At Davidson Dales, we believe in responsible breeding of rare and vulnerable horse breeds. However, every year tens of thousands of unwanted but beautiful and useful horses and ponies are slaughtered every year in North America. This waste is OUTRAGEOUS, and horse lovers must come together to help end this travesty.
We have worked with a number of non-profit organizations dedicated to rescuing ex-racehorses off the track and horses from the Pregnant Mare Urine (PMU) industry.
September 17, 2005:
Over the past several weeks, we have been assisting
the Animali Farm
find urgently needed homes for
Appaloosa mares,
but today we received word that the large number of
Fjord cross foals
have just been given a deadline for adoption of October 1 by the
rancher; after that date these foals will go to auction and very
likely slaughter! Please visit
www.TheAnimaliFarm.com
for more information on rescuing a foal!
What is PMU? PREMARIN® is a drug that is prescribed to women to treat the symptoms of menopause (hormone replacement therapy). It is made from pregnant mares' urine (abbreviated PMU). The PMU industry is primarily based in Canada, and PREMARIN® is manufactured by an American owned company. It is one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States. Canadian equine ranchers have been collecting pregnant mares' urine since the 1940's. Historically, the vast majority of the foals from these pregnant mares went to slaughter. However, the industry has changed over the years, and the ranchers are now focusing on breeding their mares to produce quality foals that will appeal to the riding horse market. Many of these foals are registered Quarter horse, Paint and Appaloosas. There are also many quality Draft and Draft Cross mares being used for PMU.
Following a December 2003 report from the U.S. Surgeon General on hormone replacement therapy, a massive scale down of PREMARIN® prescriptions forced the closing of many of the farms. Suddenly, 30,000 mares and some stallions were no longer needed. Some ranchers sent these unwanted horses to auction where they were purchased by the "killer buyers" and sent to slaughter. But today, many of the PMU ranchers are working with non-profits to help find loving homes for their horses.
Two organizations that have done much to help these lovely horses find caring homes are the United Pegasus Foundation (www.UnitedPegasus.com) and the Animali Farm (www.TheAnimaliFarm.com).
Below are pictures of horses we have rescued from slaughter. These are beautiful horses and ponies that deserve a better life than they started out in. If you like what you see here, we encourage you to check out the rescue sites we have listed on our Links page and adopt a new best friend today!