Bravo BHS.

Fantastic article - realistic and straight to the point. Very thought provoking. I'm glad to see that the stance the BHS has on the issues mentioned broadly corresponds with what most of us have been thinking for a while. Hopefully this will act as a catalyst and steer those involved with horses in the right direction.
 
Just some musings on companions:

A companion horse/pony has a 'job' just as much as any other - and they must therefore be given the right care and attention to be able to do that job. If they need specialist management (ie restricted grazing) then that must be compatible with what you can give them.

The right companion is a wondrous beast, our little sheltie 'Super-nanny' is a great example of this - but perhaps she's one of the lucky ones - her owners know exactly what management regime she needs and would only let her come to us because we can provide for her needs. The result is a happy pony who does her job well.
 
I also totally agree (not read the article in full yet).

I know it's not a solution, but I do wonder whether some of the current pressure could be eased by charities putting more horses to sleep rather than going all out to save them (older horses, very poorly horses, etc). In an ideal world they of course should save them all but when they're full to bursting, surely it would be pragmatic to lower the threshold for the PTS decision to enable more healthy but unwanted animals to be taken in. It's not something that would sit comfortably with supporters (and I hate the idea) but if there is agreement that there are worse fates than euthanasia then surely making PTS decisions sooner rather than later would free-up resources for those horses which had the potential to go on to be nice useful horses for which nic homes could be found.
 
I think some of the leading equine Charities do pts when appropriate. Recent rescue of 400 ponies on Redwings site said 100 were pts due to health/pro blems.

I do notthink we can blame hard working charities and equine organisations for a problem created by uncaring or ignorant owners, or even unrealist private owners who have as much or more responsibility for the current situation, passing on older animals to others when the kindest option is to let them go and know they had a peaceful end.

Maybe I should not say it, but the recent rescue of foals from science lab, is it really helpful to have yet more foals needing homes, and the breeder has a good source of income to go on producing more foals.
 
Last edited:
Adopter said:
I do notthink we can blame hard working charities and equine organisations for a problem created by uncaring or ignorant owners, or even unrealist private owners who have as much or more responsibility for the current situation, passing on older animals to others when the kindest option is to let them go and know they had a peaceful end.
Click to expand...

I was in no way blaming them - they do an amazing job. I was simply suggesting a possible short-term solution to the current issue of too many horses, too few homes. More of a zero tolerance approach.

As an extreme example; can the horse be brought right for less than £500 (i.e. medication, surgery, etc)? Will it be eventually be suitable for rehoming as a riding/driving horse? Is it likely to have at least 5 more years of "useful" life? If no to any of the above then would it be more practical to let it go and give the place at the charity to the next horse that does answer yes to all of the above.

(BTW - my horses are with me for life - even if they both became unrideable (arguably one already is) they would be my priority over buying another riding horse, I would spend what I had to fix them if they broke. My example above is drastic suggestion for drastic times.)
 
I do agree with you Ash Tay, something needs to happen and change and I would rather euthanasia was used than see neglected animals.

The welsh approach seems to me to offer a way forward, just wish it was going to be adopted in England as well, but having written to my MP the Government seem to think the new social behaviour bill and ASBOs will solve the problem. I am not convinced that this will be sufficient to solve the problem.
 
bravo BHS +1.
It is time the charities took a hard stand on these poorly bred animals- its a sorry plight most of these ponies/horses are in , but to think they can be rescued and found homes ,when they number so many ,is not practical.
For impounded anumals , owners should have to pay feed, vet , microchip ,castration bills to get them back. If they dont , or dont come forward, then PTS. Also, I d PTS the broodmares , 'stallions' such as they are , and all but the best of the youngsters. That would leave space at the rescue centres , and they could concentrate on animals suitable for riding. Looking at Blue cross website, some of the rehoming horses are unbroken- its is expensive enough in terms of time and money to start/restart horses, without backing rescue animals that could well have serious medical issues[ as I know from previous experience!] The same goes with these as companion s - there may well be mental or physical problems that are too much to expect a loaner to take on. Its a very different story for a faithful older hoss to be a companion- they can act as a wise friend and be an asset , but thats not going to be the case for these horses that have run unhandled in big herds.
 
I also agree with Ash Tay. I'd like to see Rescue Centres concentrating on "refurbishment" of potentially useful, horses rather than prolonging the lives of elderly or ill ones, worthy though that might be.
 
Digger66 said:
I also agree with Ash Tay. I'd like to see Rescue Centres concentrating on "refurbishment" of potentially useful, horses rather than prolonging the lives of elderly or ill ones, worthy though that might be.
Click to expand...

I am totally in agreement with this and thought the BHS article was spot on. I believe rescues should be much more selective about where they spend their resources and focus on those animals that will go on to have a useful life i.e. primarily to be ridden. There are too many companion animals to find homes for them all.

Interestingly I recently received correspondence from Redwings trying to get donations and to sell raffle tickets. Nothing from them, other than the recent large rescue and euthanasia of 100 horses, spoke about PTS being an option. I would be more willing to donate if they discussed this more openly and showed a wiser use of their resources.

Well done BHS, this is why you get my money. I hope you can carry it forward and that it makes a difference. I despair when I see all these pitiful pictures of abandoned and neglected horses when I get so much pleasure from seeing mine happy and healthy.
 
Totally agree with everything said. Lee Hackett was instrumental in securing the removal of Carrot and Spud. I thought then that he was a 'top man' - this has just confirmed it, together with his commitment to equine welfare with no hint of rose-tinted spectacles.
 
dunkley said:
Totally agree with everything said. Lee Hackett was instrumental in securing the removal of Carrot and Spud. I thought then that he was a 'top man' - this has just confirmed it, together with his commitment to equine welfare with no hint of rose-tinted spectacles.
Click to expand...

The best quote to me is "Let's lose the view that good welfare always means keeping animals alive". This should be absolutely pivotal in any animal welfare considerations and should be spread far and wide. Please keep it up!

I don't know if anyone has the answers to all the problems but this should be the starting point in all animal welfare and particularly now with the welfare of horses.
 
I havent read the full article but I have long thought that the proliferation of poorly bred animals in crummy fields next to the road needs to be tackled. And I agree that it might be better to have some of the horses in rescue centres PTS rather than kept going. With the current situation perhaps it would be kinder to let them all have 2 years of happy retirement then PTS to make room for the inevitable deluge of new cases. I do worry a bit though that if there was more euthanasia, this might lead to a 'shortage' thus encouraging the unscrupulous breeders still further. I am very much in favour of making it illegal to own a stallion unless registered with a suitable body.
 
tobiano said:
I havent read the full article but I have long thought that the proliferation of poorly bred animals in crummy fields next to the road needs to be tackled. And I agree that it might be better to have some of the horses in rescue centres PTS rather than kept going. With the current situation perhaps it would be kinder to let them all have 2 years of happy retirement then PTS to make room for the inevitable deluge of new cases. I do worry a bit though that if there was more euthanasia, this might lead to a 'shortage' thus encouraging the unscrupulous breeders still further. I am very much in favour of making it illegal to own a stallion unless registered with a suitable body.
Click to expand...
there used to be stallion licencing, and now it is up to the stallion owner to keep the animal in suitable conditions,,,,, well they don't bother about that round here, its a case of a penalty on good owners and disregarded by bad ones.
 
I thought it was an absolutely excellent article which was spot on. If only everyone thought the same way, on Facebook groups you are forever seeing adverts from 'rescuers' (/dealers) saying that they have x number of foals that need to be 'rehomed' or they will go back to where they came from/the sales/the meatman/lion food. A lot of anthropomorphising happens on these groups and people can't seem to grasp that if it isn't these x number of foals, it will be another x number of foals. Without fail the seller (let's face it, they are not a 'rescue', they are selling them and want to cover costs) will want £50 - £100 for the little mites.

As an aside, I did grin when the whole 'Franch-gate' was alluded to.
 
tallyho! said:
What they said in the article. Abattoirs, humane disposal, etc etc. or is it just lip service as usual?
Click to expand...

What they are trying to do is promote welfare via education.
Read any thread on here where an owner posts the 'what do I do with my 20yr old unsound bad tempered horse that I can no longer keep' & amongst all the PTS posts will be an equal number of 'look for a companion home/try parelli/ change it's feed / try a calmer / see if a charity will take it' replies. As horse owners we shouldn't feel the need to ask the the question, & if anyone does need validation that's what sensible people should give. To quote part of the article again -

"Let’s lose the view that good welfare always means keeping animals alive. We can’t afford to think like this any longer. Finding a horse a new purpose or new home so we can avoid putting them down really is not always the best solution. Humane euthanasia is far from the worst fate that can befall a horse. Just ask any one of The British Horse Society’s 200-plus welfare officers."

& this -

"Finding a companion home for an unwanted horse is frequently not the answer. It may well be just passing a problem on, which is rarely the best thing for the horse involved. Saying this may be a little controversial and there are exceptions where things have gone extremely well. Of course there are. Although it might be better if people looking for a companion go to the rehoming charities to find one.

If you are determined to find a companion home for your horse, at least consider using a rehoming service like Horses4Homes or the Blue Cross Home Direct scheme where home checks can be carried out by professionals. If the horse is not right for rehoming, be brave, do the right thing and have him put down humanely."
 
While I agree with the article I am not convinced publishing it in the magazine is going to make much difference. Are the people who need to read it and act on the advice largely going to be BHS members? I doubt it. It might make a few of the "rehome rather than pts my veteran" brigade think twice. But the fly grazers and sale "rescuers" and breeders of rubbish? They're unlikely to be BHS members.

The BHS would be better off campaigning at government level for better legislation and increasing the number of castration clinics than preaching to the converted imo.
 
I agree that it is a good article, and I'd echo the sentiments in it completely. I think raising awareness is a good thing, even if it is on the whole preaching to the converted in the BHS mag - although I think it may be surprising how many horse owners are anti pts.

It is true that the message needs to be got through to all sectors of the horse owning community, but sadly there are those who won't care that pts is in the animal's best interests and who want to make money or abandon them to save money. No amount of educating will change their view I don't think and that is where I'd like to see legislation brought in that makes stallion licensing mandatory, if it costs more to breed a horse and keep entire than it does to geld then they might just think twice. Of course this would all cost money to set up and run and monitor, and that is where the stumbling block probably is. I do think that the situation needs tackling from both ends, but it would be a mammoth task.
 
Zebedee said:
What they are trying to do is promote welfare via education.
Read any thread on here where an owner posts the 'what do I do with my 20yr old unsound bad tempered horse that I can no longer keep' & amongst all the PTS posts will be an equal number of 'look for a companion home/try parelli/ change it's feed / try a calmer / see if a charity will take it' replies. As horse owners we shouldn't feel the need to ask the the question, & if anyone does need validation that's what sensible people should give. To quote part of the article again -

"Let’s lose the view that good welfare always means keeping animals alive. We can’t afford to think like this any longer. Finding a horse a new purpose or new home so we can avoid putting them down really is not always the best solution. Humane euthanasia is far from the worst fate that can befall a horse. Just ask any one of The British Horse Society’s 200-plus welfare officers."

& this -

"Finding a companion home for an unwanted horse is frequently not the answer. It may well be just passing a problem on, which is rarely the best thing for the horse involved. Saying this may be a little controversial and there are exceptions where things have gone extremely well. Of course there are. Although it might be better if people looking for a companion go to the rehoming charities to find one.

If you are determined to find a companion home for your horse, at least consider using a rehoming service like Horses4Homes or the Blue Cross Home Direct scheme where home checks can be carried out by professionals. If the horse is not right for rehoming, be brave, do the right thing and have him put down humanely."
Click to expand...

All very well writing and raising awareness but most people who read BH already are very well aware... These people have subscribed and receive this magazine are the very people who have been saying this all along.

I don't know that the article is actually going to "do" anything. Hoe you can see where I am coming from :)
 
tallyho! said:
All very well writing and raising awareness but most people who read BH already are very well aware... These people have subscribed and receive this magazine are the very people who have been saying this all along.

I don't know that the article is actually going to "do" anything. Hoe you can see where I am coming from :)
Click to expand...

No the article is not going to "do" anything except raise awareness. However, it's taken some years to get to this stage and the BHS is the only charity (possibly except WHW) discussing PTS as the most viable option for a lot of equines. Most other charities, particularly Redwings, do nothing except try to raise more money to save more (mainly) useless horses and I would not consider donating to them again for that reason.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top