Horses abandoned at an alarming rate in Whatcom County
Every so often we check out the Barnyard Animals link on the Whatcom County Adoption page. The SO likes horses, and she 'Aw!'s over the ones available. Last month WCHS posted a message on FB that they had seized eleven neglected horses.
I told the SO that if I ever won the lottery, I’d buy her a horse. (And a place to keep it.) Alas, I haven’t won the lottery and have neither the resources nor space for a horse. I know nothing about horses. Tried to ride one once, and couldn’t find the clutch. (OK, I actually did ride a horse once.) Several of the horses seem pretty old. Peanut is three, and Poppy Seed is four or five; but Gandalf is 27, and Sham, who has been there for a while, is 20. I didn’t know they lived that long. (Oh – Gingersnap is only five months old. She’s Poppy Seed’s daughter.) Are horses in their teens or 20s ridable? Or would they just be big pets?
It’s good that the news picked this story up. Perhaps the publicity will bring out some adopters and the older horses can live out the rest of their days in leisure, and the younger ones can get the attention and activity they need.