for their trip to slaughter. That was a single day that the horses were safe. As a country we have the ability to change this action and bring the horses of our country to safety everyday. These horses are being slaughtered for human consumption and shipped overseas to Europe and Asia. Let’s ban together and tell them No. Not our horses, the horses will not be tortured for your gluttony, not on our watch.

The horses and humans of Pure Thoughts Inc and rescue horses nationwide would like to extend a personal thank you to Phelps Media for embracing this cause and bringing the issues of Horse Slaughter and Horse Welfare to the forefront of the Equestrian World. You may visit the "Our Sponors" link for information on subscription to Phelps Sports.