Police Horses in Malta

ChwaraeTeg

ChwaraeTeg

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Seems to be a piece of investigative footage, looking into the shocking conditions of the mounted police unit.

Translation of the title- Shocking footage showing the state contains the Police Kavallerija

If it's accurate, then the conditions there are disgraceful. :(
 
Hippophilia said:
Grim. I googled it but only a single newspaper article about the conditions came up, and it seemed more outraged at the presence of vermin, rather than the obvious maltreatment of the horses.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/new...s-conditions-of-police-horse-stables-20121010
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Thank-you Beausmate, disgraceful indeed :(

Thanks for finding that, Hippophilia. :( Rats

This was the footnote:

" Animal lovers and animal rights activists will no doubt be taken aback by the shots of two horses, retired due to their age, in visibly unhealthy states. One of them struggles to stand up, but is clearly not being tended to properly: according to TX, mounted police officers have had to be recalled on other pressing duties during the summer days. "

:(
I have been in touch with horse charities before, to ask questions about what I had seen in Malta, but it seems there is no-one out there, except some very caring, dedicated locals who currently have about 18 rescue cases, but I suspect would not tackle the policeforce about this. Even the President has pet ponies shut up in small cages all day and night who do not look too happy.... so who can be approached for help?
:(
 
I lived in Malta for a while, and I was disgusted at the state of some of the horses in Valletta pulling carriages round for tourists, several years ago laws were introduced to force drivers to provide shelter for these horses in the heat of the day, and provide water ect, and for how many trips each horse could do a day, but wether they stick to these rules is another matter. !
Malta has a trotting track, and in the 80's when I visited a riding school near mdina the silent city, the horses were well keept, out at night in in the days heat, lessens were from 7 am to 11. Then again in the evenings. But that is the exception may I add, I have seen other schools, near st Julian's that broke my heart. I have not visited the mounted unit, only saw the horses on the streets, my Maltese friend was a policewoman there in the 80's and said conditions were dire then.
 
Oh dear. I fly to Malta on holiday next week. I will check out horses where I see them and report back. Hope I find some improvement on the above reports! :(
 
ROMANY 1959 said:
I lived in Malta for a while, and I was disgusted at the state of some of the horses in Valletta pulling carriages round for tourists, several years ago laws were introduced to force drivers to provide shelter for these horses in the heat of the day, and provide water ect, and for how many trips each horse could do a day, but wether they stick to these rules is another matter. !
Malta has a trotting track, and in the 80's when I visited a riding school near mdina the silent city, the horses were well kept, out at night in in the days heat, lessens were from 7 am to 11. Then again in the evenings. But that is the exception may I add, I have seen other schools, near st Julian's that broke my heart. I have not visited the mounted unit, only saw the horses on the streets, my Maltese friend was a policewoman there in the 80's and said conditions were dire then.
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Thanks Romany. You are right, the legislation was put in place ...... but the
GOVERNMENT PULLED DOWN THE SHELTERS saying they were an eye-sore !!! :(
Nothing replaced them and a karrozzin horse died last summer while still in harness. :(

THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED. (Those in high office who can but won't help)
When the government itself doesn't care , what on earth can be done. ?
:(
 
Fransurrey said:
Oh dear. I fly to Malta on holiday next week. I will check out horses where I see them and report back. Hope I find some improvement on the above reports! :(
Click to expand...

We have not long returned from Malta Fransurrey, and found that the majority of horses were well cared for. The karrozzin drivers/owners we spoke to are understandably very upset about the lack of shelter, but find their hands are tied by local government rules :(
.
There is ONE horse rescue centre for the whole of Malta , called Funnyfarm, Malta. They made us feel very welcome.
.
You will have a fabulous holiday . We have always found the people there genuinely most warm and friendly.
:)
 
As a regular holiday visitor to Malta, I've found that most horses are well cared for. They generally look leaner than our UK horses due to the lack of grazing and being reliant on hard food and hay/alfalfa but very few actually look ribby and I don't recall any with open wounds/sores. Given their generally good condition it certainly looks like their nutritional needs are balancing the workload. Yes they work hard at times, but I do see many snoozing in harness between jobs, with drivers having pulled them into shady areas or under the provided shelters (where these are still available). Pretty much all are shod with rubber shoes due to the amount of roadwork - this is principally to preserve the old stone streets but also probably provides some shock absorbing to the hooves and legs.

As for the state of these stables - the ones at the farm I keep mine on are little better with cracks in the walls, worn paintwork etc - and .... yes... there are rats on the farm. Pretty much to be expected I think. Vermin? Maybe but they don't bother me particularly, they are just animals trying to survive.The farmer puts bait out to keep the numbers down but it is unrealistic to expect to eradicate them completely from farm and stable environments.
 
I too have visited Malta many times and always found that the horses look well cared for and it is obvious that their owners care about them.

The footage of the thin horse horse trying to stand up is just awful, but that is just one horse. They didn't really show the other horses so it is difficult to tell what condition they were in. Maybe that horse had something seriously wrong with it?
 
CobsGalore said:
The footage of the thin horse horse trying to stand up is just awful, but that is just one horse. They didn't really show the other horses so it is difficult to tell what condition they were in. Maybe that horse had something seriously wrong with it?
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Did we all look at the same footage? I saw a few horses shown.
 
I saw lots that worried me about the health and welfare of the staff but surely horses don't care if the drain cover is damaged, the hob and toilets are dirty and the yards not very well swept.

The film looked very like someone sneaking in with a video camera uninvited. And yes i agree the bay who struggles the stand is in a horrendous condition. But how do we know that's because it's being mistreated? Could it not be loved but seriously ill? Would everyone here PTS a horse in that condition even if it had a chance of recovering? I think all the shots of a very underweight horse were that same animal.

There is also a grey who's a few weeks past due to see the farrier. And rats, which I think are unfortunately inevitable on farms in hot countries.
 
To finally put this to bed so to speak....

I did type out a full response about 3 months ago but the computer lost it :mad:

I now reside in Malta - 26 years old - been here for 18 months now :cool::D

This Police horses video - is true - the Government/Police are saying it was due to the horses in question who were skinny and weak having illnesses and this has now been resolved...
The video was aimed at getting them better facilities and vermin control due to the amount of rats...

This in itself angers me...more than you can ever imagine!!!!!

I don't care when this happened - it happened - and someone needs to be responsible...currently it has been swept under the carpet and people have forgot about it..

As I'm sure you all saw these horses were inside in stables with minimal bedding, no way to socialise with others and the worst....only a small vent for air or light.

They are prison cells for horses :(

Yet they have a big - by Maltese standards - field that they can let them out in everyday if they wanted to...yet they seem to leave them inside 24 7?!

There is only one rescue centre for horses in malta - the Funny Farm - they receive NO funding from the Government and rely totally on help and money from Maltese people...

I was shocked how horses are kept here....no fields...only fed twice a day...bad shoeing....bad handling and just generally a lack of understanding of horses!!!

Twice a day you say - thats not bad - well it is...
Im sure your horse is out on grass for at least 6 hours a day - we have no grass :(
So dumping some hay and hard feed on the floor twice a day which will last for max an hour is not enough...
Also alot of horses die from colic here due to that reason :(

However....I now have a horse here - if you check my threads out there is a post about it and his life now :D

Horses are mainly used for racing both on and off the track - yes horses are galloped flat out/trotted flat out on the roads here and even when its on the race track in Marsa the ground is crappy due to the sulkies - carriage things behind them
This is not the raceowners fault - it again is the Government...who is happy to donate to sports programmes but ignore the racers...

Then there are the carriage drivers in the tourist areas - again they are maintaining a fine balance between health and money earnt...
The only horses with rubber shoes are the carriage drivers in Mdina - the rest wear normal metal shoes.
The shelter was built in Valetta but they did not listen to the carriage drivers and built it in totally the wrong place - away from all their business...the tourists!!
So what do they do - have no work and therefore no money and then cant afford to look after their horse and then become bad people?
Or dont use the shade and be branded bad for that too?

All the carriage drivers I know always look and know of places to park their horses in the shade and also carry a barrel of fresh water for their horses :)

The shelter is still up and is being used for people to park their cars under :rolleyes:

I am having a meeting with a TV presenter next week to see how she can help - as 10-15k last year was donated to sancturies but The Funny Farm didn't see a penny! :eek::mad::mad:

I am also in the process of doing a YouTube channel and promoting it over here to try and help awareness, education and the well being of horses!
Also to show the bad things - which people will not like but do i give a ... :p

Even the horses that are looked after pyhsically are not helped mentally...

Most horses only ever leave their (If they are lucky) 10 x 10ft stable to go to either the same size paddock or to be exercised/trained :(

Any questions please feel free to ask....as this was not as detailed as my original reply :(
 
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