Liscense to Own Horses?

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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What are your opinions on this?

It came up in conversation today that to own a zebra you need a liscense so we began to ponder why not one for a horse?
They are wild animals after-all

I know that it would be an extra added cost :( but if everyone had basic knowledge before they owned horses they probably wouldn't breed off unsuitable mares and they wouldn't be selling for just over a pound at the sales.

You see a lot of people having problems with horses when a lot of it is caused by ignorance.

I know its would never be realistic but just a thought and wanted people's opinions on it :)

Also are there any countries which make you have liscense to own them?
 
LaurenM said:
I had to answer more questions when buying a fish from pets at home than I did for purchasing me horse. I think that says it all really.
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Its quite sad really :( and with horses selling so cheap I could just imagine someone buying a horse from the sales for christmas keeping them in the back shed and feeding them various kitchen waste
 
Unfortunately, a lot of it isn't ignorance that causes that kind of thing; it's greed or just good old fashioned CBA. :mad: Equally, I've seen totally ignorant, wet-behind-the-ears owners buy a horse well before they were ready, but take expert help and advice every step of the way and transform into good owners.

I think we probably do need more legislation to try and deal with the problem of indiscriminate breeding and selling, but I'm not sure licences or any kind of knowledge test would work ...
 
Would love to see more done about it all but the world of horses just isn't in the public arena enough to self-regulate. The BHS, WHW etc are small organisations trying their best and the professionals generally keep themselves to themselves. The rest are too busy squabbling over which vegetable stick to use. Which leaves the wider population of mongrels free to do as they please until it all goes horribly wrong and the results end up in rescues/potters/france etc. At the moment it isn't costing the govt any money and so will remain largely ignored.
 
Good idea in theory BUT.....

a) We need a licence to drive. People have lessons, take the test and then for some idiots it all goes out of the window and they do whatever they want

b) The kind of idiots that any scheme would be designed to eliminate are the poeple who wouldn't bother with a licence and would find a way around it!

It's a sad world we live in :(
 
tallyho! said:
Would love to see more done about it all but the world of horses just isn't in the public arena enough to self-regulate. The BHS, WHW etc are small organisations trying their best and the professionals generally keep themselves to themselves. The rest are too busy squabbling over which vegetable stick to use. Which leaves the wider population of mongrels free to do as they please until it all goes horribly wrong and the results end up in rescues/potters/france etc. At the moment it isn't costing the govt any money and so will remain largely ignored.
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So true! I think the government just isn't pro-active enough they won't do anything until they are affected by it so frustrating :(
 
Queenbee87 said:
Good idea in theory BUT.....

a) We need a licence to drive. People have lessons, take the test and then for some idiots it all goes out of the window and they do whatever they want

b) The kind of idiots that any scheme would be designed to eliminate are the poeple who wouldn't bother with a licence and would find a way around it!

It's a sad world we live in :(
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This is what we came up with aswell when we was talking about it :(
It would be nice to get rid of some of the idiots who should not be within 20ft of a living animal though
 
I'd love to see everyone who owned a horse with some basic knowledge and a heavy dose of commonsense but just look at what drivel gets posted on here by horse owners. They LOVE their horses and feel that they are doing their best for them by treating them like poorly backward children. There's no thought at all about what it should mean to be a horse, or understanding of the poor thing's needs.

How are you going to decide what is the right way to keep horses and what are you going to do about the idiots who currently own horses who really shouldn't - what exactly would you do with all the horses!
 
If anyone cared enough, it would be very simple to ask to see the buyers BHS Test Certificate every time a purchase was made. At the moment only money and the passport (if lucky) ever gets exchanged.
 
Queenbee87 said:
Good idea in theory BUT.....

The kind of idiots that any scheme would be designed to eliminate are the people who wouldn't bother with a license and would find a way around it!

It's a sad world we live in :(
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Quite agree. It would end up just being an expensive piece of paper that honest, caring, legitimate people would take the time to get and it probably allow the rouges to get away with it.

Who would enforce it and who would pay for that enforcement? Who would need to see your piece of paper. Buyers, Sellers, Yard Owners, Show Organisers, Vets, Insurance companies etc, etc?

Also studying to pass an exam is allot different to putting that study in to practice...Drivers learn to pass a driving test but it's not long before people speed, don't hold the steering wheel ten to two, listen to the radio, stop using their mirrors etc but they all have a license to drive. Unless you do something really stupid to get caught nobody ever checks your license...there would be even less power to enforce a horse owner license.
 
Sedgemoor Chaos said:
Also studying to pass an exam is allot different to putting that study in to practice...Drivers learn to pass a driving test but it's not long before people speed, don't hold the steering wheel ten to two, listen to the radio, stop using their mirrors etc but they all have a license to drive. Unless you do something really stupid to get caught nobody ever checks your license...there would be even less power to enforce a horse owner license.
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But the people who mean well but haven't got a clue would learn :)
But obviously the idiots who purposfully harm the horses or who couldn't care less about them are still around and there isn't much you can do about them :(
 
Well for saying that the general concensous (sp?!) on bringing back dog licences was bad, i'd hate to see how this went down!! With regard to the dog licence I agree with the idea due to the problem with strays and people being bitten by stray dogs etc, and to encourage more responsible ownership, not just whim buyers! But I also would like free 3rd party liability attached to the licence for the dog.

Now with regard to a horse licence, you don't have the same problems, as others have said it is not always numpty owners who cause problems, they will usually accept advise and work with others to get upto scratch, the general welfare problems associated with horses are actually commited quite often by people who do actually know about horses!! Take for instance a cruelty case involving 5 warmblood horses committed by someone with an equine degree!! Needless to say she couldn't claim ignorance in court!!!

So no I don't really agree with a licence as such.
 
I think it would be a great idea but sadly doubt it would ever get off the ground enough to be really effective.

A novice father has just bought an ex int sjer (older, looking for a quieter life) to learn on so he can ride out with his daughter, also fairly novice, and as he knows very little about horses I've acquired the lovely chap on loan at their yard at their house, all tab picked up for me -smug- but the problem arises when he says he'll sort the horses and things aren't done properly! I find myself going to redo the stable so he's got banks to prevent him getting cast and the wet taken out (he just removes poo) and check adequately fed/rugged.

He means well but really should have taken stable management lessons first, as it's the blind leading the blind when he goes to the teenage daughter for advice!!

Whoops, vie ranted, sorry :o
 
Queenbee87 said:
Good idea in theory BUT.....

a) We need a licence to drive. People have lessons, take the test and then for some idiots it all goes out of the window and they do whatever they want

b) The kind of idiots that any scheme would be designed to eliminate are the poeple who wouldn't bother with a licence and would find a way around it!

It's a sad world we live in :(
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But surely we have a safer population of drivers as a whole, than before tests were necessary?
 
Naturally said:
But surely we have a safer population of drivers as a whole, than before tests were necessary?
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I would imagine so but the number of ignorant people increases daily.

The point I was trying to make was that the people who the licence would be there to weed out are the kind of people that would do the bare minimum to pass any "test" then go on to do as they please.

On the driving theory test you are expected to know the stopping distances in various conditions yet many people ignore them and drive far too close to the person in front on the motorway.... but that's a WHOLE other rant! :rolleyes:
 
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sorry to go off on a tangeant but while i think that a license for horse ownership is a good idea in theory, for all the reasons already posted it just wouldnt work, however with so so many neglected and unwanted horses in the country already surely it is time that some sort of license came into force with regards to breeding? would still be a nightmare to enforce but surely responsible breeding would help :confused:
 
tallyho! said:
If anyone cared enough, it would be very simple to ask to see the buyers BHS Test Certificate every time a purchase was made. At the moment only money and the passport (if lucky) ever gets exchanged.
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Oh strewth, I wouldn't have any horses at all in that case then:eek:
 
Completely with you on the license for breeding!!! I have been shouting about this for years now and it should be enforced in horses, dogs, probably cats and humans!!
 
enfys said:
Oh strewth, I wouldn't have any horses at all in that case then:eek:
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Right, hand 'em back enfys! :D

Controlling breeding has been tried loads before. You can buy semen off the internet without much of a to-do if you've got some capital. I think if you are breeding then you need to be treated like a stockman/farmer and need to be paying up. Now, any old mare can be put to the local stallion just for chits and giggles.

It needs policing - that will COST. Taxpayers won't like horse-tax and so it brings us all neatly back to taxing (the £££ license) horse owners to pay for it.

So much goes on behind closed doors that I doubt it'll ever reach the core of the problems. I don't mind a tax though if it stops the current situation - owners working together n all that... yeah right.
 
Kokopelli said:
But the people who mean well but haven't got a clue would learn :)
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They do anyway.
not everyone is lucky enough to be born into a horsey family,and those without parents to teach them tend to make very good use of their riding schools.

Two topics that come up quite a lot on here are rants about bad owners and threads slagging off the local riding schools.
It is often said that the only way to learn is to own a horse....see where this is going? ;)
We need more good quality riding schools with livery options to teach people how to ride and care for their horses then help them in the first steps of horse ownership.


Kokopelli said:
But obviously the idiots who purposfully harm the horses or who couldn't care less about them are still around and there isn't much you can do about them :(
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Not untill they have done some damage :(
 
tallyho! said:
Right, hand 'em back enfys! :D

.
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Gerrof! They're mine!:D;)

Would BHSAI count instead of whatever it was that was mentioned? Mine is useless (and worth diddly squat in Canada anyway) it was still PTT and HM way back then:eek: I haven't used it since I did it about 25 years ago. Actually, I think experience is of far greater value than a bit of paper, but not so easy to prove.

You all know I breed, but I only breed from registered mares to a licensed and dual registered stallion, he's AQHA and also listed and approved with the APHA.
 
in that case enfys, i would probably think of you as one of the more responsible breeders anyway, i don't see why it should cost a huge amount and bring on a horse-tax etc. why couldnt the breed societies oversee licensing of breeders within that breed for a start, stallions have to be licensed now, so it's only one step further surely, they could enforce a maximum amount of coverings per year and the owners of the mares in question would have to submit forms to the society too, with the passports already in place it would be difficult to register a foal without all the paperwork in place, i realise thats only the tip of the iceburg but it has to start somewhere..
 
Ah but is it really the true breeds that are the main problem? As far as I can see 'proper' breeders are doing a good job all by themselves.

The ones that end up somewhere nasty are usually preloved/unloved and can't-affords that are mixedbreds or they come from dealers and also, plenty of native types... I think...
 
Don't want to see it. You don't need a license to have children...and look how these wild brats effect all our lives. You don't need a license to buy beer and wine...just proof you're old enough.
 
Hmm, don't even get me started on whether some people should be allowed to breed!!! I appreciate what you say about some breed societies being responsible, but are they really? sorry i didnt make it clear but i was thinking more along the lines of the welsh breeds & gypsy cobs etc - perhaps if there were limits on how many coverings each stallion could 'perform' a year etc, then for example you wouldnt get goodness knows how many mares being taken to a particular stallion because he's won a few good classes this year, and then next year their all rushing their mares to some other stallion who's winning well
 
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