Cause and Effect

Responsibilities and Priorities; where is the line drawn?

            As he stands there in a heap of disarray and mounds of his own urine and feces, his legs and hooves are in pain. His hooves have grown past the point of comfortable and they have chipped and cracked from the shoes that were left on them, the nails have loosened and left holes.  He has gotten thrush and the pain goes up into his legs from the damage of the spreading of the hoof.  As he is slumped into the small shed that has been his home for months, the wood that has built this shelter has become his food. He can barely move and cannot stretch out his body. His hair has become a mess of urine, feces, and dirt with tangles and mats of mass and stench.  The bones that make up this skeleton, one could count and see every inch. His head hangs low and he doesn’t move when approached, he is barely breathing. He has been left to fend for himself and stalled in a six by ten foot storage shed. He has no access to water or food and has not been cared for in months.

            Quick on the Draw, was a beautiful quarter horse that raced and showed for the most prestiguise and elite humans around. He slowed in his age and was sold to a place that was supposed to be his retirement home. As things happened he was traded and sold and traded again.  Now he has been left alone. He has never known the wild life and has always been spoiled by his owner.  He was bathed by his human and fed grain twice a day. The hay was fresh and the grass was without weeds when he was on the pasture. His coat was taken care of and brushed regularly; his feet were groomed every six weeks and cleaned daily. His mane was combed and braided for every show, while his tail was cleaned and trimmed. He didn’t have a hair out of place ever.  He won ribbons and trophies everywhere he went.

            Where did he go wrong? What happened to his life? What did he do to deserve this? Will it ever end? These are questions that are going thru his head and along with a million other ones. He did nothing wrong and he doesn’t deserve to live like this. He did his part in winning everything he could. He stood tall when he was asked to and he ran fast when he was told to. He has become a victim of animal neglect and abuse.