The Unwanted: The Causes and Effects of America's Horse Population Crisis

Any horse, but for a change of circumstances, can become unwanted.

The unwanted are racetrack rejects, excess ranch stock, foals that did not live up to their breeder's expectations. They are aged Amish cart horses, horses with chronic lameness issues, the pony a child outgrew. They are show horses, pleasure horses, the pretty horses and the plain. They come in all colors, sizes, and shapes.

The US equine industry consistently produces more horses each year than the number of appropriate homes, leaving thousands of animals with nowhere to go. Recently, as many as 150,000 of these horses have shipped annually to equine slaughterhouses in Canada, Mexico, and abroad. Others are sold at auction, given away, starved, abused, and abandoned. Just over 1,000 rescues and municipal organizations across the country equipped to handle horses at risk report they are consistently close to or at capacity. Most are stretched to the breaking point when it comes to finances, material resources, and human power.

Horsewoman and journalist Christina Keim, a veteran of the equine industry, believes the unwanted horse crisis urgently needs our collective voice and attention. Solving it, she suggests, requires a sea change in the face of not just fundamental values and beliefs, but also hard economic realities and deeply held cultural attitudes. In her meticulously researched study of this devastatingly real and present problem so many choose to ignore, she travels the country, bringing readers to livestock auctions, rescues, and therapy centers, describing work and life behind the scenes, and the animals who find themselves there. Keim interviews industry experts, including veterinarians, lawmakers, welfare advocates, and shelter workers, and reviews published data to help separate unwanted horse facts from fantasy. She works to dispel common myths and misconceptions surrounding the "slaughter pipeline," without taking away from the harsh reality horses face once "in it." And perhaps most importantly, she showcases the work of many dedicated individuals and groups who are collectively helping to carve out a new niche for the horse that both honors his heritage and can help to preserve his future.

The Unwanted asks all of us to examine our unconscious and deeply held beliefs about horses, while suggesting ways to better understand how that perspective shapes our opinion about how they--and other non-human animals--should be treated. For there to be hope for a restorative and harmonious solution to the unwanted horse crisis, Keim professes, we must be ready to come to the table well informed, open-minded, and prepared to work for the horse's best interests, rather than our own.