Bittersweet
A couple times, I've mentioned Bob on my blog.
Until very recently, Bob was owned by some of the shittiest (pardon my language) horse owners on the planet. Granted, his teenage rider was going through some tough life problems, but that's no excuse to neglect an animal that is your responsibility. Bob never received regular hoof care. Often I or Jess would pay for his trims, and he had a horrible case of thrush simply due to his neglected feet. He rarely received routine vaccinations. It took many phone calls over many months to convince his idiot owner to have the vet come out to look at him when he became very, very lame. Bob was never groomed or fussed over unless I or one of the other girls at the barn took the initiative and did it ourselves. And when his owner made one of her rare appearances, she would just hop on and ride him even though Bob was clearly in pain; either from his neglected feet or undiagnosed injuries.
And then, just yesterday, without notifying the owner of our boarding barn, they had him picked up by a local rescue group and taken away. No one knew he was leaving until he was gone.
I have a lot of conflicting emotions about the situation. On one hand, I am utterly overjoyed that that those callous morons no longer own him. I'm thrilled that he went to Last Chance Ranch; a group that will take excellent care of him until he finds his forever home. On the other, I'm sad I didn't get to say goodbye, and I'll miss seeing Bob's sweet face every day. I thought of him as "our" horse, showed him love, and took care of him when I could afford it.
But the other emotion I feel is anger. It really pisses me off that this sweet, sweet horse had to suffer at the hands of his selfish owners for years, building his reputation of Poor Neglected Bob wherever he went. It infuriates me that these people, surrounded by knowledgable professionals, barn staff, and fellow horse owners, ignorantly refused to learn how to properly care for a horse. I see red when I think about how they refused help from our barn owner, and how anything we could do for Bob was limited by the fact that we didn't legally own him.
If you can't afford to pay for shelter, quality feed, and basic hoof and veterinary care, don't get a horse. If you are too lazy to schedule farrier appointments or groom your horse, pay someone to do it. Don't say you "love" your horse when your idea of taking care of him is a step above abuse. Don't keep an animal and allow it to suffer because you can't afford it anymore or don't have time. Sell or give the horse away to someone who can care for them. Don't ignore the help and advice of knowledgable people who just want to help.
Don't be a selfish moron when you take on the responsibility of caring for a living, breathing being.
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| Sweet boy! |
Until very recently, Bob was owned by some of the shittiest (pardon my language) horse owners on the planet. Granted, his teenage rider was going through some tough life problems, but that's no excuse to neglect an animal that is your responsibility. Bob never received regular hoof care. Often I or Jess would pay for his trims, and he had a horrible case of thrush simply due to his neglected feet. He rarely received routine vaccinations. It took many phone calls over many months to convince his idiot owner to have the vet come out to look at him when he became very, very lame. Bob was never groomed or fussed over unless I or one of the other girls at the barn took the initiative and did it ourselves. And when his owner made one of her rare appearances, she would just hop on and ride him even though Bob was clearly in pain; either from his neglected feet or undiagnosed injuries.
And then, just yesterday, without notifying the owner of our boarding barn, they had him picked up by a local rescue group and taken away. No one knew he was leaving until he was gone.
I have a lot of conflicting emotions about the situation. On one hand, I am utterly overjoyed that that those callous morons no longer own him. I'm thrilled that he went to Last Chance Ranch; a group that will take excellent care of him until he finds his forever home. On the other, I'm sad I didn't get to say goodbye, and I'll miss seeing Bob's sweet face every day. I thought of him as "our" horse, showed him love, and took care of him when I could afford it.
But the other emotion I feel is anger. It really pisses me off that this sweet, sweet horse had to suffer at the hands of his selfish owners for years, building his reputation of Poor Neglected Bob wherever he went. It infuriates me that these people, surrounded by knowledgable professionals, barn staff, and fellow horse owners, ignorantly refused to learn how to properly care for a horse. I see red when I think about how they refused help from our barn owner, and how anything we could do for Bob was limited by the fact that we didn't legally own him.
If you can't afford to pay for shelter, quality feed, and basic hoof and veterinary care, don't get a horse. If you are too lazy to schedule farrier appointments or groom your horse, pay someone to do it. Don't say you "love" your horse when your idea of taking care of him is a step above abuse. Don't keep an animal and allow it to suffer because you can't afford it anymore or don't have time. Sell or give the horse away to someone who can care for them. Don't ignore the help and advice of knowledgable people who just want to help.
Don't be a selfish moron when you take on the responsibility of caring for a living, breathing being.
Poor Bob.
ReplyDeleteAMEN!!!!!
ReplyDeletePoor Bob! But at least now he will be taken care of and get a good home.
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact same way. For those of us that do truly love our horses, it's heart breaking to see what happens to horses whose owners don't feel the same way.
ReplyDelete