HOW MOHM GOT STARTED
This is not only the story of how the founder of Meet Our Horse Meat got started rescuing horses – it’s also an example of why we love the power of social media and ‘keyboard warriors‘.
Bonny’s life changed because of one simple comment on social media.
Back when the Echuca horse auctions were a regular event, photos of the listed horses would be posted online. That’s where Bonny appeared—thin, withdrawn, and utterly defeated. She looked like a horse who had lost all hope.
She was so unremarkable in appearance that most people would have scrolled right past her.
Horses like Bonny, often labelled as Thoroughbreds (TB) or Standardbreds (STB), are frequently sold to “doggers”—meat buyers.
Their fate is grim: a grueling 30-hour truck journey to Queensland, without food, water, or rest.
Many horses don’t survive the trip. Some arrive with terrible injuries. Some arrive dead.
Bonny was advertised as a Thoroughbred.
Years later, it turned out she was actually a Stock Horse—and not just any Stock Horse, but a rather desirable one.
But at the time, no one knew that. She was just another neglected horse fading into the background.
And then, someone online posted a comment:
“She looks so weak—she’ll probably collapse on the truck and get trampled to death.”
That one sentence stirred something. It made Bonny real. It gave her a story, a face, a sense of urgency. That comment is what saved her.
Although she was bought by a dogger at the sale, she was later rescued from his property. Then she needed time to gain weight and regain her strength before making the journey to her new home in New South Wales.
The founder of Meet Our Horse Meat states:
“What I’ll never forget is the moment she arrived. Bonny walked up to me, rested her head gently on my shoulder, and stood there. She didn’t know me, but it was as if she knew she was safe—finally.”
Later, when her brand was properly identified, the story took an odd twist. Not only was she not a Thoroughbred, but foals were also being advertised as hers—despite suspicions they weren’t.
With Thoroughbreds, the Stud Book requires DNA testing. For Stock Horses, that kind of oversight doesn’t appear to exist. If you know otherwise, feel free to leave a comment.
The system failed Bonny in so many ways—misidentified, neglected, and almost lost to slaughter. But one anonymous voice on the internet gave her a second chance.
Bonny was rescued. She found safety. And somehow, she knew it.
#MOHM THREATENED?
We’ve been threatened by those in the horse racing industry and those who benefit from horse slaughter more times than we can count.
But we are not going away.
We are going to persist until horse slaughter no longer exists for any purpose within Australia -- and until the horse racing industry makes drastic changes.
We are going to continue our hands-on work to offer lifelong sanctuary to as many horses as possible. We generally have 20 at just one of our locations - at any given time.
We have the acreage to take on more horses as financial support allows.
BRUMBY ADVOCATE GARY COTCHIN
Thank you to Gary Cotchin for the research and boots-on-the-ground work he's done in defence of Brumbies in Australia - and for sharing the article below. We've linked a PDF via buttons and links below to the pictures Gary mentions in his writing. Some of which are...
MERAMIST ABATTOIR NOT SLAUGHTERING HORSES
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR...We are not convinced that the fact that Meramist Abattoir is NOT currently slaughtering horses for human consumption is permanent. We're hearing rumours that the business has been sold and that the intention is that moving forward cattle will be...
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