Ponies used for bear bait

Perhaps it was just the way I read it, but I was under the impression that the ponies were fed until they could barely move and then shot, not to kill, but to start bleeding. Then the hunter would have living bait that couldn't move to fast and smelled of blood. Quite aside from the dangers of bears acquiring the taste of horse, I'm disgusted with this treatment of horses at all, whether they're destined for the slaughter house any way or not.

Maybe someone just told your friend this story to get her to "rescue" a pony? Bears eat mostly berries, fish, and whatever else they find----of course they do eat carrion too, so it could make sense----but why would you spend all that money on hay and feed---couldn't you just use roadkill---it is free, after all.