Horse Auctions and Responsible Breeding

Do you ever wonder what kind of horses end up in Horse Auctions?  The first answer is way too many.  The second answer is all kinds, all breeds, all ages, and all sizes.  Obviously, the domestic horse world is not equivalent to the dog world due to the fact that horses are much costlier to feed and maintain.  There aren't horse "shelters" all over, just horse rescues scattered here and there around the country.  And granted, these rescues can only do so much with the space and money that they raise from their supporters.  The sad fact is that as a horse ages or is unhandled, it is much more likely to end up at an auction, where it's future is in question and unknown.  It could end up in a good home, but very often, it runs the risk of ending up in a kill buyer's hands.  Once that happens, the horse can be shipped from one spot to another, hoping to be sold once again, or just simply ending up on the slaughter truck to Mexico.  Responsible breeding is a huge aspect that comes into play here as a way to limit the unwanted horses and other animals in the U.S.  There will always be unwanted animals, but if we strive to breed for very selective reasons, there will be far less of those animals being euthanized or ending up on slaughter trucks or in shelters or rescues.