"...AND we need to SEVERLY sanction
riders who abuse their horse....."
This is a statement that few will argue with. It is
right up there with statements like:
We need to punish wife beaters severely.
We need to put child molesters behind bars for the rest of
their lives.
etc.
The real problem is not the desire to punish evil doers,
it is developing a system that:
1. Identifies those who do commit the act. If simply
having an undesired outcome (like horse severely colicing at a ride) is
enough evidence, many excellent caring riders (myself included) would have been
severely sanctioned and thus left the sport.
2. Provides due process so those identified can have the
rights that all residents of the USA are guaranteed. This can be
complicated. The American system wants to be extremely sure that the
innocent do not suffer. I would hope that you do not think that publicly
sanctioning a number of members who did not abuse their horses is OK if it
allows the sanctioning of one who did abuse a horse.
3. Make sure that the behavior that is punished is really
abuse. I believe that an objective measurement of speed, time between
rides, experience of rider or age of equine that will separate the abusers from
the non-abusers does not exist. If you know of such measurements please
let us know.
By the way, may I suggest you talk to your attorney before
again posting Marine vulgarisms. Some might interpret such words as a
threat. Threats can cause all sorts of legal difficulties. Trust
me, I know from sad experience.
Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
