A frantic PETA supporter contacted us after she witnessed an underweight horse collapse and thrash around on the ground. It was clear to our caller that this poor animal was in agony and likely suffering from colic.

Law enforcement was contacted immediately, but according to our caller, when the officers arrived, "they just stood around her, watching her suffer." A PETA staffer worked on getting a veterinarian out to the horse, while the caller tried to track down the horse's owner. Within an hour of the call to PETA, the horse was gently released from her suffering.

At our urging, detectives are now investigating the cause of the horse's illness as well as the condition of the other horses on the owner's property.

If you encounter an animal in imminent danger and local officials won't help, call PETA to receive immediate assistance.

Update: Another horse collapsed in Hemet, California, after participating in a Christmas parade. The horse—who is now recovering—got spooked and took off down the street, running over the driver and striking light poles and parked cars before collapsing.

The following posted 12/5/2011

Another horse pulling a carriage fell to the street in New York City this weekend, and a spokesperson for the Horse and Carriage Association of New York admitted that it "is quite common" for horses to catch their hooves on uneven pavement.

Considering that four horses have now collapsed—and at least one has died—in New York City in the last six weeks, it is outrageous for the industry and city officials to continue to downplay the risks.

Please click here to ask the New York City Council to vote "Yes" on Intro 86A, which would replace living, breathing animals with eco-friendly antique cars, before any more horses collapse on the streets of New York.

chedder | cc by 2.0

After a 5-year hiatus, Congress has restored funding for U.S. inspectors to oversee horse slaughter, opening the door for horses to be killed and butchered in the United States for the first time since 2006.

No one wants to see any horse killed for meat or to turn a fast buck, and PETA has always had concerns about the suspension of US slaughter, since it meant more suffering for these sensitive animals, not less.  What we feared would happen did: Rather than have a change of heart and stop killing horses, greedy ranchers who deal in horse flesh simply jammed their “commodities” into tractor trailers and hauled the frightened animals hundreds of miles to Canada and Mexico – a journey most did not have to face before - to terrifying deaths in slaughterhouses there.

As PETA documented years ago, that ride means horses crammed together with strangers who bite and kick, slippery floors that mean foals and pregnant mares fall and are trampled, and horses who, being taller than cows but often shipped in cattle trucks, must ride the whole way with their heads bent to their chests. That export loophole still needs to be slammed shut.

To reduce horses’ suffering, there must be a ban on exports of live horses together with a ban on slaughter in the U.S., or it doesn’t work, never did, never will.     

Remember, industries that breed horses for profit—horseracing, rodeo and the carriage trade—are largely to blame for this crisis since they have created the tragic overpopulation of horses.

Help force breeders to take some responsibility for the horses they use up and then discard by signing PETA's petition to the Jockey Club calling for the club to establish a retirement fund for registered thoroughbreds.

We don't know how long several horses on a property in rural Iowa spent mired in their own waste, but when a witness alerted PETA to their plight, the horses' barn floor was covered with manure up to 4 feet deep in some places.

PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department contacted local animal control officers immediately, and the agency forced the property owner to improve the horses' situation. It took several visits from law-enforcement officials, but the continued pressure was enough to convince the owner to build a spacious new barn. The horses now have a clean, new living space and plenty of pasture to graze.

If you notice an animal who is forced to live in filth or who is in trouble in any way, contact police and/or animal control, and follow up—repeatedly, if necessary—to make sure that the animal gets help. (You can look up the number now and save it to your cell phone or post it on your fridge to be prepared for emergencies.) If you do not get an appropriate response, let us know.

Written by Heather Faraid Drennan

UPDATE: When Lea Michele found out about the death of yet another horse used for carriage rides in New York City, she immediately sent a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg asking him to support the bill that would replace the cruel carriages with eco-friendly retro cars and allow the remaining horses to go to sanctuaries.    

The following was originally posted on October 24, 2011:

Yet another horse used to pull carriages in New York City has dropped dead in the street, adding one more body to a count that continues to grow. Glee's Lea Michele recently hosted a PETA video detailing the miserable lives of these horses, who are forced to haul heavy loads in all weather extremes in one of the busiest cities in the world.

Wherever you live, if you see a horse (or any animal) in distress, contact local humane authorities immediately. If you live in New York and see a horse in trouble, contact the ASPCA at 212-876-7700, extension 4450, and PETA at CIDInfo@peta.org right away.

Never take a horse-drawn carriage ride, and please let New York officials know that you support Intro. Bill 86, which would replace horse-drawn carriages with eco-friendly classic cars.  

It only takes one look to see that the pony below desperately needed help, but whenever authorities were called out to check on this miserable horse, they inexplicably found "no issues" with his condition and left him to suffer at the hands of his neglectful owners.

The pony was so malnourished that every rib jutted out, and his hoof was so grossly deformed (possibly from an untreated broken bone) and overgrown that it had folded under, forcing him to hobble around. The pony's owners left him to wander the streets and routinely took off for days at a time, leaving him to fend for himself. He had no food, no water, and nowhere to escape the elements.

Thankfully, when PETA and a wonderful local rescue group got involved, the owner quickly agreed to surrender the pony. His overgrown hoof was immediately trimmed, and he was adopted into a loving home within days! 

Update: PETA investigators have released the following undercover video, showing horses as they were forced to run so fast that they suffered broken bones, burst aortas, and other potentially fatal injuries. This video footage will be used to push thoroughbred auction companies to institute PETA's proposed reforms.

PETA has documented yet another example of how merciless and mercenary the thoroughbred racing industry is. Two-year-old horses are forced to perform in reckless speed trials known as "under tack shows" to impress prospective buyers at auctions. These young horses, whose fragile bones, tendons, and muscles are not yet fully developed, are pushed to sprint one-eighth of a mile at breakneck—or, rather, breakleg—speeds.

PETA investigators have documented that forcing these baby horses to run at extreme speeds at auctions and during training for these events can result in dangerous accidents, broken bones, and death. Equine veterinarian Dr. Sheila Lyons, who has been featured on the cover of The Blood-Horse magazine, writes: "Pushing these immature 2-year-old horses for speed before they have reached physical and mental maturity is recklessly dangerous and systematically damaging for the animal while also proving to be unreliable for the prospective buyers as a predictor of future racing ability."

 PETA is urging the four major thoroughbred auction companies, Fasig-Tipton Company, Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Keeneland Association, and Barretts Equine Limited, to adopt a series of reforms, including the following:

• Ban horses younger than 2 years of age from sprints.
• Eliminate the timing of sprints.
• Mandate postponement of pre-auction under tack shows in unsafe track or weather conditions.
• Ban all whips, toe grabs, and other tools and weapons that force young horses to run at excessive speeds.
• Crack down on the use of performance-enhancing and injury-masking drugs.

Help us put an end to this unnecessary suffering. Please take a moment to politely urge the four major auction companies to implement PETA's proposed reforms.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

These animals must have listened to Robert F. Kennedy―they didn’t get mad, they got even.

stevedepolo | cc by 2.0

• Maybe Angry Birds was inspired by crows, who remember the faces of people who were mean to them for years―and even get other crows to help retaliate. 
• A cattle rancher was once named "Livestockman of the Year," but after fattening thousands of animals for slaughter, he got a less-than-positive review from one of the animals in his "care."  
• A man caught with massive amounts of lethal puffer fish poison won't be seeing the ocean―or much of anything else―for a very long time.
• At two separate events in which people antagonize and harass bulls for fun, the instigators learned the painful way that when you mess with a bull, you really do get the horns.
• It was eight seconds to gory when a horse tired of being used in the rodeo bluntly told his rider to take a seat in the stands.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

In a landmark move for thoroughbreds' safety, the American Graded Stakes Committee announced that it is banning performance-enhancing drugs for 2-year-olds on race days.

Graded stakes races are significant for two reasons: They offer large purses, and their results are used in determining which horses will qualify to run in the Kentucky Derby. Since most owners and trainers want to improve a horse's speed in these top tier races more than any others, banning drugs in the graded stakes is a huge step toward getting drugs out of racing altogether.

The committee's decision comes on the heels of a similar ban by the Breeders' Cup World Championship, which announced three weeks ago that drugs would be prohibited during the multiple-race event in 2013 and for 2-year-olds beginning next year at the 2012 Breeders' Cup.

The drug bans focus on Lasix, a diuretic that is already banned in most countries. Lasix enables trainers and jockeys to force horses to run harder and more often than they should by reducing bleeding in the horses' lungs and nose, and it can also mask the use of painkillers, which can lead to catastrophic breakdowns when horses run while injured.

A bill has been introduced in Congress that would ban race-day performance-enhancing drugs from all thoroughbred races. You can help by urging your congressional representatives to support H.R. 1733, introduced by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and S. 886, introduced by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

The new documentary film Buck chronicles the life of real-life "horse whisperer" Buck Brannaman and his work to help, as he calls them, "horses with people problems." The film follows Brannaman as he tours the country, giving guardians a deeper understanding of their horses and, at the same time, insight into themselves.

Brannaman, whose own upbringing was marred by violent physical abuse, understands horses' fears and anxieties. Heartbreaking archival footage of horses being whipped and "broken" gives way to scenes of Brannaman gaining the respect and trust of a horse using no more than his voice, body language, and a gentle touch.

Although the film challenges the cruel methods used to "break" horses, it stops short of questioning the use of horses and other animals for entertainment. Brannaman obviously cares deeply about horses and is saving many of them from abusive training techniques, which makes one hope that someday soon he will pause to think about the ethics of buying, selling, breeding, using―and inevitably abusing―horses in the first place. Brannaman himself participates in rodeo events that are stressful and potentially dangerous to the animals involved.

To his credit, Brannaman himself admits that even after decades of working with horses, he still has a lot to learn. Perhaps someday he will fully take to heart the words of one of his students, who, when thinking back on the pain that she has inflicted, admits, "[Y]ou don't realize how unjust it is until someone shows you a different path."  We all have some growing to do, but Buck has done more than most in his field of endeavor.