Less Victimhood, More Responsible Citizenship: Rescuing Horses on Menorca

In the societal system in which I live there is a very strong tendency to shift responsibility and blame away from ourselves. “It’s the government's fault I have no money. It’s the media’s fault I am fat. It’s my employer’s fault that I am stressed.” Victimhood all over the place. But it’s rubbish and lazy. We have a lot more in our hands than we believe. Being aware of this and acting accordingly will improve our physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and eventually make us happier.

In this article I want to cover the concept of Responsible Citizenship, which can be very powerful for our individual as well as collective well-being. I will also describe the Trebaluger Equine Rescue Center, which is a great example of Responsible Citizenship and the positive impact it has on me.

What Makes Us Happy?

I think this is an extremely essential question. We all should think about this explicitly. As I wrote previously my purpose is maximizing happiness for me and the people around me. I am not referring to happiness in the short-lived, hedonistic sense (just chasing pleasures) but in the deep, long-lasting, fulfilling sense. Hence, my approach is very similar to what the ancient stoic philosophers described. For the stoics, happiness was related to finding the meaning of one’s life. They were pondering the question: What’s the meaning of life?

I came to the conclusion that the meaning of life is to actually ask the very question “What is the meaning of my life?” and to find the answer for yourself. There is no standard answer. It’s individual and it will also change over time. The meaning of life is to ask oneself what is the meaning of my life and to find your purpose in the answer.

For me it’s health and freedom. Focusing on that allows me to own my time and to do with my time what I want as much as possible. This in itself is great but then in order to feel real and long-lasting happiness, I must choose my actions to be something fulfilling rather than simply pleasure chasing.

I was very inspired by reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book “Be Useful.” It has tons of great advice including working hard for your goals, giving back, and to stop crying so much. Instead, we should step up and take responsibility for our own life. I love that. We are not as helpless as it seems. We are not the victims. There is a lot we can and should do. We are the owners of our lives. A concept that is more and more discussed and opposes the victimhood movement is “responsible citizenship”, which I will discuss next.

The Need for Responsible Citizenship

Responsible citizenship means acting responsibly towards peace, justice, human rights, good values, and social justice. It does not refer to being responsible to the state and government but first and foremost to being responsible to ourselves, our lives and the well-being of the people around us.

We are not victims. We can own and change a lot. Not everything but certainly more than we think or are made to believe.

I am excited about the work that the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship is conducting. Jordan Peterson is one of the founding members. Their mission is to “draw on our moral, cultural, economic and spiritual foundations to imagine a future where empowered citizens take responsibility and work together to bring flourishing and prosperity to their homes, communities, and beyond.”

I think this is great and calls on our basic values. Lots of societal problems we face today could be avoided by focusing on good, old basic values like respect, kindness, honesty, hard work and helping others.

What can I do to implement this?

Well, first off, I typically only believe in what I can see and experience myself directly. There is way too much (social) media bias. What can you really believe? It seems that too many of us have lost the ability of critical thinking and common sense. Too often we blindly believe what media or worse a random social media post is telling us.

So, it is important for me that if I invest my time, money and energy into something, I need to know exactly what’s happening with my resources. I do not have much trust, for instance, in big charity organisations. They are too complex with too many layers and too much bureaucracy and politics. That makes them very expensive and mostly not transparent enough about how the resources are deployed.

I want to be as effective as possible with my time, energy and money.

I did find the ideal activity where I know exactly where my resources go. There is no loss due to any friction, I can contribute directly with my own hands and the activity. The outcomes are visible to my own eyes and are extremely satisfying. My “catalyst” is helping horses and donkeys in Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands in Spain.

Let me explain and start with some background.

The Horses on the Island of Menorca

Horses as well as donkeys have a deep-rooted history and cultural significance in Menorca. Their roles are intertwined with the island's traditions, economy, and way of life.

The Menorquín horse is an iconic symbol of the island. This indigenous breed, characterized by its black color, and elegant build has been central to Menorcan culture for centuries. These horses were originally bred for agricultural and military purposes, but today they are primarily utilized in Menorca's local festivals.

Donkeys have played a vital role in the island's agricultural history, too. For centuries, they were indispensable for working the land and for transportation. Due to Menorca's rugged terrain, donkeys were well-suited to carrying goods, moving through narrow paths, and assisting in everyday farm life.

Horses and donkeys on Menorca are more than just animals—they are living links to the island’s history, its agricultural roots, and its vibrant cultural traditions.

This is also shown in today’s role of the animals in various large festivals all over the island. The Menorquín horses are the stars of the festivals, representing pride, tradition, and the spirit of Menorca.

However…

One of the key events during the festival is the “jaleo”, where the horses perform in the town square among the crowd. In the jaleo, the horses rear up on their hind legs, encouraged by the festival-goers who try to touch the horse's chest or body as a sign of good luck.

This is where the problem lies.

In the past, horses were celebrated during the festivals for their importance for the island for agricultural and military purposes. Today, it’s a business. Riders can rent horses that were purely trained and commercialized for use during the festivals. And they are typically trained and abused to obey using cruel methods.

Apart from the training methods, the festivals themselves are extremely unnatural for a horse. Huge stress is placed on them due to large crowds, loud music, involuntary rearing up, and being touched by spectators. Horses are pushed to perform repeatedly over the course of several hours or days. These performances are physically demanding leading to dehydration, overexertion, exhaustion, accidents, injury, and even death. What we never read in the news is how many horses die per year during the festivities.

Unfortunately, the festivals are only the tip of the iceberg. Equestrian mistreatment happens a lot aside from these events, where animals are abused, starved, burned, or other unspeakable things.

Fortunately, responsible citizenship is a thing and there are ways to help:

The Trebaluger Equine Rescue Center

In 2015, Samantha Lake formed the non-profit association Trebaluger Equine Rescue Center (TERC) to offer a place of safety to horses and donkeys who were abandoned or neglected in Menorca. The people involved in TERC are almost all volunteers and share the same vision:

We believe that every horse, pony, donkey and mule has the right to a happy and healthy life, away from fear and neglect.

We want to give them a safe and loving place to live and be free, and provide essential veterinary treatment, rehabilitation, and lifelong care. We gradually reintroduce human contact and trust. Some of the horses never had human contact and others have lost their trust in humans due to bad experiences.

TERC currently provides permanent sanctuary care to over 30 residents, the majority of whom are unlikely to be re-homed due to their challenging veterinary needs, sympathetic handling requirements, or behavioral difficulties. The horses and donkeys live out all year round in their herds, encouraging them to exhibit their natural behavior, make friends, and be happy.

The Trebaluger Equine Rescue Center and all the amazing support it offers to mistreated animals is only possible because of Samantha. She really is the heart of the operation. I am hugely impressed by what she created and the energy and time she invests into this place of peace. She has a huge heart, and her dedication and will to make the world a better place are second to none. Her actions scream authenticity and credibility. She would give up everything to help an animal in need. Samantha truly is inspiring. And that’s why volunteers continue to come and help at TERC.

That’s why I continue to help at TERC. And I am loving it. It is a great way to help. I see where my energy goes and I get so much back from it. Not only is it a great way to find balance, I love the feedback and gratitude I get back directly from the animals. It blows my mind every single time and makes me feel happy.

Here is an example.

Everybody Loves Casper

Casper’s story was terrible and extremely sad but could be turned around by our work at TERC. Now, Casper is living the time of his life in a five-star accommodation with two menus a day customised to his specific dietary needs.

Casper arrived late one evening under protection of the court malnutritioned and half-dead. He was rescued from a lady who left six horses to themselves on a field alone to die. Casper was the only one still alive among five horse cadavers.

He arrived in our center emaciated and extremely stressed. Especially Sam worked a lot with him, gave him a lot of attention and love. Today, he is a proud animal and a true gentleman among horses, very kind and gentle, and a bestie with Ted.

Casper is 30 years old, has almost no teeth left and his vision is impaired. Yet, he loves eating (in fact, stealing the chickens’ corn), and going for long walks.

Despite all of his hardship, today he is a happy horse. He is a star and everybody loves him.

Animal Welfare Is Expensive

Even though Samantha and TERC work very closely with the authorities (the police constantly send us new cases of mistreated animals), there is almost no public financial support for our work.

Everything is financed by donations and trying to run extremely efficient operations. Our monthly costs are approximately 3.500€. That includes all the ingredients for every animal’s diet. They all have their individual diet, which is costly. It also includes sawdust for bedding, rent for stables and land (approx. 44,000 square meters), electricity and water.

It excludes medication, veterinary fees, insurances, and often expensive and cumbersome paperwork. For these kinds of irregular costs we always need to come up with creative ways to generate the funds.

If you too want to provide the Caspers of this world the life they deserve, you can help at the bottom of this page.

Let’s Take over Responsibility for Our Life and Our Planet

Coming back to the question from the beginning of the article: What makes us happy is asking yourself explicitly and trying to find answers to the question “what is the meaning of my life?” This is very individual.

I detest the victimhood mentality. I also dislike massively when my freedom is limited by having things imposed on me. The Responsible Citizenship movement counteracts this and embodies many honorable principles.

Being part of the Trebaluger Equine Rescue Center is one expression of Responsible Citizenship. This work makes me happy in an anti-materialistic sense of happiness. I can contribute as a responsible citizen, and I get direct feedback on the usefulness of my energy and resources. And it’s perfectly in line with my 18 rails to help maximize happiness.

If you are ever around Menorca, visit our center. If you want a piece of the feel-good-cake, support our work to provide animals the life they deserve with a donation: