They are restless and stressed. They are sweating from agitation. They do not know what is happening to them. Bernard, Mile and Jelena look at us with wide-open eyes. Bernard is pawing with his hooves, Mile is tossing and stamping incessantly. We meet them and 40 other horses in Italy. They were born in Croatia and are now being driven to Italy for slaughter. Mare Jelena is a sad example of this cruel business with sentient beings: she is no longer profitable for the "production" of foals and is now being killed together with her last foal.
Many of the horses we see are young, have matted manes, dirty coats. Obviously, they have lived differently from the well cared for and groomed "riding" horses, as we know them. And accordingly, they have little or no experience of being transported. Horses are flight animals. That means they are always on guard against possible predators. They must always have a possible escape route in mind. A transport vehicle is therefore a nightmare for Bernard and his friends: a totally new and unknown situation and no way out in sight.
When the drivers see that we are here, they stop especially for us. We are grateful to be able to see the horses for a moment. But we ask the drivers to move on immediately - because every delay and extra minute on the truck is pure stress for the horses. We continue to work for an end of this unnecessary stress. And give Bernard, Mile, Jelena and all the others the attention, they deserve.
