You wouldn't think it would be easy to abuse an animal as large as a horse. You would think someone would notice when a horse is left along for long periods or is starved to the point their back bones and ribs are easy to see. But it happens every single day and as you read this, there are horses that are hungry, hurt, beaten and left to die because their owners either don't understand the responsibilities of horse ownership or because they are basically cruel people that wind up hurting an innocent animal.

Other horses that have worn out their usefulness or can no longer earn money for their owners are casually sold to meat processing companies. Although there is almost no sale of horse meat in the United States for human consumption it is wildly popular overseas,especially France. Interestingly enough, pet food is no longer made from horse meat as the pet food processors can not compete with the higher prices that the slaughterhouses are willing to pay for horse meat due to the European demand. There are three huge horse meat processing plants in the United States and they do a brisk business.

Who can help stop this? You can. If you see a horse being abused through neglect or cruel treatment, report it to the local animal welfare. If you are on good terms with the horse's owner and it's a simple case of they don't know how to care for a horse, offer to help them. Friend or not, if they won't treat their horse right, you may have to make a hard decision to turn them in.

One person can make a huge difference. Report neglect and abuse. If you make it clear you won't stand for mistreatment of animals who can not speak for themselves, you might just inspire someone else to stand up for the rights of horses and other animals too. You can also help through donations. If you are able, donate this holiday season to help the horses that have been rescued. Rehabilitating horses takes not only love, time and patience; it takes funds for medicine and good food. Your donations will help improve the life of a horse that may not have known a lot of kindness in the past. Your kindness can make the difference.