As long as people, both backyard, big time registered, and every type of breeder in between, keeps breeding more that what the market can absorb, horses will keep going to slaughter. I am not against slaughter, there needs to be a place for horse slaughter. Many sick, lame, old and sometimes just downright crazy and dangerous horses go to slaughter. The sad part is young yearlings, well trained 4-12 year olds, with a lot to offer, are unwanted. They go to auction, where nobody bids on them except the kill buyers.
Closing the slaughter houses in the US did nothing to stop horse slaughter, it only made it worse. Horses are shipped to Canada or Mexico. It should be brought back to the US and regulated, with on site inspectors.
Facebook drove most of the kill pen sites off, trying to be humane I suppose. In reality, FB shut down the only lifeline many of those horses had to escape slaughter. Way to go sh!t for brains zuckerberg.
Rant over.