In fugly, out adopted: Don’t say neigh!
By Gina Spadafori
August 7, 2008
The Fugly Horse blog continues to fascinate me with its appealing mix of butt-kicking, snark and heart. If you think the economic situation is dire for house pets, be grateful you’re not struggling to keep (or save) horses. With buyers looking for “meat horses” more than happy to snap up the deals on any and all horses — from former showhorses to pregnant broodmares — the Mexican slaughterhouses have never been more busy.
And really, really nice horses — horses with manners, training and good looks — are ending up in the kill line along with the lame, the old and the just plain too many to feed. (Not that the latter horses deserve such a fate.)
Sometimes a fugly rant is a little too much for me, but the blog’s not just about teeing up the “asshats” to swing at. Fugly also pushes horse-lovers to quit enjoying the snark and do something, such as this post that finds horse in almost every state who looks to be a perfect project for someone with time and training experience. Pick up a horse at a meat-buyer’s bargain price and put some training on the animal so he can be more placeable in a few months and less vulnerable to the bad economy. A horse people will keep, not send to auction.
Making an animal more adoptable is great idea, not just for horses but for any animal taken in for fostering. It’s amazing how much more appealing a dog is when she can walk nicely on a leash, and how much more desirable a cat can be if he’s willing to use the litterbox.
But of course, this gets to the heart of no kill … animal-lovers being willing to be a safety net for other people’s pets, and working to get the pets who need more homes more likely to “stick” once they’re placed.
(Pictured: One of Fugly’s featured project horses.)
In this part of the country (Minnesota) there are a lot of people getting rid of horses and / or rural properties because they can’t afford them anymore. Rising gas costs, mortgage problems, increasing costs for human and equine food - they add up to a mess of heartbreak for far too many horses.
Comment by Janeen — August 7, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
FHoTD is one of the best animal blogs on the Internet. Fugs tried a dog blog along the same line, but it didn’t work for some reason. Don’t know what the reason was, maybe dog owners were too afraid to Out the despicable. I am glad to see FHoTD linked under ‘Worth Reading’ and to see a cross over topic.
Comment by Anne T. — August 8, 2008 @ 5:09 am
The reasonable thing to do is to stop breeding same as with mixed pets, if we know the puppies would probably end up on the street.
The no breeding policy should be the way to avoid all this heartbreaking killing
Comment by Evelyn — August 8, 2008 @ 5:14 am
Gina, can you post your petconnection e-mail address? When I click the link on the contact page, it dumps me out of firefox and into AOL which is like being in internet he!! Got a link I need to pass on for you. Thx.
Comment by Sharon H — August 8, 2008 @ 5:37 am
Between the faltering economy, the misguided incentives to channel former hay producing land into corn producing land AND the misguided, feel-good legislation banning horse slaughter in the U.S. (yes, there are things worse than a horse being slaughtered for meat here, such as being crammed terrified into a truck not big enough to stand up in and then being shipped to Mexico), it’s really hard being a horse owner these days.
Gina, you know how I feel about the snark on Fugly, but if I agreed with the author on most of what is said there, I could easily overlook it. I wouldn’t touch but a very small fraction of the horses that were featured as good project prospects (I think I’m going to Idaho to get my next horse though)! And every time it’s stated that an Arabian has good bloodlines, I know I’m going to be looking at a pedigree filled with overbred and overrated show horses.
OTOH, I admire the passion displayed in the blog and if it helps a few horses, so be it.
Comment by Deanna — August 8, 2008 @ 6:49 am
Sharon … we’re at petconnection@gmail.com
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 8, 2008 @ 7:14 am
I don’t mind the ‘outing’ part of the blog, but I draw the line at making threats against the people outed.
Since everyone on the blog seems well versed in the merits of postive reinforcement in horse training, its too bad they can’t seem to carry some of that over to how they interact with people who are taking proper care of their horses.
A little education on hoarding as a mental illness wouldn’t hurt them either.
Still, it is a fascinating blog and these folks do step up and rescue quite a few horses.
Comment by 2CatMom — August 8, 2008 @ 9:20 am
I think you’ve put the finger on what bothers me about Fugly sometimes … when you slam people that hard, they tend to go underground defensively, not learn or change their ways.
Um … sometimes that’s a message *I* should heed as well … :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 8, 2008 @ 9:39 am
…make that “aren’t taking proper care..”
People get a little snarky sometimes on Pet Connection almost never to the almost daily tome of Fugly.
I got beat up pretty badly when I made a comment defending pit bulls on that site. And when they gang up, they don’t back down. I sent links to Bad Rap, Don’t Bully my Breed etc, but all I got was the usual “I know someone, who knows someone, who’s related to someone, who was mauled by a pittie.”
So now I just read for the educational and sometimes entertainment value of the site. As I’ve said on the Fugly blog- its fine to rant on the site - but attacking people directly on their web sites will not change behavior.
Comment by 2CatMom — August 8, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
I have been beat up here too, in spite of the Blog’s moderation, and even though I have tried to post well thought out and non-offensive material.
That said, the Internet whether it is a Blog or a Forum is a snarky place! There are people who just delight in making themselves feel superior at yours/my/our expense. So we learn from it, and profit by it, and continue onward. The worst mistake we can all make is to think because we have been snarked and belittled, to withold information that may be valuable to some nameless reader who may profit from our experiences. We have to rise above that, work at better, more concise, less inflammatory or provocative ways of conveying our messages.
Maybe that’s not a bad thing. This Blog isn’t Fug’s. The mission of education here has a totally different approach. I don’t think either is right or wrong. The information given to us for us, their readers, to process and make informed decisions. How can that be bad? The message still makes it’s point!
Comment by Anne T. — August 8, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
As the lead blogger here, I do reserve the right to snark. :)
That said, I usually refrain from jumping on people unless they’ve just hopped in and dropped a sound-bite that has been handed to them, usually by a special interest group, which they’ve accepted without challenge or thought.
When people inform me they have a “right” to an opinion that isn’t supported by facts or logic, I really do believe they also have a perfect right to be an idiot … somewhere else.
Unlike most the Web sites that offer pablum dished up by people who seem to believe pet-lovers are all idiots with open checkbooks, we think pet-lovers have brains and will use them.
And I will say … it’s a give and take. I have honed and even changed my opinions based on information and arguments offered by the readers here.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 8, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
Gina, if you hadn’t checked recently, I am sure it says somewhere in the fine print that you have exclusive rights to snark any time you wish! If it doesn’t say so, renegotiate for a new contract! lol!
Seriously, that is precisely how we all learn. From give and take, from thought provoking responses from each other. I am not trying to brown nose here, only to state from my own humble experience as currently Admin on 2 dogs Boards, and having served as Mod and Admin on another.
The Internet has it’s foibles, but it also has it’s incredible pluses, as well documented by This Blog during the Pet Food miasma starting March 16, 2007.
I can’t say it enough, or more often. You and Christie were my life line. You were a digest for all the other sources of info out there, condensed it, provided the links and kept us all informed. I know I am OT, but this seemed a good time to work this in. I am so grateful for the time and effort you spent on the behalf of all of us!
Comment by Anne T. — August 8, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
Thanks, Anne! We really do try to help here. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 8, 2008 @ 6:15 pm
i am going to a horse meat market next week to buy some horses and foals as i can get them for £5.50 about £13 dollars and it saves lifes, and if i can get a few my friends are having them aswell, which i think is a really good idea as then they are not being sent to the butchers but they are going to loving, caring homes
Comment by Hannah davenport — October 19, 2008 @ 10:28 pm