I wish to respond to Penny Byer's letter to the editor "Keeping horses in the North is challenging but not impossible" published Aug. 19.
I also wish to challenge the Thompson Zoo and the Thompson Humane Society to address Byer's concernsregarding the foot care of the "pony and donkeys, which should have their feet trimmed every 12 weeks have gone for more than a year without trimming. They are good candidates for permanent hoof damage."
I appreciate the time and effort Byer has made to address and explain the many issues keeping horses in the North has raised. I would like to further explore this matter and I welcome the public's opinions and suggestions.
The fact that horses have been and continue to be kept by humansin harsh northern climates, in my opinion doesn't make it right. As far as I can tell from the little research I've done online, there have been no horses found in the wild this far north. So how does that mean its natural?Ifeel horses are happiest when they have the freedom to run and grazeon fresh pasture in a warmer climate.
While the personal attack against my credibility is understandable given that I am not a horse owner, I wish to explain the reason I wrote that, "I have worked on a horse farm in Ontario". I simply wanted to convey that as a horse lover, I could see clearly that some horses at the local stables are not happy. I'd like to add that I was responsible full-time for the care of 24 quarter horses which included exercising, feeding, grooming, mucking,assisting with birthing, breeding, Vet and Ferrier visits, de-wormings and intra-muscular injections which I administered myself when the horses were sick with the flu etc.
Also, I'd like to add that I did ask for permission to feed the horses at the local stable.
However, this is not about me, its about the horses.
If Thompson can forge together a very impressive effort to establish aHumane Society to care for domestic pets, can we not come up with a solution to either add zoo animals and horses to their care or establish a local group to ensure these animals are not neglected?
Sarah JohnsonThompson
