My horse Sally loves to get out and have a roll unhindered by her rugs. Rolling is one way of attending to minor itches and it’s a good muscle stretching exercise as well. 
First one side and then the other. And finally, a good shake! 
Most of all, it’s something that horses really enjoy, somewhat akin to chickens preening themselves in a dust bowl. All animals enjoy this activity.
Now take a moment to consider all the animals that are raised in intensive conditions to feed an already, in many cases, overfed obese community. These animals have no opportunity to express their naturalness and even if one cares little for the well being of animals, it is well known that the meat quality is substantially lower from an animal raised under intensive conditions compared to those raised in a more natural environment.
Animals Australia is a voice for animals and provides information that exposes what takes place in factory farming scenarios. Perhaps with the outbreak and public alarm over swine flu people will reconsider the manner in which their food is raised. Intensive situations will always lead to intensive outcomes – and not necessarily in a predictable manner. Pig farming is one of the worst. I have hand raised a pig and can attest to the high intelligence of this species. Smarter than any goat, and goats are smarter than any dog, in my experience. I’m not entering into a debate on whether one should eat animals or not, but I do believe that if animals are raised for human consumption it should be done under the best possible circumstances. Let’s look fairly and squarely at the situation and not ignore any longer what is happening to our food source. There are plenty of examples to choose from.
Do yourself a favour, and do the animals a favour, and make informed decisions. Please. Please act with compassion for the animals and compassion for humans. Peace to all.
