Ridecamp: Re: [RC] PMU stall confinement

At 09:59 AM 11/15/02, Paddi wrote:
> We were not allowed out of camp ,it was usually to cold for more then a 
> short walk and there was a bear or cougar problem. There was no where to 
> go anyway.
> The mares get turn out every 2 weeks rotated through out the barn.

To do a proper comparison with PMU mares, you'd have to say that you were 
confined to an area the size of a twin bed for two weeks at a time.

> No different then you heading to the office everyday. Heck those cubicles 
> in most offices with no windows are more like a jail cell.

Way different - because *going* anywhere every day is just what I'm talking 
about.  People get to leave the cubicles at work every day and go 
home.  They can go to lunch or to the bathroom, or just walk down the aisle 
to the copy machine.  They aren't *confined* to that cubicle by anything 
but their own choice.  If they absolutely can't stand it, or get a better 
deal elsewhere, they can quit their jobs.  The PMU mares have no choice.

> I would rather see horses cared for in glorified jails then free and starving.

Ah, yes, but what would the *horses* prefer?

The camp you describe sounds a lot like my house!  I work from home most of 
the time and my house is only 700 sq. ft. so I see the same 4 walls almost 
all the time.  Right now a *cold* north wind is blowing like crazy and 
since I *still* haven't gotten around to plastering my straw bale walls, 
it's blowing right through my house.  I'm burning lots of wood but it can't 
keep up with the wind.  My fingers are stiff with cold, my nose is froze, 
and I'm not a happy camper at all.  HOWEVER - and this is my big point - 
it's my choice, I could sell this all and go live in an apartment with 
central heating, or get a job in the "outside world" and earn the money to 
get the house plastered.  I could walk out my door any time I feel like it 
(and I feel like I better do just that real soon - I've got to bring more 
wood in!).   I could do a whole bunch of things because I have the choice.

Would those PMU mares stand in those stalls if they had the choice of being 
out in pasture?  Sure they're better treated than the Morgans you 
mentioned, but are they *really* better treated than wild horse in NV that 
freeze and starve - but are free?  By whose definition do we judge what 
"better" treatment is?  Would the wild horses opt for PMU stalls?  It's the 
nature of horses to live in the open.  The PMU mares, no matter how well 
cared for, are not being cared anything close to naturally, and I doubt 
very strongly it's the way *they* would choose to live.

That said, don't get me wrong.  I'm not condemning the PMU program, not 
saying it shouldn't happen (not saying it should, either).  I am saying 
that it's jail for the mares and that a cushy jail is still a 
jail.  "Humane" treatment doesn't mean that critters live ideal lives, or 
that they don't suffer.  "Humane" slaughter for human food consumption 
doesn't mean that the cow is happy about it, just that it's (ideally) done 
with the least amount of suffering.  If we choose to use animal products we 
have to do so with our eyes open and not pretend that the way it's done is 
a great deal for the critters involved.
       _________________________________________________
           Lif Strand * Quemado NM USA * www.fasterhorses.com
                               ** You speak, I listen, We talk  **


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