Cynthia_Smoot's Blog

His name is Willoughby.  He's a handsome 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding with gentle brown eyes. And if it hadn't been for a woman named Hilary Wood and her Front Range Equine Rescue, Willoughby would have ended up on a foreigner's dinner plate. He was one of 80+ horses rescued in 2007 by FRER.  Many of them, like Willoughby, bought off a kill lot--destined for the slaughterhouse. I had the privilege of meeting Hilary in person a couple of weeks ago, and seeing her rescue ranch in Larkspur, Colorado--about halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. And I got to meet Willoughby (see photos).  What a sweet boy!  Just spending a few minutes with him, I couldn't believe someone could send him off to slaughter. Even though U.S. slaughterhouses have now been shutdown, legislation that would prevent any American horse from being killed for human consumption is languishing in Congress. As a result, thousands of U.S horses are now going to slaughter in Canada and Mexico (where the killing is even more brutal--no "stun gun," they knife the horse in its spine until it drops). Until Congress acts to end this brutality once and for all, horses will suffer.  That's why I'm grateful to Hilary and others like her on the frontlines of equine rescue.  For those of us who love and respect horses, thank you.

To find out more about Front Range Equine Rescue go to www.frontrangeequinerescue.org