After more than a year researching the practices and products of the commercial horse slaughtering industry, Lompoc resident Karin Hauenstein decided to do something to change it.
So she took her horses for a ride—from her ranch off the Santa Ynez River near Lompoc all the way to the streets of Hollywood, a distance of more than 150 miles. Over six weeks, Hauenstein traveled with her three trusty steeds, camping off the highway and staying with sympathizers, all for the purpose of drawing attention to what she calls a “public health issue.” She cited adrenaline and cortisol levels in commercially slaughtered horsemeat, which she said isn’t safe for human consumption. She said lawmakers need to take this information into consideration when voting on legislation.
Two bills that would permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States, and the exporting of horses to be killed for meat overseas—known as the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011—have been introduced in U.S. Congress. It’s a new version of a similar piece of legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last year, and it’s currently being discussed in the House committees on Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture. The Senate bill, SB 311, was introduced last January, and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The slaughtering of horses for meat is again legal in the United States. Last November, President Barack Obama signed a Department of Agriculture appropriations bill that lifted a ban on USDA inspections of horsemeat for human consumption. The 2006 ban forced the closures of the last remaining horse slaughtering plants in this country, leading many contract buyers to transport their horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter and export overseas.
Many proponents of horse slaughter, including the American Quarter Horse Association, United Horseman’s Front, and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, have lobbied in support as a way to control the country’s population of unwanted horses.
To raise awareness of the issue, Hauenstein left Lompoc on Dec. 6 and, without support of horse trailers, traveled along Highway 101 through Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, careful not to be caught out late at night. Along the way, she and her horses camped alongside the road; other times, they took shelter in the homes and ranches of supporters and strangers.
Hauenstein finally arrived in Hollywood on Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Riding down Sunset Boulevard with a hand-painted sign on her pack box reading “End Commercial Horse Slaughter,” she drew the attention of tourists, curious locals, and the Los Angeles Times, which shadowed her for several days.
“Since I entered L.A. County it’s been totally different,” Hauenstein told the Sun from a ranch in Sunland. “Santa Barbara County and Ventura County were rural environments compared to L.A., and the people that I see in the city who approach me and have never touched a horse before. … That really strikes me every time it happens, and it happens every day I ride.”
Once in Hollywood, Hauenstein rode the streets for nearly two weeks, camping in abandoned homes, unfinished buildings, and even city parks. In one instance she tied her horses to a fence, dropped her gear, and laid her bedroll on a sidewalk next to a homeless person sleeping near the street. Another night she spent near the famed Hollywood sign, where hikers discovered a severed human head the next day.
Despite the trials, Hauenstein said she’s never felt any fear being alone in the city with her horses. Most people she encounters, she said, simply don’t know how to react.
When I ride through the city, people are tripping out,” she said. “The star tours people … If I’m out riding during the day or even the night, they’ll drive by and slow their vehicle down and feature me on their trek like I’m something that happens in Hollywood all the time.”
Hauenstein said she’s had no problems with law enforcement throughout her journey, even though at times she’s had to explain the law allowing a person on horseback the right of way over vehicles, except on freeways.
It’s the first long-distance ride Hauenstein has done by herself, but it’s not her first cross-country journey. She traveled for four years on a Horseback America expedition, intending to travel coast-to-coast and write a book about it. She made it from Lompoc to New Mexico, before deciding to part ways with the expedition, and ended up in Arizona, where she worked for nonprofits providing services to children. It was there she started research with horses, using rides and equine therapy to help counsel abused and neglected foster children.
Besides managing her horses there, Hauenstein dedicated more than a year to studying commercial horse slaughter, and says she discovered the truth about how horses are processed for meat, and, through talking to medical professionals and vets about adrenaline and cortisol in horsemeat.
When horses are commercially slaughtered, she explained, they’re shot in the head, causing the horse’s endocrine system to flood the meat with hormones after the kill, which can be harmful to humans when eaten.
Hauenstein said she wants to garner support for the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act to prevent contract buyers from getting access to American horses. She added that she’s grateful for the support she’s received so far from animal advocates and people who simply identify with her as a traveler.
“There’s just been a lot of love and generosity people have shown me the whole way,” she said.
Even though she’s completed her goal of riding to Hollywood, Hauenstein said her work is far from over. With the increased media attention, she’ll be back out on the streets for the next several weeks, riding and continuing her efforts in the L.A. area, as well as networking with horse advocates across the nation, many of whom plan to ride at the U.S. Capitol later this year to oppose horse slaughter.
Hauenstein urged supporters of the bill to contact their congressmen and their friends in other states to get their elected officials to back the legislation. Until then, she said, her ride will continue.
“I’m more encouraged by all the attention and energy I’ve received from people that I’ve come in contact with,” Hauenstein said. “But basically until the things I’ve been focusing on start getting talked about in the national news media, I’m not going to be satisfied. I’m going to keep riding.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas can be contacted at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 16-23, 2012.