What is an unwanted horse?

I greatly admire horses; there my expertise ends. So although I find horse slaughter particularly repugnant, I acknowledge that there may be some justification for it. I do, though, have a question about a term that invariably surfaces in columns and letters defending the practice: What, exactly, is an “unwanted” horse?

In other words, how do horses end up in the hands of people who do not “want” them? They are not impulse items in supermarket checkout lanes. They do not produce large litters of baby horses several times a year. They are not considered pests. Yet it almost seems as if we are expected to feel more sympathy for these “unwanted horse” victims than the horses themselves.

So the reasoning here eludes me, though it would appear that horse-slaughter proponents, deliberately or not, are skipping a step or two, leaving behind a whiff of blackmail: “Let us slaughter our horses - or else!” Please feel free to fill in the blanks.

As for the unpersuaded, please ask your representatives to support the Safeguard American Food Products Act.

Cindy Adhikari

Cedar Rapids