In early December Lisa was pleased to be able to attend the open day held at the SWHP (Society for Welfare of Horses and Ponies) Horse Hospital at Coxstone near Monmouth. It was a great pleasure to present Mrs. Jenny MacGregor MBE (left in picture) with a cheque for £350 raised at the autumn fashion show in conjunction with the Tack Shop, Kingswinford.
Mrs. MacGregor said that the cheque would be put to good use caring for the many injured or abused horses and ponies that the Horse Hospital cares for each year. The Society aims to rehabilitate and re-home these animals with people who will take good care of them in the future. Well done to the SWHP (www.swhp.co.uk) for the fabulous work they do with rescued and unwanted equines.
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Jenny (left) receiving the cheque from Welfare Officer Lisa Randle |
‘Think before you Breed’
The British Horse Society plans to launch a Responsible Breeding Campaign later this year. The Society is alarmed by the number of horses and ponies being bred in the UK without adequate consideration being given to the animals’ future. Whilst many, including the BHS, have long held these concerns, the current recession has brought the issue into even sharper focus.
The horse market has slowed down and rescue centres and sanctuaries are full to bursting. With an estimated 1.35 million horses and ponies in the UK, there are simply not enough experienced and knowledgeable homes to cope with our current equine population. The BHS is urging everyone involved with horses to think very carefully before breeding a foal and adding to the problem.
It is not uncommon for horses to reach 30 years of age, and ponies even older, so even with the best of intentions nobody can guarantee a foal a home for life. Whatever the breeder’s plan for the foal, it is essential to do everything possible to ensure healthy, well-put together animals are produced that will have a future value on the commercial market.
Too many mare owners put their horse in foal without objectively considering her merit as a commercial broodmare. To their owners all mares are special, but there are many defects and diseases that are heritable and could be passed on to a foal, limiting its worth. Not all such traits are visible and an alarming number of people go into horse breeding on a whim without sufficient thought to the consequences.
BHS Welfare Senior Executive Lee Hackett said “You only need to visit one of the lower end horse markets to see the impact of equine overproduction – poor quality horses and ponies going for less than the price of a good night out. Our welfare officers have many distressing stories of where these horses end up and I’m sure it’s not what their breeders originally intended.”
As part of Breeding Awareness Week (27 April - 3 May) the BHS SEIB Breeding Education Conference will take place on Saturday 2 May at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire. As well as expert vets, Richard Maxwell will be talking about handling foals and young stock and dealing with behavioural problems. Limited tickets are available at just £5.
For more details contact BHS welfare on 01926 707791 or welfare@bhs.org.uk A number of other events are planned for the campaign and will be announced in due course.
For more information please contact Lee Hackett on 01926 707804, 07968 214008 or l.hackett@bhs.org.uk
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Right Weight Road Show Launch
What is the Right Weight? That’s what the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) is asking. You might wonder what that has to do with the welfare of horses in the UK. Like humans, the horse population is growing and not just in numbers but in weight. Like humans, this is a health risk.
The ILPH usually deals with horses which are underweight or neglected because their owners don’t care enough about them. However, people who have overweight horses often love them too much. To help horse owners understand the risk they may be running with their horses the ILPH has launched the Right Weight Road Show.
You can read more about the Right Weight Roadshows at www.ilph.co.uk Alternatively if you would like to host a roadshow contact Mel Bridge on 01384 373171 or mel.bridge@tisali.co.uk for the relevant details.
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