04/18/2025
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙙 “𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙” 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤.
It stirred panic. It pulled at heartstrings. And it weaponized our empathy against us.
What the post didn’t say? These Thoroughbreds were listed for $1,850 each — nearly double their slaughter value.
The current meat price for horses is about $0.60–$0.75/lb live weight. That means a 1,100 lb Thoroughbred might bring in around $800.
So why are Thoroughbreds magically worth $1,850 or even more to a kill buyer?
𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘁 — 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Kill pens know Thoroughbreds are traceable — tattooed, chipped, and backed by Jockey Club records. That traceability, meant to protect them, is being twisted into a marketing tool. A horse with a name, a photo, and a race record, or a brood mare that produced some foals earlier in her life- They are a KP goldmine.
And oh boy, when the post saying they “shipped” popped up on their business page —
That’s the clicker — whether true or not — it’s meant to condition you to act faster and more emotionally next time.
And then- some people even began posting “STOP THE TRUCK!!” and claimed they’d contacted the lot… who conveniently said they could turn the truck around for an extra fee per horse.
Let’s be clear:
That 🔺Is 🔺A 🔺Lie!
You are not paying to “bring horses back from the border.” Either they never shipped — or they weren’t suitable to ship in the first place. In either case, no extra fee needs to be paid.
But here is what’s really going on:
Kill pen buyers often operate under contract with slaughterhouses and must fill a weekly quota. Let’s say Mexico needs 100 head of horses this week. The buyer will send 100 horses whether you bail any or not.
But here’s the kicker:
The horses being offered to the public (like those Thoroughbreds)? Those aren’t the ones meant for slaughter.
They’re called “riders.” And no, that doesn’t mean the horse is broke to ride — it means the broker bought them specifically to flip to the public.
They’re not in the slaughter queue — they were never going to be.
They’re surplus horses bought — often beating out families, rescues, and sanctuaries at auction — so they can be posted with a “shipping deadline” and flipped for profit.
If they don’t sell?
They get shuffled to another lot, another auction, or magically get an “extension” if there are fundraisers on the hook.
You didn’t stop that horse from being slaughtered. You helped the broker fund the real slaughter load.
Buy 1, condemn 4.
It’s a scam— and we as an organization once fell for it too but so many others are continuing to fall for it.
🔺The kill buyer uses your money to buy cheap, unmarketable horses to meet quota.
🔹He flips the “pretty” ones to the public, knowing they pull in sympathy dollars.
🔺The true slaughter horses? You never see them.
🔹The cycle keeps churning — because it’s profitable.
And even more unfortunate,
Rescues and real adopters often lose out on these horses at auction because kill buyers drive up the bids — not to save them, but to resell them to you at inflated prices under false pretenses.
We understand the panic.
We understand the heartbreak.
But we HAVE to stop funding this abuse loop with our good intentions.
It’s not “rescue” if the horses were never in danger.
It’s not “saving” if it fuels more suffering.
The only way out is transparency, education, and changing the system from the inside out.
Stop letting them weaponize your heart.
Start demanding the truth.
There was a time we said yes—every time we could.
Yes to the emotional pleas. Yes to the countdowns. Yes to the “shipping tonight” posts.
Because we believed we were saving lives. And in many ways, maybe we were in that moment.
But here’s the truth: not every “rescue” is rescue.
And not every plea is rooted in integrity.
Most of you already know that as of 2025, our organization made a painful but necessary change in policy: We no longer bail horses from kill pens.
Why? Because we’ve come to understand how this system works—and who it truly benefits.
Instead, we’ve chosen to intervene earlier—before these Thoroughbreds ever end up at auction or in the hands of kill buyers.
Because by then, it’s already too late. The price is higher, the horse is traumatized, and the funding only fuels the very system we’re trying to dismantle.
We believe the real rescue happens before the pipeline:
At the point of retirement. At the gate of the track. Before the truck shows up.
That’s where we can make the most meaningful difference—and protect these animals without lining the pockets of exploiters.
But we can’t do this alone.
We need fellow rescues, horse lovers, advocates, and industry partners to step in and collaborate.
What else can we do? What ideas do you have? How can we reroute these horses toward safety—without feeding the machine that profits from their fear?
If we truly want to stop this never-ending cycle, we have to do it together.
With strategy. With compassion. And with the courage to say:
We’re done playing their game and hope you are too.
