Do you agree or disagree that a qualification should be mandatory for owning a horse?

[WrongLeg]

Exam proposed to own horses – but ‘the best PR is doing the right thing’

Mandatory qualifications to own horses could be one key to welfare and maintaining public acceptance – but all actions should be taken to benefit horses, not for PR.

These were suggestions made at a briefing on the results of World Horse Welfare’s fourth annual survey of the public’s attitudes to involvement of horses in sport, on 3 June.

 

[mariew]

Nah, it would only be a money making opportunity for someone and impossible to enforce.

 

[BurntontheoutsideTurkey]

Anna Hilton (just for example)

 

[mariew]

Yeah a qualification doesn't mean you will treat the horse right. They would be better off making more detailed laws for minimum standards for a horse to be looked after and stronger enforcement rules for those banned. but tbh that's tricky as what do you do with all the hill ponies and also who is going to police it all. The govt is unlikely to have any money to spare

 

[smolmaus]

I don't see how that would change much. BHS stages are supposed to do something similar already and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wondered at some point how some BHS-qualified person is allowed within 20ft of a horse.

 

[JFTDWS]

That would depend largely on who was in charge of the contents of the exam. There are a lot of ways to keep horses in an acceptable way, that depend a lot on external factors - historically a lot of equestrian education has skewed perspectives on how to keep horses. It would an expensive and challenging mission to keep content accurate and balanced as equine science develops. That would be extremely expensive.

If you don't invest in the complexities of balance and progressive developments, I think that there is a risk of making the situation worse both by having the necessarily low standards of a universally accessible exam, and the false security of a poorly educated owner who thinks they know more than they do because they passed the exam.

 

[ihatework]

Agree in principal, disagree in practice

 

[JFTDWS]

I don't see how that would change much. BHS stages are supposed to do something similar already and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wondered at some point how some BHS-qualified person is allowed within 20ft of a horse.

This is kind of my point - if you look at the BHS spec from 20-30 years ago, it's unrecognisable to how we manage horses today (and, while I think the BHS was slow to adapt, that's not my point here - any formal qualification is likely to be outdated in some respect). The problem with the BHS qualified people who are as you describe is often that they trained 20+ years ago, but will not accept that their knowledge is out of date. But still they have their qualifications, so are free to carry on making horses' lives worse.

To counter that issue, you'd need people to re-sit the exam periodically to update their knowledge base. What do you do if they fail - take their horses off them?!

 

[teapot]

Agree in theory and would say the same about dog licences too frankly.

In reality depends on how it was done. Think it would have to be government led, and whether renewal would be part of it? Know plenty of people who have a driving licence who probably shouldn’t!

 

[HopOnTrot]

A credit check would probably be more useful

 

[Kirstd33]

A credit check would probably be more useful

or a sanity check?

 

[smolmaus]

or a sanity check?

A temperament assessment like they do with service dogs. How quick are you to lose your temper, do you bite etc

 

[Titchy Reindeer]

I really don't think the qualification will be worth the paper it's written on.

I live in France where it's technically mandatory to have a test to keep (different from owning) a horse. You don't need a test to own a horse if it's kept in full livery for example.
I didn't bother taking the test. It's not checked and it's not enforced. I already owned and kept horses at the time they brought out this test. I have kept horses on and off since I was 13yo, I have my galop 7 (french riding exam which allows access to the highest level of competition - not that I'm competing at the highest level or anywhere near it) and a PhD in animal behaviour. I'm not sure what completing an online multiple choice questionnaire is going to prove or do to improve horse welfare.

 

[skint1]

The resources needed to administer/enforce this scheme are probably a major stumbling block

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Largely the people that mistreat horses the worst know exactly what they should be doing, they just don't have any interest in doing it.
Top professionals, dressage trainers, the people that let them starve - they all know in theory what they should do.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Good suggestion but not practical or ever likely to be followed up.

Whilst there are still many equines who don't have a passport or microchip and neither are dealt with, plus the UKs largest welfare agency preferring to ignore many welfare cases, horses still being exported without appropriate paperwork, getting an owners certificate is way down any list....

 

[SpeedyPony]

No- some of the best horsemen I've met have had no formal qualifications, some of the worst had all the BHS exams you could wish for. Tbh a lot of what is taught about keeping horses by boards like the BHS/PC is more geared towards human convenience than animal welfare anyway (that may have changed, it's been a few years since I was in that sphere).

 

[JBM]

I think a qualification for basic first aid
And detecting common issues such as being lame, stress signs and pain signs in horses would be beneficial. A lot of people own horses and just don’t know the signs even if they care about their horse a lot.

 

[Dopeydapple]

I think a qualification for basic first aid
And detecting common issues such as being lame, stress signs and pain signs in horses would be beneficial. A lot of people own horses and just don’t know the signs even if they care about their horse a lot.

I did suggest to a vet nurse friend who was looking at a change of career that setting up some courses like this might be good. I like the idea of educating those who want to know more but agree that the problem is there are plenty out there not treating horses well who already know better and we can't police them as it is.

 

[Gloi]

Who volunteers go go to Appleby checking everyone has their horse owning certificate?

 

[TheMule]

Perhaps what could work would be a ‘horse ownership course' put on by someone like WHW to cover some of the basics. I'm sure if you could keep the cost reasonably low and offer a bit of a follow-up service then you would have takers, and it could perhaps stop a few of the welfare issues happening through ignorance.

 

[JenJ]

Who volunteers go go to Appleby checking everyone has their horse owning certificate?

I would but I think I'm busy that day, sorry!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

To add, I've said it before, but a YO offering livery should have a licence.
If WHW campaigned for this, it might be eventually workable.

If horses at livery were to come under the Boarding of Animals Act, then some equines might just have a better life?

 

[JenJ]

To add, I've said it before, but a YO offering livery should have a licence.
If WHW campaigned for this, it might be eventually workable.

If horses at livery were to come under the Boarding of Animals Act, then some equines might just have a better life?

Now this I'm on board with.

 

[smolmaus]

To add, I've said it before, but a YO offering livery should have a licence.
If WHW campaigned for this, it might be eventually workable.

If horses at livery were to come under the Boarding of Animals Act, then some equines might just have a better life?

There are few enough livery yards round these days tbh but I can't say that's not a better proposal than making owners pass exams.

 

[starbucker]

Horses are already incredibly inaccessible and expensive as they are, the best loaners we get on our yard are quite often the novices that grow into the responsibility and know when to ask for help, those too inexperienced who buy end up selling on a few months down the line after overhorsing etc anyway. Seems like a sneaky way to control what we do and how we live our lives. I have no formal qualifications, nor sat any exams but had years of lessons, followed by years of loaning before buying my own. Appreciate that not all take a logical direction into horse ownership. Perhaps work on being able to control horse sales / dodgey dealers first. I agree with the Yard Owner comment. As the inexperienced lean on the YO / Yard Manager for advice and have seem some terrible (but well meaning) advice passed out.. We as a yard run health and safety courses to encourage good practice and care.

Just to add, no book exam / course will give you the confidence to safely handle a horse, misbehaving etc. Time and experience does.

 

[rabatsa]

The only good I can see in the idea is that no one keeping equines could use the defence of I didn't know about their needs.

 

[WrongLeg]

I really don't think the qualification will be worth the paper it's written on.

I live in France where it's technically mandatory to have a test to keep (different from owning) a horse. You don't need a test to own a horse if it's kept in full livery for example.
I didn't bother taking the test. It's not checked and it's not enforced. I already owned and kept horses at the time they brought out this test. I have kept horses on and off since I was 13yo, I have my galop 7 (french riding exam which allows access to the highest level of competition - not that I'm competing at the highest level or anywhere near it) and a PhD in animal behaviour. I'm not sure what completing an online multiple choice questionnaire is going to prove or do to improve horse welfare.

I thought The Galop/ German/ Spanish tests were a good example- is it just an online multiple choice question?

I know a lot of dyslexic equestrian professionals: a written test would be very unfair on them.

Where I am from, there is no opportunity to do Pony Club tests. There are many many more entirely preventable equestrian accidents than places with a horse culture.

I think this is mainly because the handler/ rider has not been trained.

Personally, I think an exam like Pony Club Test would prevent avoidable accidents, save us money in NHS admissions alone, could address equine obesity and create a market for qualified instructors - there are not many around here.

 

[WrongLeg]

Just to add, no book exam / course will give you the confidence to safely handle a horse, misbehaving etc. Time and experience does.

I get what you mean - but standing to the side/ not in front of the horse/ leading from the shoulder/ holding the tail as you walk behind a horse prevents accidents.

Doing this when the horse rears, spins…helps a lot.

Surely if you handle safely from day 1, you don’t learn the hard way.

 

[WrongLeg]

Now this I'm on board with.

Okay, does that include keeping a companion pony in your field?

When are you offering livery and when are you just renting? Money?