Field of Dead Horses

Yesterday I took Desert Dawg to IVH because her hair was mangled while I was away. She stays with a very nice family who doesn’t seem to understand that yuh – you do have to comb out her hair (just like a little kids) when you give her a bath because otherwise, she’ll be a matted mess of snarls (which is just what happened).

Anyhoo, on the way back, The Romanian and I looked over and saw a field of dead horses. It looked like a battleground and they had lost. I sent pics (the one shown here is from the Arab Times) and a little story to the Arab Times and they ran the story today. They have promised to do a follow-up because they are equally disgusted. It was so horrific and appalling that I still can’t believe that nothing has been mentioned in the papers before (and if they have, I haven’t seen the stories).

This is unlike dead cattle; cattle generally isn’t regarded as someone’s beloved pet. I was shocked at myself for being not-as-shocked as I probably should have been; but alas – nothing much in Kuwait truly shocks me anymore. Had I seen these dead horses 15 years ago, I probably would have started crying and not stopped. It just saddens and disgusts me.

At the very least, they should have been covered in sand. Best case scenario – maybe a mass horse grave. I speak from personal experience when I say that in the US, a horse must be burried 6 feet under (even in February when the ground is frozen so hard that you have to hire a backho to the tune of $1,000 to put it in the ground) so that disease is not spread. Gee, I guess no one in Kuwait cares about disease, do they? Obviously not too much because there were camps purty close to the field.

Since relaying the story to other people, I have heard “maybe they died from the cold” “Maybe they died from a disease…” Well yeah, but in any case, they should have been buried – not left out for other animals to cannibalize or spread disease.

These horses are lying in a field not 200 meters away from the front gate of Ahmadi Equestrian Club – in plain sight from the road (306 towards Wafra).

You would think that the Ahmadi Equestrian Club would NOT want the negative advertising brought about by dead horses from their club! Yes yes, come to our club – board your horse here. We will put it right next to these other ones…

January 7 Update: Arab Times published a follow-up story January 7, 2006. After the race... a fall from grace: Dumping carcasses of horses in open areas is the normal method used by all horse owners and members of the Ahmadi Governorate Equestiran Club (AGEC) with the full awareness of the administration, says a trainer at the club. "...any horse which fails to keep up with competition due to broken bones or sickness will either be shot or injected with poison at the request of its owner and then dumped outside."

Apparently, the Kuwait Riding Center on 6th Ring Road adopts a completely different attitude than the AGEC.

January 8 Update: The Arab Times published another front-page story. Because of their efforts, the horse carcasses have been removed from the field!!! The next step in the game is to ensure that the horses aren't being needlessly slaughtered by people who just don't care. And if they are indeed "salvageable", to find people who will adopt them. From what we have been able to learn, the Kuwait Sports Federation is responsible for the AGEC. Are they in compliance with Kuwait law?? It has been a very busy week!