HORSES Need Homes As Hormone Replacement Therapy Industry Collapses

[Guest guest]

> For cross posting

>

> > The last roundup

> >

> > MICHAEL KORB , For The Saratogian 01/03/2004

> >

> > SCHUYLERVILLE -- There's something to the old adage 'be careful what

> > you wish for.'

> >

> > With the continuing collapse of the PMU (pregnant mares urine) drug

> > industry, organizations like Equine Advocates, which is dedicated to the

> > rescue of abused or neglected horses, finds itself in an unenviable

> > position: The very horses they are trying to protect are being released

> > from Canadian drug farms in such vast numbers they are incapable of

> > saving the majority. PMU is used to make hormone replacement therapy

> > (HRT) medication for menopausal women.

> >

> > Thousands, and quite possibly tens of thousands of horses being sent to

> > slaughter, according to Susan Wagner, president of Equine Associates.

> >

> > 'What you have in Canada is one big bloodbath,' she says. 'I have never

> > seen anything like this -- the cruelty of the pharmacies and the

> > farmers -- if you want to call them farmers. Thank God this industry is

> > going down.'

> >

> > PMU farmers are looking to unload a product which has stopped creating

> > income. The PMU farmers have seen their positive cash flow take an

> > about-face, and the farmers are cutting their losses by sending these

> > horses to slaughter houses across Canada and the United States as fast

> > as they can be transported to rendering facilities.

> >

> > The reason the horses are no longer producing an essential ingredient

> > for HRT is that in 2002 the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) conducted a

> > study on the effects of hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women

> > and confirmed what had been suspected for years -- drugs like Premarin,

> > Prempro, Premphase and other estrogen/hormone replacement therapy drugs

> > (ERT/HRT) made from the urine of pregnant mares and produced by

> > pharmaceutical giant Wyeth -- have caused serious health problems for

> > some women.

> >

> > While HRT's effectiveness in treating osteoporosis and other menopausal

> > issues may be tangible, the revelations that women taking the drugs face

> > a dramatic increase in blood clots, a 41 percent increase in strokes, a

> > 29 percent increase in heart attacks and a 26 percent increase in

> > breast cancer were alarming. Not surprisingly, the data has caused

> > demand for the drug to plummet, leaving the horses useless in the eyes

> > of the farmers who raise them.

> >

> > 'The very public halt to the Prempro arm of the WHI was, and is, a real

> > wake-up call,' says Dr. Ray Kellosalmi, a director of a British Colombia

> > medical center that deals extensively with menopausal problems.

> >

> > 'A drug that had been touted to be almost a panacea for women's ills

> > was unmasked to be anything but,' Kellosalmi says.

> >

> > At one time, PMU farms had as many as 75,000 horses. They included

> > mares in foal, replacement mares, stallions and fillies who became

> > pregnant when they reached the age of 2. Now, with time against them,

> > Equine Advocates is racing to save as many of these horses as possible.

> >

> > The nonprofit organization has recently acquired 17 of these mares just

> > before they were to go to slaughter (15 of which are in foal). And while

> > > some are still being checked over at a holding area in Ontario,

> > > Canada,

> > four

> > have already found there way to a farm in Schuylerville owned by Equine

> > Advocates. Two of the mares are available for adoption.

> >

> > Two grays, Greta and Garbo, are already adopted, but a white percheron

> > named Bernadette and a black percheron named Jill are both available

> > and currently in foal to percheron stallions, according to Wagner. Most

> > PMU mares are draft horse breeds.

> >

> > 'We are looking for individuals with big hearts and a lot of patience

> > to adopt these neglected animals,' Wagner says. 'The mares range in age

> > from 3 to 14 and none of them have really been handled or given

> > affection of any kind. Our caretakers in Ontario are working with them

> > daily, but they will need months of work and TLC before they understand

> > they will never be tied up and confined again.'

> >

> > Equine Advocates had purchased 18 mares, but one of the pregnant mares

> > died shortly after the organization took possession of her.

> >

> > 'She came to us extremely ill with heaves and serious respiratory

> > problems,' Wagner says. 'By the time the vet arrived, she was dead.

> > This is just one example of the cruel treatment and neglect of which

> > these mares were victims. They received little to no vet care and were

> > basically fed the cheapest hay. Most were thin and hadn't been wormed

> > since the spring. We were lucky that we didn't lose more of them,' she

> > says.

> >

> > Although Equine Advocates does not charge an adoption fee -- 'We don't

> > like to put a price on these animals' says Wagner -- there are

> > stringent requirements for applicants.

> >

> > 'All of our adoptions have three stages,' Wagner says, 'approval of

> > application (including personal references, as well as vet and

> > blacksmith

> > information.) Once that is approved there is a site check. They would

> > need to have a lot of land for these animals and can't have barbed wire

> > fencing. If that is approved, the people must sign a contract agreeing

> > to never breed, sell or use the horse for commercial purposes. And the

> > foals also fall under that contract.'

> >

> > To date, Equine Advocates has placed approximately 400 horses who have

> > been neglected or abused in some way into permanent homes.

> >

> > The organization has never had to take a horse back because of

> > 'something negative,' according to Wagner.

> >

> > The sooner Equine Advocates can find suitable homes for these mares,

> > its representatives can go back to Canada and save more. Rescuing the

> > PMU mares costs the organization approximately $1,000 per horse. That

> > includes purchase price, transportation from Manitoba to Ontario,

> > veterinary and blacksmith care, transportation and administrative fees

> > into the United States, supplies, feed, hay, medicine, etc.

> >

> > 'We plan to rescue as many of these animals as possible and hope other

> > caring organizations and individuals will do the same,' Wagner says. 'I

> > believe the PMU industry is going down fast. Tragically, as that

> > happens, thousands of mares, foals and stallions will die.

> >

> > 'Anyone who adopts one of these mares will find it a very rewarding

> > experience. They are extremely grateful. They know you have taken them

> > out of a bad situation. And when they have one of these foals it is

> > just great,' she says.

> >

> > If you would like more information on adopting horses from Equine

> > Advocates, visit www.equineadvocates.com or call (518) 245-1599.

> > Tax-deductible donations may be sent to Equine Advocates, P.O. Box 700,

> > Bedford, NY 10506.

> >

> >

> > The Saratogian 2004

> >

> >