Below is an ‘Open Letter‘ on Cynthia’s thoughts on the situation for horses ‘in need’ in Puerto Rico.
The following was in response to someone emailing us “I am a professional horseback rider and am constantly heartbroken by some of the horses I see (even one on my street right now- way under weight and kept for days in the same spot w/o access to water). I’m just not sure what the most useful thing to be the most helpful would be. Thanks so much!”
Cynthia’s Response –
There are estimated to be around 1 million horses on the Island of Puerto Rico. We know we are not reaching all of them. It’s statistically impossible. The heart of the problem is the lack of donated land (because there is ample unused land on this island) for horses & the lack of education/actions for/by the public that horses (all mammals) are protected by Law 154, that is specifically IF YOU SEE IT YOU must CALL THE POLICE, Call The Mayor’s Office & Call Emergency Management Services. There are many more people than just the few Defensa volunteers & in addition THAT IS THE LAW.
For land. Owners, Neighborhoods, Police Stations, Cities & Governments need to come together with local lands they are not using to home the many horses in their streets. We are here to support that effort (in this way) but if each town created a program to help the horses it would break up the problem into something manageable. Using city & federal funds. Defensa gets no federal, city or Island funding for our work rescuing animals.
For Law 154, when YOU see a horse YOU feel is in need of help YOU need to hold the Police accountable for doing their job (steps to doing that are here). In addition, it is the duty of each City Hall & Island Wide Emergency Management Services to step in when needed. The person who sees the horse in need may have to put a lot of effort into contacting and following up with the these agencies but that is only because we all have not done this previously, we have all looked the other way or given up when we see that skinny neglected horse or that owner riding too young a horse or that person neglecting a horse. Mostly what is needed when you see this is pressure and polite persistence with the police, city hall & emergency services (depending on exactly what you see). Human nature or laziness or something, Police may push back when you call to open a case/to investigate a situation with a horse. In my experience they are more likely to go investigate for a dog than a horse but that’s just my limited experience in reporting as a citizen not as part of Defensa. These days Defensa does not report horse cases to the Police because it was causing tension between us and horse owners. We have to be part of the horse community, we feel, in order to do the most good. Owners need to know they can call us and we will help. We still struggle with getting that information out there. I think a lot of horse owners would do better if they knew who to turn to. There are limited equine out call vets here. So it really does come down to sharing the page http://defensaanimaldepuertorico.org/horserescueinpuertorico/ and spreading the word on social media. We can’t take in all the horses but we can work with people, police and Vets to help all the horses/owners. Also, Defensa reporting cases would get old. But if ‘everyone’ out there reported … that would make an impact. Of course all of us can do more than just Defensa could do solo.
Horses on ropes is not ideal but it isn’t the worst of the situation. If people see the horse without grass or water, again they should call the police and the police should inform and watch that the owner fixes that. The police in each area know the horse owners. Ideally all horses would be in open land but there is not enough open land offered for all the horses on the Island. And if a owner is a good owner a horse can live pretty happy on a rope — if they have at least one other horse close by, get moved to fresh grass, have water, know how to be on a rope (it’s a skill taught young here and if not taught a horse can get seriously injured on a rope for certain) But my personal horse came from living on a rope and he’s amazing. He just knows how to not get tangled (if placed in a good spot, again another factor Police and community members should follow up on). He doesn’t live on a rope anymore but it was educational to see how he did it.
This was probably more than you wanted 🙂
Education is what’s missing. Education so the Public reports and holds the Police to enforcing Law 154 with the owners of horses. Imagine if the kid riding down the street on a malnourished skinny too young horse got a ticket? Had to go to the courts and pay a fine!!! That will slowly (in my opinion) stop the abuse and neglect of horses. People do all these horrible things to horses here because the law allows it — even though it is illegal. That’s the missing piece in my mind. But the reporting has to start as offering a hand of help, not immediately into judgement and insults. It’s a fine line. I tell people even when they see something horrible and know the owner is a real jerk, you have to start out kind and helpful – otherwise the owner will move the horse, hide the horse, etc. It just doesn’t work with hate. It has to come from a place of love and support. Social media is a good place to spread the word.