OK folks: Redwings is officially full

[SusannaF]

The Independent on Sunday had a long report on the number of horses being abandoned.

Redwings – Britain's biggest charity for abandoned horses – says the situation has reached breaking point. It has seen the number of cases soar from 160 horses in 2009 to 450 last year. So far this month it has taken in up to 10 a day. The charity, which can house 1,200 animals, is now full.
...
Nicola Markwell, Redwings' communications manager, said yesterday: "Our latest rescues have involved 19 horses dumped on Bodmin Moor and another left in a colliery in Wakefield. We can't take any more. But some people have taken down our fences and put their horses inside, hoping we won't notice."

So, what is going to happen now? If Redwings are feeling the pinch, plenty of other charities will be too. What's the most sustainable course of action? Raising more funds for charities? Hoping that there's been a breeding slowdown and we're over the worst of the hump? Looking for government action? Building more abattoirs?

 

[Kat]

Humane destruction has to be part of the answer. If horses can't be regimes then the charties only have so much space.

 

[stencilface]

People breaking down fences and hoping they won't notice - mental!

 

[tallyho!]

How sad...

I'm afraid I don't know what to think. Part of me says some have to be humanely destroyed, and another part of me thinks we can ride this out...

 

[touchstone]

Humane destruction has to be part of the answer. If horses can't be regimes then the charties only have so much space.

This ^^. Sadly if there were more responsible owners who would make the final decision instead of dumping horses on charities or loaning/gifting to unsuitable homes, then the problems would be far fewer.

 

[joeanne]

How sad...

I'm afraid I don't know what to think. Part of me says some have to be humanely destroyed, and another part of me thinks we can ride this out...

Until the people who throw sub standard mares in with the first coloured stallion they can find STOP churning out these unwanted, badly put together animals, humane destruction is the ONLY way forward.
When nicely put together animals who have a useful life are ending up in the countrys rehoming centres, it tells you something!
Its time these "breeders" were held accountable.....

 

[scrunchie]

I guess the only answer is to PTS the ones with the most health problems and behaviour problems and try to rehome the rest. It's an incredibly sad situation

 

[poacher82]

Whilst Redwings undoubtedly does great work, I'm afraid I can't help thinking they don't help themselves as they do not ever rehome anything, everything they take in has a 'home for life'.

That means something handed in as a healthy 3yo when the owner runs out of money/dies/something stays there for ever, never doing a job its whole life. Not only seems a huge waste of a horse, but builds up a huge stockpile of very expensive lawnmowers at the charity's farms.

Horrible as it is, I agree with above posters that humane destruction may have to come into it at some point. I believe Battersea etc have to sometimes, and realistically it's the same concept whether it's a horse/dog/cat - running out of space/funds for rescued animals.

 

[Super_Kat]

Agree with the humane destruction route.

 

[Niddlynoo]

Redwings in Nazeing do have a rehoming policy - but whenever I go on it there is rarely anything available. When they were Ada Cole (before merger with Redwings) they rehomed a large number of their horses. I had three from them, two ponies for my daughters (one was too much for my girls and the other was with us until she died) and I had probably my best ever horse from them for myself to ride. Ok he had issues with arthritis and I was told to start him on bute when necessary and adjust his workload accordingly. I had him for three/four years until he was on top level of bute and had to be returned (part of the loan agreement) where they had him PTS when there was nothing more to be done. Surely, if they 'advertised' the horses/ponies that could be potentially worked in the right home, they could find a few a happy useful life? I know I would definately be in the market for the right one!

 

[SonnysHumanSlave]

Good job redwings have just bought another 100 acre site then.

Just wanted to Add: Blue cross were on TV this morning and they are also full.

 

[Rowreach]

I firmly believe in culling. Not necessarily the better quality, healthier animals, but certainly the weaker, older, non-rehomable ones. There was a bit on Countryfile a few weeks ago about one of the Spindles Farm horses at a centre. He had recurrent colic and the vet was out to scope him. They said he would never be able to be rehomed/ridden because of his health issues. I think far too many horses are brought back from the brink to face a future of persistent health problems (not fun for a horse to have recurring colic), which in their turn cost these charities a fortune in specialist care and veterinary fees. Ridiculous.

 

[Chestnut mare]

I'm a vet nurse and we work with a local rescue centre! We are putting to sleep at least 2 Staffordshire bull terriers a day! But yet people still continue to breed them! It's extremely sad! But on the other hand what life is it in a kennel for the rest of it's life! Sorry off subject! I think with horses the current climate people can't afford to keep there horses, you can't really sell, there are so many available for loan! I work 2 jobs to keep my horse- it is such a struggle!

 

[SonnysHumanSlave]

Whilst Redwings undoubtedly does great work, I'm afraid I can't help thinking they don't help themselves as they do not ever rehome anything, everything they take in has a 'home for life'.
.

Redwings does re-home, they break and move on horses. They say home for life as it is a pernament loan basis, the horse cannot be sold on from the loaner.

 

[Archangel]

I firmly believe in culling. Not necessarily the better quality, healthier animals, but certainly the weaker, older, non-rehomable ones. There was a bit on Countryfile a few weeks ago about one of the Spindles Farm horses at a centre. He had recurrent colic and the vet was out to scope him. They said he would never be able to be rehomed/ridden because of his health issues. I think far too many horses are brought back from the brink to face a future of persistent health problems (not fun for a horse to have recurring colic), which in their turn cost these charities a fortune in specialist care and veterinary fees. Ridiculous.

Hear, Hear Rowreach. I watched some rescue centre on the freeview channel and had to switch off I was getting so cross. I bet the vets at these places laugh all the way to the bank

 

[Cuffey]

Redwings definitely rehome, the problem may be how many do have the possibility of a useful life. They are often in a pretty bad state to justify being removed.

http://www.redwings.org.uk/rehoming/

 

[ThePony]

I agree with many of the above posters - sometimes keeping a horse alive, especially one with reoccurent health problems is no kindness. Unpalatable as it may be, it would be a move in the right direction to PTS those with lasting health problems, and therefore enable them to bring through more horses to rehab and then rehome them, ablit on a loan basis to ensure the horse never ends up 'needing' a charity place again.

Other than that, people just must stop breeding!!! A mare needing time off in a field does not make a good broodmare! I honestly belive that stallion owners must be licensed, and those trying to offer the services of a poor quality stallion should be encoraged/made to geld them. Putting a mediocre mare to a cheap and poor stallion will never breed a gem!!!

 

[Luci07]

I'm a vet nurse and we work with a local rescue centre! We are putting to sleep at least 2 Staffordshire bull terriers a day! But yet people still continue to breed them! It's extremely sad! But on the other hand what life is it in a kennel for the rest of it's life! Sorry off subject! I think with horses the current climate people can't afford to keep there horses, you can't really sell, there are so many available for loan! I work 2 jobs to keep my horse- it is such a struggle!

Off topic but as a staffie fan with three of my own this is heartbreaking for me. The national figures are more like 100 a day...

 

[noodle_]

Humane destruction has to be part of the answer. If horses can't be regimes then the charties only have so much space.

this im afraid

 

[SusannaF]

Whilst Redwings undoubtedly does great work, I'm afraid I can't help thinking they don't help themselves as they do not ever rehome anything, everything they take in has a 'home for life'.

That means something handed in as a healthy 3yo when the owner runs out of money/dies/something stays there for ever, never doing a job its whole life. Not only seems a huge waste of a horse, but builds up a huge stockpile of very expensive lawnmowers at the charity's farms.

Not true! They adopt out horses. It's many many moons since they had that old policy. Total change of personnel since then.

 

[SusannaF]

I firmly believe in culling. Not necessarily the better quality, healthier animals, but certainly the weaker, older, non-rehomable ones. There was a bit on Countryfile a few weeks ago about one of the Spindles Farm horses at a centre. He had recurrent colic and the vet was out to scope him. They said he would never be able to be rehomed/ridden because of his health issues. I think far too many horses are brought back from the brink to face a future of persistent health problems (not fun for a horse to have recurring colic), which in their turn cost these charities a fortune in specialist care and veterinary fees. Ridiculous.

Do you think people would still donate to them if they did PTS more often?

I'm not stirring here, just genuinely asking. Because I have a feeling that nowadays most donors think it's better to keep a poorly horse well-vetted for the rest of its life than to put it down. Am thinking of the response to this story:

http://susannaforrest.wordpress.com/2011/07/09/the-price-of-cuteness/

And also to revelations that PETA kills large numbers of animals in its shelters.

Ada Cole built a horse abattoir in Lincolnshire with donated money in the 1920s. I think it's unlikely that that would happen now.

 

[Rowreach]

Do you think people would still donate to them if they did PTS more often?

I'm not stirring here, just genuinely asking. .

Good question, and my genuine, heartfelt answer is that I would give to these charities IF they adopted this policy and used more of their resources for educating people about horse welfare - by which I mean indiscriminate breeding, keeping horses as if they were farm animals (no, you can't just stick 100 horses in a field and expect them to manage), and the numbers of people nowadays who become horseowners because they can afford to, or have wanted to since they were children, without any background knowledge whatsoever, and then it all falls apart and they can't cope.

I get really furious when I see these reports of horses being abandoned or discovered in appalling conditions, and the charities appeal for donations/feed/rugs etc - and I am angry not only for the ****holes who caused the suffering, but also for the charities for prolonging it for many of these animals.

The last time I was at our local horse sales (about which I could tell you some real horror stories) someone said to me "don't you wish you could take them all home with you?" I looked at her as if she was mad and replied "No, I wish I could get a vet here and put a lot of them out of their misery."

I firmly believe education is the way forward, not keeping alive horses for whom there is likely to be no viable future.

 

[MagicMelon]

Whilst Redwings undoubtedly does great work, I'm afraid I can't help thinking they don't help themselves as they do not ever rehome anything, everything they take in has a 'home for life'.

That means something handed in as a healthy 3yo when the owner runs out of money/dies/something stays there for ever, never doing a job its whole life. Not only seems a huge waste of a horse, but builds up a huge stockpile of very expensive lawnmowers at the charity's farms.

That's my thoughts too. Why cant they be more like the ILPH who do make an effort to rehome. Even if some aren't rideable, they could go as companions. I didnt even know they DID do rehoming until I read other posts saying that they do but it seems to be minimal, why dont they put more effort into it and advertise the horses up for rehoming on their website / in magazines etc.?

 

[Ladyinred]

Whilst Redwings undoubtedly does great work, I'm afraid I can't help thinking they don't help themselves as they do not ever rehome anything, everything they take in has a 'home for life'.

That means something handed in as a healthy 3yo when the owner runs out of money/dies/something stays there for ever, never doing a job its whole life. Not only seems a huge waste of a horse, but builds up a huge stockpile of very expensive lawnmowers at the charity's farms.

Horrible as it is, I agree with above posters that humane destruction may have to come into it at some point. I believe Battersea etc have to sometimes, and realistically it's the same concept whether it's a horse/dog/cat - running out of space/funds for rescued animals.

I believe this has recently changed and they do now rehome. The original no rehoming policy was the decision of Redwings founder, Wendy Valentine, who is no longer connected with them.

 

[poacher82]

That's my thoughts too. Why cant they be more like the ILPH who do make an effort to rehome. Even if some aren't rideable, they could go as companions. I didnt even know they DID do rehoming until I read other posts saying that they do but it seems to be minimal, why dont they put more effort into it and advertise the horses up for rehoming on their website / in magazines etc.?

To those who posted saying Redwings do now rehome, I stand corrected, thanks!

But Totally agree with MagicMelon, they really do need to do more marketing on the subject in that case. MM and I can't be the only two people out there who have totally missed this huge policy change. In fact, I can't remember reading anything much about redwings since my Horse & Pony Magazine days. Suppose marketing costs money though, so all a bit chicken and egg for them. Not a job I envy!

 

[guesstimation]

Redwings do re-home horses and ponies, however it is quite new for them to do this in comparasion to other organisations, they never used to. I am glad they do now, it's definitely the way to go for ensuring more room and enabling horses that are able to to go to good homes. Thing is just because they do rehome doesn't mean they can then take on another pony in it's place as there are always horses and ponies then coming back from loan homes - in particular if they are ponies! At the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre this is one of the reasons we have had to stop taking in the ponies, we have about 50 out in permanent loan homes and if we had a sudden surge of ponies coming back, which can happen and has happened, we need to ensure we have the land to cope with them. Something we are looking in to at the moment is when a pony has been in a home for a good few years and we are happy we might consider passing ownership on, we would still be there though if the owner ever wanted to return the pony to us. It's hard working out a way that you can still help but that won't risk pony welfare for the ones you take on yourself!

Redwings does amazing work with unhandled ponies and round ups of feral herds.

Something else on Dartmoor for example which can be donated to is the contraceptive scheme run by the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony, and there are schemes for vasectomies by Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust going on too and having trialing having geldings out. All this costs money to do but could result in less unwanted ponies at the end of the day and I think therefore well worthwhile. I would love to see castration schemes set up nationwide, obviously people aren't all going to do it but if it was offered cheaper through a chairty or something it might encourage some people to castrate who otherwise wouldn't, there are many horses born just out of general ignorance or people thinking they can't afford to get it done (in which case they probably shouldn't have the horse but sadly the world doesn't work like that!)

 

[olop]

A couple of years ago we were looking for a horse for my husband as we had just lost our mare & wanted he wanted something to keep him busy again.
None of the charities bothered getting back to us & we were willing to take anything.
I think they seriously need to think about finding homes for the majority of there horses, there are plenty of people willing out there to re-home & the ones that really are nut jobs or have seriously health issues I think should be put to sleep.
Its so sad but sometimes but I wonder if they help themselves in these situations.

 

[FairyLights]

If all breeders whether they breed one foal or one hundred had to pay a yearly fee of £100 per foal to the local council then many would think twice. near to me there are several herds of piebald cobs. some are rather nice TBH but they just churn out foals year in year out. the market os flat yet the breeders arnt H&H reader or mainstream horey folk they just like to breed them and send them to market in the autunm like cattle. theres no tetanus vaccs or handling. i've poken in passing to a couple of the breeder and they are just so removed from reality. no amount of info in the equine press will reach them. they need to be hit hard in the pocket for there to be ay change. same goes for the welsh ponies and darmoor hill ponie. the more that are "rescued" the worse it becomes because the breeds get rid. they then breed more in the hope the market will pick up next year. its very frustrating.

 

[Footlights]

I am in the process of looking for a rescue horse myself. I went on their website and found out they only rehome in a select few counties. I am not far from the counties they list, but somehow I cannot help one of their horses in need? This seems a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

 

[guesstimation]

I am in the process of looking for a rescue horse myself. I went on their website and found out they only rehome in a select few counties. I am not far from the counties they list, but somehow I cannot help one of their horses in need? This seems a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

It is tough but unfortunately it's a question of manpower and finances. The Dartmoor Pony Training Centre only home in the Devon area, we may stretch further afield now and then in certain circumstances. We would absolutely love to re-home nationwide and we have lots of enquiries but it would be very irresponsible of us to re-home a pony without the relevant home checks being done, also people who live far away often just want the pony without even meeting it! And they also then want us to transport it or if they can transport it we then have the risk of them suddenly changing their minds and us being stuck with trying to find the finances and man power to bring them home again.

It is an option to have field officers for the bigger charities but the smaller ones just can't do that.