Where do you sit on the issue of horse slaughter? Do you believe that horse slaughter should be maintained in the U.S.? Why or why not? 

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I am opposed to horse slaughter.  Unfortunately, a lot of people that are opposed in principle believe there is no other option in practicality.  That is not true.  This is a problem well within our ability to solve without slaughter.  Start with breed registries limiting the number of foals that can be registered by a stallion each year.  And limit mares to one foal registered per year.  Statistics show that the 2 biggest breed contributors to slaughter are QH and TB.  The TB people are making efforts to change that.  What are the QH people doing?  Studies show there are 900,000 horse deaths each year, of which 100,000 are slaughtered, but 1.4 million foals are born.  Those numbers indicate that this "unwanted" horse problem does not have to be a crisis, nor resolved by slaughter.  Responsible breeding and ownership are the answer!  We don't have an "Unwanted Horse" problem.  The horses are a symptom of the problem - irresponsible people!   Over 90% of the horses slaughtered are healthy horses - not the old, tired, infirm ones like the pulbic in general believes.  And the old, tired, and infirm ones deserve our respect and compassion after serving their masters for years - humane euthanasia.  Another theory put forth by the proslaughter camp is that the slaughter in the U.S. is humane.  It is not.

Careful with the idiot language there Rick.  Science has come a long way, and it is now possible for a mares fertilized eggs to be implanted in a surrogate mare.  Some registries have already banned it.