BHS_Lee
Active Member
Hello everyone
I've just walked in but I thought that, as this has been such an internet phenomenon (!), I ought to take a few minutes to thank you guys for all of your support and enthusiasm.
Firstly and most importantly, the horses are safely tucked up for the night in luxury. They travelled well and are being extremely well looked after. I'm not going to say any more about them as everything is still ongoing but I can promise you that they are safe tonight and couldn't be getting any better care. Please please, anybody who has any idea where they might be, don't post it on here, their location should remain secret for their sake.
Secondly thank you to everyone who has been involved - from the many HHO members (especially those who turned up, it was good to meet you all!), to the vet, the police, the RSPCA and my own BHS Welfare Officers. I'm not going to name any names but everyone has been brilliant.
Thank you for all of the kind words that have been written about the BHS on here today - it really is great and helps us to keep going. Thank you especially to those of you who have very kindly and generously donated - as a charity, money is always tight and every penny is vital and I promise you will be well spent.
If anyone here is pleased with what the BHS has done today we really would be grateful if you would consider joining us. It is thanks to our members that we are able to do what we do. If we had more members we could do even more! It isn't just about the individual welfare cases though (as important as they are). When we are doing our campaiging and lobbying to get things changed (and let's face it, lots needs changing!), it really helps us when we can say that we have 71,000 members. It really boosts our arguments and makes people listen. Imagine how much more we could achieve if we could say we had 100,000 members, or even more. The most important thing today is that the horses are safe and well but it would be a fantastic side benefit if we have raised awareness about what the BHS actually can do. If we have more members we will do more. It isn't just about the insurance (great though that is!).
Anyway, excuse the blatant plug but if anybody would be interested in joining - www.bhs.org.uk
To those of you who are already members - THANK YOU for your support. We appreciate it hugely and it is you that has enabled us to help these horses today and countless others before them.
The other thing I wanted to do was stick up a little bit for some of the other organisations who may have come in for a bit of stick today! No organisation is perfect and all of us have to operate within the law. Sometimes that means our hands are tied and we're very restricted in what we can do. We all do our best but we all have limited resources - particularly during a recession.
I genuinely think things are improving and we all work together very well - we, for example, work very closely with WHW, RSPCA, Redwings, the Horse Trust, Blue Cross, the Donkey Sanctuary and others (if I have left anybody out it isn't intentional!). Everyone does their bit and everyone makes a difference. You guys may or may not know about NEWC (National Equine Welfare Council) but you can be sure that every member of NEWC (www.newc.co.uk) is working hard on their own, and in conjunction with others, to improve things for horses, ponies and donkeys. The sad thing is that there is so much work that needs to be done.
Today we worked very closely with the RSPCA and their inspectors were brilliant. They will be investigating the case further so please don't everybody write them off!
Have I broken the record for the longest post ever? Thank you again to everyone for their help and support. I will be on the stand at Burghley on Sat and Sun so please come and say hello - it would be nice to meet some more HHOers (I do keep an eye on the forum!)
Right, that's finally it. Time for a drink! Excuse any mistakes in this - I'm too exhausted to type!
Lee
I've just walked in but I thought that, as this has been such an internet phenomenon (!), I ought to take a few minutes to thank you guys for all of your support and enthusiasm.
Firstly and most importantly, the horses are safely tucked up for the night in luxury. They travelled well and are being extremely well looked after. I'm not going to say any more about them as everything is still ongoing but I can promise you that they are safe tonight and couldn't be getting any better care. Please please, anybody who has any idea where they might be, don't post it on here, their location should remain secret for their sake.
Secondly thank you to everyone who has been involved - from the many HHO members (especially those who turned up, it was good to meet you all!), to the vet, the police, the RSPCA and my own BHS Welfare Officers. I'm not going to name any names but everyone has been brilliant.
Thank you for all of the kind words that have been written about the BHS on here today - it really is great and helps us to keep going. Thank you especially to those of you who have very kindly and generously donated - as a charity, money is always tight and every penny is vital and I promise you will be well spent.
If anyone here is pleased with what the BHS has done today we really would be grateful if you would consider joining us. It is thanks to our members that we are able to do what we do. If we had more members we could do even more! It isn't just about the individual welfare cases though (as important as they are). When we are doing our campaiging and lobbying to get things changed (and let's face it, lots needs changing!), it really helps us when we can say that we have 71,000 members. It really boosts our arguments and makes people listen. Imagine how much more we could achieve if we could say we had 100,000 members, or even more. The most important thing today is that the horses are safe and well but it would be a fantastic side benefit if we have raised awareness about what the BHS actually can do. If we have more members we will do more. It isn't just about the insurance (great though that is!).
Anyway, excuse the blatant plug but if anybody would be interested in joining - www.bhs.org.uk
To those of you who are already members - THANK YOU for your support. We appreciate it hugely and it is you that has enabled us to help these horses today and countless others before them.
The other thing I wanted to do was stick up a little bit for some of the other organisations who may have come in for a bit of stick today! No organisation is perfect and all of us have to operate within the law. Sometimes that means our hands are tied and we're very restricted in what we can do. We all do our best but we all have limited resources - particularly during a recession.
I genuinely think things are improving and we all work together very well - we, for example, work very closely with WHW, RSPCA, Redwings, the Horse Trust, Blue Cross, the Donkey Sanctuary and others (if I have left anybody out it isn't intentional!). Everyone does their bit and everyone makes a difference. You guys may or may not know about NEWC (National Equine Welfare Council) but you can be sure that every member of NEWC (www.newc.co.uk) is working hard on their own, and in conjunction with others, to improve things for horses, ponies and donkeys. The sad thing is that there is so much work that needs to be done.
Today we worked very closely with the RSPCA and their inspectors were brilliant. They will be investigating the case further so please don't everybody write them off!
Have I broken the record for the longest post ever? Thank you again to everyone for their help and support. I will be on the stand at Burghley on Sat and Sun so please come and say hello - it would be nice to meet some more HHOers (I do keep an eye on the forum!)
Right, that's finally it. Time for a drink! Excuse any mistakes in this - I'm too exhausted to type!
Lee
