Published: August 12, 2007 03:31 pm            

Guilty of kindness

One loves horses destined for the slaughterhouse. One loves three-legged dogs.

Given recent allegations of animal cruelty, it’s refreshing to meet those on the opposite side of the spectrum, those dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of unwanted and mistreated animals. One, a business focusing on horse rescues, recently opened in Joshua. The other, a husband-and-wife team in Parker, has provided room and board for rescued dogs and other “critters” for 14 years.

Safe horses guaranteed

Calling out occasional commands, Robbie Jones watches intently as Ashley Howard trots a horse through open field. Howard stops the horse, stands atop its saddle momentarily, then sits back down. Shortly after, Jones, standing inches from the horse, lets loose a loud yell. Standing atop an animal that can bolt and leave someone flat on his back or placing oneself directly in the path of a 1,000 pound animal and yelling at the top of one’s lungs seems, to the uninitiated, a bit foolhardy. But Jones and Howard appear to know what they’re doing.

At any rate, the horse in question gives not the slightest attention to such shenanigans. Things never reach the standing or shouting stage with another horse. Less than a minute into the ride, Jones declares the animal problematic, and Howard quickly dismounts. Before each ride, Jones places his hand on the animal’s snout and then its breast plate.

“Every horse is different, just like humans,” Jones said. “What I’m doing now is touching them to gauge resistance or acceptance. They can sense our demeanor.”

What’s going on, Jones says, is an evaluation to determine the comportment of several recently acquired equines. The more docile ones will be sold to first-time riders and families with children. The more lively, skittish or problematic ones will be retained or adopted out to experienced riders with full disclosure of the animal’s challenges, Jones said.

“If you take a horse and it doesn’t work out, you can bring it back, or we’ll get you into a horse you can work with,” Jones said. “The industry gets a bad rap for not doing that. As far as I know, I’m the only one that does that. My strength is that I guarantee we are going to set you up with a horse that’s safe to handle for you or your kids, given your riding abilities.”

The “we” is North Texas Horse, which Jones, the owner, opened last week on about 10 acres of land in Joshua. The site marks an expansion of Jones’ Houston location, which he started 10 years ago and continues to operate. Besides sales and adoptions, North Texas Horse offers boarding and riding lessons. It is the rescue aspect of the mission statement that provides the company’s raison detre, however, Jones said.



Not for dinner

One needn’t mention horse-slaughter plants; Jones brings the subject up soon enough. He speaks about his distaste for the practice and buttresses his argument with facts, figures and studies conducted by Texas A&M University. The three horse-slaughtering plants in the United States — two in Texas, one in Illinois — previously shipped horse meat overseas, mainly for human consumption, partly for zoo feed.

“Rendering plants deal with dead carcasses versus the slaughter plants, which took live horses,” Jones said. “One of the myths, something most people don’t know, is that the slaughterhouses didn’t take just old, sick or thin horses, but all horses, healthy horses in particular. You’d see the back gate of the Fort Worth plant, and they’d have 10 to 20 horses lined up at a time. Horse meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, so the slaughterhouse wanted healthy horses.”

Opposition to the practice led Jones to horse auctions throughout the state, many of which are staged throughout Johnson County. Slaughter buyers, as Jones terms them, also bought horses at the same auctions, which they turned around and sold to the slaughterhouses.

“I went to the auctions, and as the slaughter buyers bid, I’d stay right in there with them,” Jones said. “As time went by, I learned how to get in there and get those horses from them. If that meant paying a little more money sometimes, that’s what I did.”

Animosity on the part of the slaughter buyers at times morphed into grudging respect for Jones on their part, to varying degrees, when they realized he frequently picked up horses that might otherwise go unsold.

He said he wouldn’t say he hates those people, “but I don’t respect what they do.”

“But a lot of those old guys have been doing the auctions for years and know all the ins and outs and plenty about horses,” Jones said. “I will say I’ve certainly learned a lot from them.”



Education in the field

Success at auctions, and with horses for that matter, comes from a mix of instinct and experience, Jones said.

“Those auctions fly by,” Jones said. “In the ring I’ve got maybe 30 seconds to evaluate an animal. I only want the horses I know I can rehab, not the ones with serious medical or emotional issues. It can be hard to determine, but I’m pretty good, about 95 percent successful. Horses I get and later find they have problems, I tell the buyers all their issues, which a lot of sellers don’t do. Unfortunately, you do get the occasional horse that has to be sent back to auction.”

Jones said he continues to attend auctions but adds he’s been less busy since the slaughterhouses closed this year.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Jan. 19 declared the slaughter of horses for food illegal in Texas. Bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate banning the practice earlier this year will likely be addressed sometime after Congress’ summer break.

Nonetheless, racehorse castoffs, unwanted inherited horses and others ensure full auctions, Jones said.

“A lot of people don’t know much more about horses than what they’ve seen in westerns,” Jones said. “And they get a romantic ideal of having a horse for them or their kids but find out how much work it is when they get one and then don’t want it. Most of them don’t realize that horse they sold to the auction used to go to a slaughterhouse most likely and now might just be traded and sold back and forth.”

Although Jones describes himself as a lifelong animal fanatic, he said that as a child raised in California, he had little contact with horses until late in life and learned everything from scratch. Jones said his introduction to horses mirrors that of many first-time buyers he’s seen through the years.

“I’m 50 now,” Jones said. “I was 30 then, a yuppie with a rich wife. We bought a horse at an auction. I didn’t know how to ride right, just what I’d seen in movies. Two weeks later he bucked me off, and I smashed my ankle and was severely hurt. I owned a construction company at the time and wasn’t able to work for nine months.”



Down but not out

While such an experience would cause most to avoid horses at all costs, Jones said he remained strangely drawn to them. Determined to get back in the saddle, he signed on for riding lessons shortly after rehabilitation.

“Once I learned from an expert, I’ve rarely been bucked off,” Jones said.

North Texas Horse came not long after. Jones said he put every penny into the horses almost to the point of poverty. Although the company remains a for-profit business, Jones said little is left over once food, fuel, wages and other costs are deducted.

Jones, who said he will alternate between Houston and his newly opened location, said he chose Joshua not because of its proximity to horse auction sites but because he met Carol James, oddly enough, at a slaughter auction. Not long after, he hired her to manage the day-to-day operations in Joshua.

“It’s easy to find people who think this would be fun,” Jones said. “But I need people like Carol who do this out of a labor of love and who have the skills.”

James’ daughter, Lacy Ryder, and Howard — whose mother is James’ best friend — joined the crew shortly after. All bring a lifelong experience working with horses and rodeos to the table.

“All my life, since I could sit up, I’ve been on horses,” Howard said. “If you don’t like what you do for work, you’re never going to be happy.”

Ryder likewise said she’s been around horses her whole life. James recalls Ryder’s first ride at 6 weeks old.

“[Jones] saved a lot of horses and that’s important,” Ryder said. “That’s why I wanted to be here.”

James agreed.

“I’ve always thought the whole slaughter thing was terrible,” James said. “Robbie’s a good guy doing something worthwhile, and I’m glad to be a part of that.”



Service after the sale

Walking the grounds, Jones points out an 18-year-old horse from a prison the operation recently acquired. He says horses are experts at body language and can read a human like you wouldn’t believe. He talks about the Joshua location’s first sale, explains why the horses are sectioned into small groups — apparently they get along better that way — and discusses how he teaches newcomers to ride and use the proper equipment. Jones also claims to offer riding lessons at a lower rate than most and rails against foreign-made saddles, which he calls cheap and harmful to the horses. He also claims not to have had a vacation in 10 years.

Asked why he does it, Jones claims not to know but goes on to answer the question anyway.

“Everyone’s looking for something in life,” Jones said. “For me, this does it all.”