Anyone and everyone can own horses - do you think

[filly190]

Do you think it is right that anyone can just go a buy a horse, knowing that they need special care and a decent knowledge to keep them in good health.

On the forum we see quite a lot of posts where complete novices have gone out, bought a horse and then struggle.

Other instances are were travellers keep their horses in terrible conditions, the examples go on and on.

In the interests of horse welfare, what are your opinions and suggestions. Does the horse world need more than welfare organsations to tackle these problems?

 

[the watcher]

what do you suggest, a test, a licence? Who would enforce it?

the problem is similar to orders issued by courts banning individuals from keeping animals, these people will merely claim that another member of the family has control of them

I sympathise with your sentiments but think that the vast administrative process required to police this would price horse ownership out of the hands of many people

 

[4whitesocks]

you have to have a licence to keep a dog.....

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
you have to have a licence to keep a dog.....

[/ QUOTE ]
Not anymore unfortuantely.................

But interestingly, I don't think that the majority of welfare problems with horses and ponies stems from private owners who may be lacking in knowledge. We have all heard of some terrible cases of neglect by people who quite frankly do know how to look after horses.

 

[_OC_]

In my opinion I think it is to easy to just go out and purchase...have seen complete novices buy with no idea...a lot of years ago knew of one girl buying as a friend said this would help fill her life....a complete mess from start then went on to buy a second horse that was a young cob who got out of hand completely....and the whole time we ended picking up the disasters that came about....I feel quite strongly that for a animal this size that some form legislation should be in place and the first time buyer should be on a horse care course of some sorts-that is just my opinion!!

 

[Mellymoo1]

You could apply this to any animal. Dogs, cats and small animals also need a standard of care. So many people buy animals on a whim without considering the attention, money and commitment thats needed.

Great idea, but as nopudding mentioned, it would be extremely difficult to police.

I have to admit, I am a novice and bought my horse back in May. I was extremely lucky that I bought a good horse, but I am also dedicated to his welfare and make sure that I educate myself so that I can offer him a good home for the rest of his life.

 

[SSM]

Exactly what I was going to say!

The novice owner is normally so scared of doing the wrong thing that they go to the other extreme and have the most pampered animals around.

I think a 'qualification/licence' smacks of elitism which owning a horse should not be - as long as you can afford (and many of make huge sacrifices to), have the time, commitment and desire to make it work then go for it - the moment someone loses interest they MUST sell and move on (that is when an animal often suffers)

 

[magic104]

I agree with nopudding, furthermore most people keep their horses at livery yards these days so have access to some form of help. There are 1000's of people having children that are not fit to, shall we put a law in-place that they pass a test 1st?? I would be quiet happy with that. We could go further & stop anyone from having any living creature without undergoing a test to show they are qualified to look after it.

 

[_OC_]

Emm...see your point there is enough problems with the passports!

 

[pottamus]

Whilst horses are obviously close to my heart, I feel that the same applies to all animals really. You are always going to get ignorant or unknowledgable people buying animals for whatever reason that have no idea what to do with them or how to look after them. That is the nature of the beast really. I don't see how these people can be stopped in any way of buying such animals/horses.
I think the real issue is whether these people are responsible enough to find out how to look after the horse properly. Unfortunately in the equine world one persons idea of care is another persons idea of cruelty!
I know of someone who has been having riding lessons at a school for about 8 months on a once per week basis. They have no prior experience of owning or looking after horses and have never ridden outside of a school environment. They have just bought a 4 year old ex-racer!!! Now on first impressions you would think they were completely mad, stupid and were going to ruin the horse. But they have it at the yard they ride at and it is on full working livery, so you could argue that everything is taken care of in respect of the horse. I personally think it is a little silly given their short riding career but hey ho...each to their own. Just a good example of how things can be looked at differently.
Unfortunately people have money these days and horses are more accessible and I guess that is why we have the RSPCA and ILPH to help...where there are people, animals or children...there will be neglect, cruelty or misunderstanding...shame, but that is the fact.

 

[horsegirl]

Well how far would you take this? Anyone can have a baby without childcare experience and you can do far more damage to a child than an animal!

 

[burtie]

I do think things have really changed over the years(especially with the rise in cheaper DIY livery yards), when our family bought our first horse(20 odd years ago!), my mum had ridden for years at the local riding school and both my sister and I a had riden for a year or so, we helped out every Saturday and knew the basics of horse care. Still we decided our horse would go on Working livery at the stables and bought him with the help and advice of the Riding school proprieter as he would be used in the school. It took a while to find him and we tried plenty, but he turned out perfect and was a favourite with the riding school customers as well!

After 6 months of so on Part Working livery we learnt more than we ever thought possible. We then wanted to ride him more so was moved to full livery at the yard.

At the time we were considered very novicy for getting our first horse and no way would we have ever considered just going out and buying one.

 

[Sooty]

Horses, dogs, children... There will always be those who go into things with minimal knowledge, minimal money and and minimal intelligence. Sadly it is unlikely to stop. Animals and children will always be vulnerable because they are totally dependent and easily abused.

 

[Christmas_Kate]

Hmm.

I wouldnt class myself as an expert. No way, but I can care for a pony. The difference is, if I have worries, no matter how stupid they may seem, I ask for help. And I'll be the first to back down and admit I can't do something.
I have spent many years around horses, and did a 'refresher' of a year at a local stud/livery yard before I embarked on LM. I learnt ALOT, but anyone can get into problems, not just complete novices. The danger comes from those who think they know it all and battle on refusing to ask for help.

 

[Enfys]

Echo Horsegirl completely.
In a perfect world anybody considering having a child, taking on a dog, horse, whatever, would be sensible enough to gain some experience and knowledge before doing so.
I think if society is to go down that road then the first step is compulsory Child care classes in school, or do they do that already?

 

[_OC_]

And the other point is that as more riding schools close down I guess it closes the door to be able to ride so people who would learn alot at riding schools don't have that either...which would include horse care..

 

[anniedoherty]

I have to agree with everyone who has pointed out that there will always be a minority of people who will be either deliberately or inadvertently cruel to animals or children and there is no way of making everyone take regular tests to prove their suitability to own animals or procreate. Cruelty to animals or children is wrong - no arguing against that fact but, once again novice horse owners seem to be getting a lot of flak on this forum.

As a novice horse owner myself I keep my horse at full livery so that I can learn how to look after him properly without making any mistakes. I have regular lessons - in fact I've had one every day for the past two weeks that's how keen I am! I also ask for advice from my YO and experienced staff and liveries on a daily basis because I want to learn as much as possible. Oh, and I did my BHS Stage 1 recently and this includes an element of basic horse care. Most of the horses on my livery yard (including mine) which are owned by novices are looked after very well indeed and certainly not neglected.

 

[MagicMelon]

I think it should be up to the sellers to try to sell to half knowledable people. Obviously a lot of sellers dont care, but some of us care where our horses go. I for one, would never sell any of my horses to a total novice - you can tell they're one if you just ask a few simple questions or just by the fact that they dont ask any!

 

[anniedoherty]

But how can a novice ever buy a decent horse if no one but rogue dealers will sell to them? Why has novice become a dirty word? Surely there are plenty of novices doing their best and taking lots of advice from experienced horsey people? Please someone be nice to us novices - we are doing our best to learn you know

 

[TheresaW]

Everyone was a novice once!

 

[Chex]

I think there's a whole lot of stuff you only learn my owning a horse, mostly the care side. Everyone makes quite a few mistakes the first time they come a across a problem. A lot of it comes down to the seller, I would never sell Chex, but if I did, the new owners would be asked so many questions. I would want to know how they would deal with all sorts of problems, and help them if they didn't know. I don't think its an issue when a novice buys a horse if they are on a yard with plenty of knowledgable poeple, and are not afraid to ask for help

 

[burtie]

[ QUOTE ]
But how can a novice ever buy a decent horse if no one but rogue dealers will sell to them?

[/ QUOTE ]

Who has said that? I stated that there are a number of well known and reputable dealers specialising in selling to novices, they are however generally a lot more expensive as they do offer a specialised tailored service. As an example Safecobs is one.

Disclaimer: I have never personally used Safecobs but do know few who have and have been very happy, so just using them as an example!

 

[Foxford]

I find the term novice to be such a broad word. Who is a novice, someone who has been riding for 6 weeks or 2 years?! Is a novice a beginner or not? I got my first pony at 13 after a couple of years riding lessons. Without making that jump I would never have learned to progress. The pony was a 5yo - shock horror! But we learned together, had fun and had help the whole way.

Surely if someone's heart is in the right place and they try their best, who can ask for anymore? Maybe this is more about the nature of people than their level of experience.

 

[Baggybreeches]

Not any more. In theory the passports should sort out welfare

. But there are always going to be people who slip through the net.

 

[Abs]

I think you should have a license to own a horse. You will need to pass a basic test in equine knowledge, and provide insurance and passport documents within 1 month of purchasing a horse - rather the same as owning a car, really.

 

[moocow]

i have just bought a horse and its been years since I have looked after one. I know it will be difficult but my horse will not want for anything. she will be well fed, watered, sheltered and shod etc. I think there is a big distinction between being a novice and looking after horses. You don't need to be an expert with years of experience to know animal welfare. I don't think anyone can justify neglect with ignorance. My hubbie knows nothing about horses - he sums it up as you pet one end and and can get kicked from the other! yet he would immediately know when a horse needs more food, shelter, vet etc.

We might not be very experienced but we are eagar to learn and thats why we post questions on forums like this. If ignorance led to neglect, we wouldn't ask the question cos we wouldn't notice anything was wrong!

Maybe something like a CBT for horses would be a good idea. Not sure about the licencing. Dogs still abused regardless of licencing

and the equine passports contain even more information that a dog licence does!

Its a tough one

 

[Patchwork]

I think the degree of knowledge/ability required depends a lot on the situation. For example, there are a lot of people who keep a horse on full schooling livery/working livery quite happily but would be totally out of their depth looking after their horse at home on their own with no assistance.