Amish Horse and Buggy

[paragonx]

I see the horses struggle to pull the carriage and often they are covered in sweat and panting horrifically. Also, some one i used to work with would go to horse auctions and she said that the Amish horses were terribly scared and left unkept.

 

What do you think about this??

[Guest]

I think that most of them are kept well but I could imagine them being very scared when on the roads with cars...especially at high speeds. I've been on a few 50mph roads where they were allowed to be. But even if they weren't they shouldn't be allowed to do that. Its not like they are native people living a natural way of life anymore. Most of them are even beginning to use gas powered vehicles so its only a matter of time before they are just like everyone else...so no excuses.

[Octopussoir]

I think that most of them are kept well but I could imagine them being very scared when on the roads with cars...especially at high speeds. I've been on a few 50mph roads where they were allowed to be. But even if they weren't they shouldn't be allowed to do that. Its not like they are native people living a natural way of life anymore. Most of them are even beginning to use gas powered vehicles so its only a matter of time before they are just like everyone else...so no excuses.

 

you are wrong my friend! there is a farmers market here run by the amish and its totally open and electric free. They also make there own foods by hand like butter and bread and such.

[Guest]

I live near some Amish and everytime I go to race my bike I drive through the largest Amish community in the country(Lancaster, PA). They now use tractors(not just Menanites) and I've been in a few of their furniture stores with electricity....same goes for my local Amish market and their refrigerated goods.

[Octopussoir]

I live near some Amish and everytime I go to race my bike I drive through the largest Amish community in the country(Lancaster, PA). They now use tractors(not just Menanites) and I've been in a few of their furniture stores with electricity....same goes for my local Amish market and their refrigerated goods.

 

ha ha ha. no refrigerated foods at the one i go to. LoL! From what I hear there is a really small town here that is 100% amish.

[Guest]

I've been to some that are truly electric free as well(I'm a fan because they produce they grow is good and cheap). However it seems they'll all fold to society eventually. There are many many problems with having such a small population that doesn't allow others in. One example is chronic retardation due to the fact that these communities basically breed incest. They have no choice and its the only way they can continue. Anyhow...nowadays most do use modern medicine to deal with these problems(and I don't blame them) and thats just another step to get them modern.

[DV]

I'll not get into an uniformed discussion of Amish or Mennonite beliefs on an internet forum since they would never get on here to speak for themselves. That said, I have many family members in the Lancaster, PA area and I won't discuss their beliefs. If you want to accuse them of harboring genetic freaks then maybe you should look at the undesirable traits that are not prevalent in their community as well. But please do some serious research before you bash them.

[Guest]

I'm not bashing them by any means. They don't really have a choice other than to simply die off which isn't really a choice now is it? And yes I have done research on this at the college level. There's even a documentary based purely on this issue. They aren't genetic freaks either...they have problems with certain diseases and mental ailments that are only common in this type of situation.

[Guest]

Here is a small link to just one example of problems inside of the Amish world

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/08/60II/main700519.shtml

[paragonx]

I past a buggy last night and the horse was frothing at the mouth and had horrible posture. It's shoulders seemed to be drooping and its neck was not upright.

 

I understand the simple way of living with the Amish. I live in central PA, so they have been apart of my life as the norm. The Amish that I have meet don't really open up to non-Amish people. I worked with a cast-out Amish and i also do business with an Amish fabrication shop. The cast-out didn't really talk to me. I think it was because i am a woman in a male dominated work force. Maybe he didn't think i belonged there. (Just a hunch) The metal shop guy that i speak with is always business and straight to the point, never any side chat, which is ok because we are working. I also went to a pre marriage counseling that was required by the church that i got married in. There was an Amish couple there and they were on the liberal side so they would discuss more personal things. They were third cousins and didn't seem to think it was a big deal. All that aside, my concern is about the treatment of the horses.

 

-Ann

 

Additionally, I have seen many horses pulling plows in the fields in our area.

[beforewisdom]

I see the horses struggle to pull the carriage and often they are covered in sweat and panting horrifically. Also, some one i used to work with would go to horse auctions and she said that the Amish horses were terribly scared and left unkept.

 

What do you think about this??

 

Nasty, but a step up from destroying the entire species environment with urban sprawl, pollution from automobiles, and pollution from extracting energy, mineral resources. Our society does all of those things to horses, in addition to sending them to Europe to become food.