Volume: 74 Issue: 4
Unwanted
Author: Christina Keim / Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books / Pages: 272
Unwanted: The Causes and Effects of America’s Horse Population Crisis, began as a project to give Christina Keim’s University of New Hampshire students a comprehensive source on the issues facing America’s horses when they are sold or otherwise surrendered by their owners. The result is a deeply researched work that blends narrative storytelling with interviews and firsthand accounts with horse lovers, veterinarians, and equine rescue professionals—the “tangled web” of people working to improve equine welfare. Keim visits horse auctions, equine rescues, and thoroughbred aftercare centers to gain insights on the complex factors impacting horses without homes and shed light on the darker sides of the horse world.
The book swings from intensely painful and disturbing stories of neglect and abuse of horses bound for slaughter, to moving moments of connection and the healing power of horses. Keim postulates that this healing connection is one we need to recognize and rely on to elevate and protect horses, one at a time, with every horse owner acting with compassion and consideration for the life of the horse. This personal responsibility for horses is echoed in many of the programs highlighted in the book, including aftercare for racehorses, responsible euthanasia, and owner surrender programs that help find safe new homes for horses.
The book, unfortunately, is far less thorough in its treatment of American wild horse issues. Keim omits examples of successful herd management by private groups using humane fertility control methods, opting instead to tell the story from the perspective of the Bureau of Land Management, the agency charged with managing most of the nation’s wild horses. The BLM has historically focused on roundups and removals and has made little effort to slow on-range population growth through humane fertility control—a far cry from the upstream solutions touted elsewhere in the book for managing domestic horse populations.
Ultimately, though, Unwanted offers an accessible entry into the complicated world of equine welfare and advocacy, and serves as a critical call for empathy, responsibility, and collaboration for the good of horses.
