An equine care home and therapy centre is desperately seeking new premises after the site it occupied for 12 years was sold for development.
Suffolk-based French’s Care Haven has been temporarily housed by supporters in Felixstowe but this land has been also earmarked for houses, leaving the centre in urgent need of a permanent home.
The charity, run by founder Jann Turner, cares for 17 rescued horses and donkeys, many of whom are elderly. It also provides equine therapy for a range of local organisations, including schoolchildren with behavioural problems, groups with learning difficulties and people suffering from eating disorders and anxiety.
“We put a lot of work into the farm we were at in Hadleigh but it was sold to some people in London who put planning permission in to develop it straight away,” said Jann. “We’d paid to re-roof buildings, for fencing and to put in ménages and we had plans to add extra facilities, so it was devastating to see it all go.”
She said work was due to start on the development at the current site and she is waiting to hear any day that the charity has eight weeks’ notice to leave.
Jann has been trying to find a minimum of 20 acres with outbuildings to rent anywhere in Suffolk but has so far been unsuccessful.
“We’re not asking anyone to give it to us, we’re happy to pay rent,” Jann said. “The number of doors I have knocked on is phenomenal but we just can’t find anything.
“Finding a farmer who has cut back on cattle and has some land and barns available would be the ideal scenario. We can always fundraise to repair buildings if they are dilapidated.”
She added that she “couldn’t even contemplate” what would happen if the charity couldn’t find a new home but that she “would never give up”.
“I have a love for the horses that I will take to my deathbed,” she said.
The warning to riders comes after high-end riding boots stolen from Zebra Products last year were found for sale on
Jann has 45 years’ experience working in the horse industry and has been an equine physiotherapist for 20 years. She more recently started opening up the care home for equine therapy after finding it was a “magnet” for people facing difficulties.
“The organisations started contacting me and asking if they could bring people up,” she said. “They help take care of the horses, groom them and pick out their feet. We also find little jobs for them to do around the yard — maybe cutting the grass or trimming bushes or repairing fencing. It’s a good environment for people to be, around the animals in the open air.
“We’ve helped people with drug and alcohol addiction, those who self-harm and schoolchildren, it’s so nice to hear from their parents that they don’t recognise them any more, they have changed so much since they have been coming to us.”
The horses at the care home are all rescues from various backgrounds — from former racehorses to ponies who had been “left tied to the fence at the end of the driveway”.
“We were just about to set up a petting and picnic area and I was thinking about starting lecture demos to help with funding before we had to move and I have had to put all that on hold,” Jann said. “We need to start planning for our future and it will be a huge relief if we can find somewhere.
“Hopefully if people are able to share that we are looking for somewhere, someone will come forwards.”
Dressage is the picture of harmony and elegance — except for the times when it’s not. Here, 21 Horse & Hound readers recount their hilarious stories of when things didn’t quite go to plan between the white boards…
1. “The end of our test went: halt, salute, shake head, keep shaking head, bridle swinging in the breeze (pictured). I had no clue what to do other than gather it up and amble towards A, then jump off with my horse Red Cell, or Sir Red to his friends, looking rather chuffed. One judge even commented on my test sheet how calm he was. I was glad not to be eliminated, and came fifth.” Laura Eaton
2. “I took my home-bred four-year-old to his first dressage competition, and ‘canter at A’ became ‘buck at A’. I lost both stirrups, my hat tipped forward and Dougal belted off. Unable to see where we were going, we left the arena and careered round the judge’s car. Somehow, I managed to find one stirrup, shove my hat back up and re-enter the arena. I scrambled through something that approximated vaguely to the test and when I halted at X, the judge and her scribe were doubled up in laughter — so I dropped my reins, held up my palms and shrugged. It seemed more fitting than a salute.” Catherine Robinson
3. “My pony once trotted down the centre line straight past C and stuck his nose into a plate of sandwiches on the judge’s table.” Alison Job
4. “I decided to enter my four-year-old ex-racehorse Mr Hill (Billy, pictured below), in an intro class. He was so chilled out he didn’t care about the white boards or dressage markers or the scary judge’s box. Smiling away about remembering my test and how well Billy was going right to the end, we halted at G, I saluted the judge, and literally out of nowhere Billy decided to salute too. I was still smiling and the judges loved his salute.” Emma Marshall
5. “My horse Olena hated dressage and was looking to get to the ‘good bit’ of the BE 90. We were doing the dressage on grass, and it hadn’t occurred to me to use studs (I did learn my lesson), so while doing a rather unbalanced 20m potato, aka circle, in canter she slipped and fell at X. Then she sat there for a while refusing to get up — she was unhurt, just disinclined to do any more dressage. I was mortified, not just to have fallen off, but that my horse was now taking a nap in the middle of the arena with all the competitors after us wondering how on earth there could be a hold on course for dressage! We were actually allowed to finish the test and, following a thorough vet check, to complete the event.” Jo Parkes
6. “I travelled to Bury Farm, Bucks, from Edinburgh for the British Riding Clubs dressage to music championships a few years ago, when my horse was badly spooked entering the main arena. Poor startled Onyx bolted and jumped the white boards and flower pots — and we found ourselves in the arena standing in front of the judge at E. Whoops – it wasn’t quite the dramatic entrance I had been planning.” Sarah Johnsen
7. “As the previous competitor finished their test at my first Area Festival, I was allowed to walk around the outside of the arena. As I did so, my horse Harry’s tail brushed on of the plastic bushes decorating the arena. He leapt into the air, then spooked at the audience, jumped into the arena over the white boards, and finally unseated me, leaving me in a pile on the floor. He then trotted up to the other competitor who had just halted at the end of her test. Luckily, as I hadn’t technically entered the arena, they let me get back on and we finished second!” Hannah Burrage
8. “As a teenager I was halfway through a prelim test on my pony Minstrel and everything was going well. Then he decided to throw in one of his special bucks. I slid straight down his neck, and on the way down, I somehow managed to hook my thumb through his headpiece and remove his whole bridle. I don’t know who was more shocked: me or everyone else watching. But I tacked Minstrel back up, got on and carried on with the rest of the test. I saluted to the judge, gave my pony a big pat and left the arena calmly. I made it all the way to the trailer before bursting into tears!” Sophie Irvine
9. “A couple of weeks ago at the British Dresssage summer music championships, I did a beautiful freestyle test. My transitions were spot on to my music changes, I was grinning from ear to ear, up the centre line, salute, big pat for my amazing pony… Then I heard the bell ring — I was facing the wrong way and the judges were sitting behind me! I’d turned up the centre line the wrong way…” Sarah Hayter-Sharpe
10. “Many years ago I entered my 18hh Shire/Clydesdale/thoroughbred, Maisie, into two prelim tests. There was a short break between the two, so I slackened my girth and went for a walk around the warm-up. Unfortunately I forgot to tighten my girth before the second test… We were going well until the 20m circle when my saddle and I slowly slid around to Maisie’s side and gravity eventually took hold. The judge ran over to check I was alright and help me remount. We then carried on and finished our test.” Alison Dummer
11. “In our music test at the Horse & Hound Festival of Dressage at Sheepgate, my horse took massive exception to the hog roast. He decided he couldn’t possibly go beyond P towards it, and that upwards was the best option! Forced to retire I then faced the acute embarrassment of being unable to get out of the arena (and all of this to the tune of The Lion Sleeps Tonight)!” Lesley Wheatley
12. “A few months ago I took my youngster to his second ever dressage show. We entered the arena, went down the centre line and that was that! He didn’t want to dance so plonked his feet and wouldn’t move further than 10m, regardless of what I did. In the end the judge was laughing as I laughed, shrugged and saluted my so-called test. ‘Needs more miles on the clock’ and ‘well tried’ were the comments, with a rather bad mark next to it.” Madeleine Moon
13. “I was once doing a prelim dressage test with my pony, who is a cheeky chap. He spooked just as we had started the test and his foot went through one of the wooden dressage boards. It was stuck — luckily he is a calm pony and after seeing he was not injured, my Dad and the show organiser ended up sawing the wooden board off his hind leg! After checking he was unhurt — and gathering quite an audience — we went on to complete the test and finished third!” Hollie Blakeston
14. “I have myself a little plane spotter; he will watch planes and helicopters! When I first got him just over two years ago I had no idea about his little hobby. We were competing for our local riding club in the area dressage competition, and coming down the centre line to halt. Just as we got to X the British Red Arrows flew over in full formation, and my horse stopped dead and stuck his head in the air to watch them fly over.” Demi Davis
15. “I had no one to look after my children so I took them out to Field House, and told them to stay in the café as I could see them from the indoor arena. As I started the dressage test my daughter came out of the café — I gave a her a stern look and shouted “back in the café!”. The judge’s comment was ‘stressful entry’ — but we still got a seven!” Julie Barber
16. “I had learned the test but it went completely out of my head, even though a kind person called for me. All I wanted to do was get to the end and get out of the arena. Crossing the diagonal, I heard the caller say “and show some medium trot strides” — and realised I was still in canter. The judge rang the bell and got out of the car, but I was so desperate to finish the test that I ignored her and kept going. I don’t know who was more traumatised: the poor caller who read the test perfectly, the judge who had to mark the last two movements standing at the car door, or me.” Elizabeth Rushton
Who says horses have no sense of humour? Read on if your horse is a master at embarrassing you
17. “Having successfully completed a dressage test for once without any major dramas, I relaxed as we moved off on a long rein after the salute. At that point the judge stood up and pulled back the sliding glass window in the judge’s box. My pony teleported left. I ended up lying on the ground on my back looking up at the judge, who said ‘oh…sorry…was that my fault?’” Jane Sanders
18. “My horse was a jumper, but I misguidedly did a dressage test on him. Cantering down the long side, I felt him suddenly setting himself right to jump the hedge, which was the boundary on the short side. I couldn’t convince him not to jump it. The judges called me back and suggested I should stick to jumping.” Jackie Bell
19. “Competing at local indoor dressage championship, I was incredibly nervous and there was a big silent crowd of local riders watching. As the bell rang to start, I trotted down the long side and my horse farted very loudly — echoing around the arena. I heard the booming voice of my trainer saying ‘Oh! Poor Rebecca, she suffers so badly with competition nerves!’ The crowd collapsed into laughter — as did I.” Rebecca Jackson
20. “I had almost completed a nice novice test on my cheeky coloured pony, Patch. As I came to halt on the centre line, Patch, totally without warning, decided it was the perfect time to get down for a roll. I managed to get her up mid roll, jumped back on, saluted the judge and left the arena with a very red face! Thankfully the judge had a sense of humour to match Patchy’s, and we got a four for the halt, with the comment simply saying ‘rolled’.” Claire Hazeldine
21. “When I was young I attended a local unaffiliated dressage test on a little grey pony called Dinky. The owner was calling the test for me and at A I commenced a 20m circle in trot with the intention of cantering left before X. As I asked for canter Dinky did a huge buck and sent me flying. The owner swiftly gave me a leg-up and I commenced the movement again from A — the same thing happened again. The third time, the bridle came off with me! By that time there was quite a large audience gathered and the judge then popped out of the box to say that she thought it was time to leave the arena.” Katie Rutter
And a bonus story from H&H’s dressage editor…
“During a test on my extravagant Anglo-Arab gelding, Toby, one of my contact lenses got dislodged just as we set off across the diagonal in extended trot – his party piece. Unable to see properly, and to judge how far away the intermittent white boards ahead of us were, we sailed straight out of the arena at M and almost made it to the boundary fence. The judge called after us, ‘Oh do come back!’…” Polly Bryan
The owners of horses killed in a suspected arson attack two years ago hope a memorial ride will make a statement that they ‘haven’t forgotten’ what happened.
Grace Tredgold and Ciera Battson are running the Elmwood Memorial Ride for a second year on 24 November to remember the 12 horses, including Grace’s mare Willow and Ciera’s loan pony Rex, killed at Elmwood Equestrian Centre, Burnham-on-Crouch, on 3 December 2017.
Essex Police investigated the fire but no one was ever caught.
“You learn to deal with it but not having the closure of who did it and why is difficult. Myself and Ciera and some of the other owners will have a moment every now and again where we sit and think about it all,” Grace told H&H.
“It’s a very strange feeling, they were taken so suddenly and it’s now been almost two years.”
Grace said she hopes by raising awareness of the incident through the ride, someone might come forward.
“We want to make a statement to whoever did it that we haven’t forgotten. We want to get people talking about it again especially for people who might not be aware. We hope someone eventually speaks out, someone has to know something,” she said.
Grace said the event will run on the same lines as last year, starting at Elmwood Equestrian Centre
“The ride is around nine miles and we’ll ride up Burnham-on-Crouch High Street,” she said. “The mayor is very supportive of the event and has agreed to come and say a few words again and we have asked the farmers who helped last year if we can use their land and they’ve agreed – without them it wouldn’t be happening. ”
12 horses died in the suspected arson attack on 3 December 2017
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Grace, who will ride her pony Ella on the day, said 66 riders have signed up.
“Last year we had 52. We’ve had a lot of people want to come this year and most of the liveries from Elmwood Equestrian Centre will take part,” she said.
“It’s a good community event and gets people together and talking about the fire again. Last year it was really special as a double rainbow appeared as we set off.”
Anyone interested in taking part in the ride can sign up at the Elmwood 12 Memorial Ride Facebook page.
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Click image to go to the original article by Alan Day.
Rastus was a Lazy B cowboy who was like family. He couldn’t read or write, but what he knew never ceased to amaze me. When he was eight years old, he ran away from his abusive and dysfunctional home in Pinos Altos, New Mexico. Somehow he made his way to Lordsburg, about 80 miles away. A kind soul noticed the homeless young boy wandering around town and suggested to Rastus that he might fit in at the big Lazy B ranch. They just might need someone to bring kindling to the cook. What’s more, he’d probably get fed for doing the job. So Rastus went out to the ranch, got hired, and remained there for 75 years.
Rastus learned cowboying from the roots up. He went from being a cook’s helper to being the number one cowboy in the crew. For as long as I remember, he was the go-to guy. He had an encyclopedic mind that observed things most of us wouldn’t notice. He always was aware of how much water was in each tank and how the grass was growing. If a windmill pumped a little less water than it should, he’d say the leathers need to be changed. What’s more, he also knew each cow, and Lazy B had 1500 cows. Often he could identify a cow by looking at her footprints. He knew which calf belonged to which cow and what last year’s calf looked like.
One thing that we all learned is that if Rastus told you something, which would be something to do with the ranch, you could go to the bank with that. It was always correct and accurate. The only time my dad argued with him, Rastus was so incensed someone doubted his word that he quit. His word was his bond. When it turned out Rastus was right, my dad had to go to town and hunt him up and apologize.
Rastus lived at headquarters and only went to town about once a month. Ever year, we give him a Christmas present, which often was a nice shirt. No one ever saw the shirt again because it stayed folded up for later use. He probably had ten shirts for later use that he never unwrapped. He had a needle and thread, though. He’d wear a shirt or pair of pants until it got so thin it would start to tear. Then he carefully sewed the tears together with tiny stitches. He literally wore his clothes until they came apart. Yet he never looked anything but neat and clean.
Before my time, Rastus had fallen off a windmill. One leg landed on an anvil and had a real bad break. The doctor had to cut a piece out of it. When it healed back up, it was three inches shorter than the other leg. He had his boot built up, but I never knew him to walk without a limp. If he suffered from backaches, I wasn’t aware of it because he never complained.
So even though Rastus never learned to read, never learned to drive, he was one of the smartest men I ever knew. He was totally loyal to the ranch, and I was proud that he was a part of my extended family.
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A rider involved in a frightening near-miss on the road has urged others to report incidents after the driver was taken to court.
Alison Prestidge was riding her 17.3hh former police horse Diplomat with a friend, Anna Turner-Bee, along Valley Road in Fawkham, Kent, in February when she heard a vehicle approaching quickly from behind.
“I turned my head and thought the driver must be able to see us – we were wearing full high-vis and riding two abreast,” Alison, a former police horse trainer, told H&H.
“I realised the car wasn’t slowing down. The man saw us at the last minute, swerved and just missed some railings as he mounted a kerb.”
Alison, who was wearing a hat camera she had borrowed from a friend, said the man drove off.
“He didn’t even stop for a split second,” she said.
“Diplomat was fine, he’s very sensible on the roads but I was a bit shaken. I’ve owned him for nine years and always ridden on that roads but I’ve never had a near-miss like that. It upset me – he could have taken my horse out and that would have been it. Diplomat would have been a goner if the car had made contact, it would have hit his back legs. It wasn’t until afterwards I thought ‘that really was a close call’.”
Alison reported the incident to Kent Police and the British Horse Society.
“I wasn’t sure if the police would do anything because ultimately we were ok, but I felt I had a responsibility to report it. The footage had caught the driver’s registration plate and Anna found online that the car didn’t have an MoT,” she said.
“I didn’t hear anything for months but then I received a letter in September to say the driver was due to appear in court. I was unable to attend on the day but I would have liked to have to seen the process and the driver’s reaction to the footage being played.”
‘I can’t believe the driver knocked a child off her horse and left her there. You don’t leave the scene
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Alison has urged others to report incidents.
“I’ve spent loads of time riding on the roads training police horses but ironically country lanes are not as safe as the busy streets you ride around London. I’ve never felt scared on the roads before but watching the footage back and seeing how close it was makes me realise we were very lucky,” she said.
“It feels really good that the police dealt with the incident and it got to court. I received a letter to say the driver received points and a fine – anyone can pay a fine, but the points will have an impact on him.”
The driver appeared in court charged and pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention. He received six points, a £169 fine and had to pay £85 costs.
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A rider whose horse was struck by a car after the driver ignored her requests to stop has called for hand signals to be made legally enforceable.
Louise Wellings, from Lincolnshire, was riding her 14.2hh cob Azzy with two friends on Eastfield Road, Louth, on 14 October when she asked an oncoming car to stop.
“There was a lay-by on my left full of building equipment and plastic barriers. Azzy stopped to look and turned to face the barrier,” Louise told H&H.
“I could feel him panicking so I put my hand out to ask the woman to stop but she kept coming towards us. I asked her twice more and she never even braked – she carried on and hit us. There was nothing I could do. The wing mirror was taken off and Azzy jumped backwards into the driver’s door.”
Louise said the woman stopped and got out of her car.
“I asked her ‘why didn’t you stop?’ and all she said was ‘bloody horses’. It was unbelievable that someone could do that and not have any consideration – there was no reason for her not to stop. A car can be replaced but my horse and I can’t be.
“I didn’t want to look at Azzy’s back end but luckily he only had some scrapes. We were 100 yards from home so we got him back and I got the vet. Azzy was put on box rest and the vet said he’d been very lucky. He had some swelling and is still a bit stiff but it could have been a lot worse. The vet has since been back and Azzy is allowed out again and to do some gentle work.”
Louise, who reported the incident to the police, said she is the third rider in the area to be hit by a car in the area over the past two years.
“It’s becoming really scary to ride on the roads but we need to use the road to get to the one bridleway we have,” she said.
“What happened has put me off riding on the roads but I need to be the one to get Azzy back out so we’ll do it together. I hope it hasn’t knocked his confidence.”
Louise posted on a community Facebook group about the incident and said she was shocked by some of the responses.
‘I wasn’t sure if the police would do anything because ultimately we were ok, but I felt I had a
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“Some people said that they didn’t know what the hand signal for stop was and others said they won’t stop for horses. We’re putting our lives in their hands,” she said.
“I would like hand signals in the Highway Code to be made legally enforceable so drivers have to acknowledge them. We know our animals, we’re not asking people to stop to be ignorant, we want everyone on the roads to be safe.”
A spokesman for Lincolshire Police said: “A collision involving a horse and rider and a car was reported to us just after 11am and we are aware the horse sustained an injury.”
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“We made a ton of mistakes,” the boss of Tryon has conceded, but he is “unbelievably proud” of what has been accomplished at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) venue.
Mark Bellissimo, of Tryon Equestrian Partners, spoke to reporters at WEG on Saturday (22 September).
He spoke of the challenges faced by the venue, which had had less than two years to prepare for the Games, having stepped in when original hosts Bromont, Canada, pulled out.
“I’m so very proud of all the things that have happened in the last two weeks with the exception of the things we started on [early problems such as with grooms’ accommodation] I take responsibility for, I made mistakes along the way,” he said.
“If that’s what’s remembered about this WEG then shame on me, shame on all of us, as I think what we’ve seen is probably some of the best sport WEGs have had.
“All the people who said this would never be done: they were wrong. What’s most important to me is that we’ve stepped up in difficult circumstances and did our best. It wasn’t perfect but perfect is the enemy of the good. We accept the fact we’re human and we make mistakes but in the end they’ll hopefully become afterthoughts.”
Mr Bellissimo said WEG is a “very tough” event that “has to be restructured”, suggesting that in future it could be shared between two or three venues running the Games on a cycle, and that he would not decide on whether or not to run the event again until he had talked to his team.
High humidity after heavy rain forced cancellation of the competition today
“We made a ton of mistakes,” he said. “Great organisations take those mistakes and learn. If we ran it again, would it be unbelievable? Absolutely.”
The FEI has said there have been no bids to run the 2022 Games yet, but there has been interest from various countries, and that the organisation is to review the event’s cost-effectiveness, sustainability and format.
Horse & Hound had two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September.
This week four leading jockeys headed down to the Surrey yard of Pippa and William Funnell for a showjumping bootcamp — some, perhaps, with a certain amount of trepidation as they stepped way out of their usual comfort zone on the racetrack.
The intrepid quartet of Bridget Andrews, Lizzie Kelly, Hollie Doyle and Josephine Gordon are taking a crash course over the coloured poles ahead of the annual Markel Champions Challenge in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund.
Bridget Andrews in action
Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey Bridget will be captaining the team of female jockeys, which will also include top National Hunt jockey Bryony Frost, and they will be pitted against the 20-time champion AP McCoy and his all-male team for Friday’s big “race night” in the International Arena at The London International Horse Show, Olympia (17-23 December).
Josephine Gordon is put through her paces
Under the tutelage of showjumping and eventing legends William and Pippa Funnell, the star-studded team of jockeys were put through their paces over the coloured fences and now have victory firmly in their sights.
“The training today with Pippa and William has been lots of fun,” said Bridget. “They’re heroes of mine and we couldn’t have asked for better coaches. I can’t wait for ‘race night’ — the atmosphere is going to be electric and I just hope we can make Pippa and William proud.”
Pippa Funnell said: “They’re obviously all incredibly talented in their own right and I’ve been impressed with how quickly they have adapted and improved throughout the day. The girls have mastered the technical side and we’ve almost managed to perfect their jump-off style, so I really fancy their chances against AP McCoy and the boys!”
Race night at Olympia is sure to be faster than a five furlong sprint at Epsom and always makes for great entertainment — and the box office is open so snap up your tickets now via www.olympiahorseshow.com or phone the box office 0844 995 0995
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Riders are being urged to sign a government petition campaigning for laws to protect horses being ridden on the roads.
The petition, set up by Debbie Smith from Cornwall who created the Facebook group Pass Wide and Slow, has until 2 November to reach the required 100,000 signatures in order for it to be considered for debate at parliament.
Debbie told H&H: “The roads are getting worse and drivers are getting more impatient – they see us as a nuisance. Generally there’s got to have been an accident happen before we can take any action which seems crazy. If a horse is left dying on the road nothing is done, unless a rider has been hurt and taken to hospital.
“We want the petition to bring in laws to protect horses being ridden on the roads and I hope we can get it into parliament. Personally I want to see a change in the Highway Code so it becomes law to abide by a rider’s stop and slow down signals — I think that is one of the most important laws we should have. If we can have the power to ask a car to stop or slow dow it’s going to stop a lot of accidents.”
Debbie, who hacks out with her daughter around five times a week, successfully got a similar petition to parliament two years ago.
“It got discussed but at the time the transport minister wasn’t very compliant with what we wanted and so I decided to start another petition this year,” she said.
“Our aim is to keep getting attention, keep going to parliament and keep getting it discussed and hopefully at some point they’ll realise we’re not just going to go away. That’s all you can do, keep drumming away.”
The petition currently has 13,969 signatures.
“It’s a short time limit on getting those remaining signatures so we need a lot more in the next couple of weeks,” said Debbie.
“I just got mad out riding one day and thought, ‘I’m going to change the law’”
“There’s so many people that ride out on the roads, we need them to read it and sign it – not think ‘I’ll do it later’ and forget. We all ride out on the roads and we all want safe riding.”
Debbie said she wants riders to keep reporting incidents on the roads to the police.
“As part of the Pass Wide and Slow Facebook group we want to encourage riders to wear cameras because we have to get that evidence and send it in to the police, it’s the only way they’ll take action. If we don’t do anything we’ll be seen as unimportant. We have to make it an important issue and keep on at them.”
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Owners must “be better at letting horses be horses” for the sake of their welfare, the chief executive of World Horse Welfare has warned.
Roly Owers addressed a packed hall in London yesterday (31 October) at the charity’s annual conference, the theme of which was “Changing Times”.
“The passage of time always brings change, but I think few would disagree that we’re in a period of unprecedented, relentless and accelerated change across the world,” Mr Owers said.
“Seismic shifts in geopolitics, the rise of digital technology, democratisation, inequality, climate change and the reshaping of values; we ride the waves of these tumultuous times and navigate an ocean where it may seem the very foundations of our traditional assumptions are melting away.”
Mr Owers mentioned Brexit and the essential working together between different organisations on major issues from equine identification law in England to the donkey skin trade in China, adding: “We can and do achieve so much working together.”
He also cited a “growing minority” of people who “see horses almost as people”, adding: “While others expect to see them left alone with nature. We take the view that both these approaches carry grave risks for equine welfare.
“The public rightly expects the welfare of all horses used in riding, sport and racing to be paramount. We couldn’t agree more.
“But some now believe that using horses in sport is inherently exploitative and cruel, not least because they put the horse at risk of injury and fatality.”
Mr Owers said all risks in horse sport do need to be minimised, and fatalities reduced, and cited World Horse Welfare and the RSPCA’s work with the British Horseracing Authority. But he said the key message is that no equestrian sport or activity is without risks, so all horse sports need a “social licence” to operate, with transparency, accountability and “adherence to the ethics of wider society at its heart”.
Mr Owers mentioned a recent parliamentary petition and debate calling for an independent body to regulate horse welfare in racing, which attracted more than 100,000 signatures, as “a clear sign that the public expects much more than business as usual”.
“Then there are those who pamper their animals, over-feed them treats, keep them in stables all day and pile rugs on them all year,” he said.
“The rise of conditions like EMS, laminitis, obesity, gastric ulcers and behavioural stereotypies are the tragic health and welfare consequences. We’ve talked about it so much before but we have to be better at letting horses be horses.
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“That’s not to say we can’t have fun with or fuss over our horses, as long as we keep their health and welfare at the centre of our thinking; and that thinking has to be grounded as far as possible in the facts.
“For example, recently more than 200,000 people signed a petition to ban pony-painting parties. Really?
“While I appreciate this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, we have to keep a focus on the genuine welfare problems.”
For a full report from the conference, don’t miss next week’s edition of horse & Hound magazine, out 8 November.
