A message from horse trust, please read

the breeders of unwanted shetlands, new forests which are unhandled, unwanted, not valuable have to ask themselves why they put the mares in foal or people with 'problem' mares who see having a foal as an outlet for her to solve their issues again think about why they are doing it.

I have the most amazingly NF pony and it makes me so sad to think that his brothers and sisters or children could end up at a place like Amersham. He is a gelding now but ran as a stallions on the forest for a bit before I had him. The semi feral ponies of GB with the right handling make such great ponies for adults and children that we should not give up on them before they have been even given a chance to prove themselves. We have so many great horses and ponies here yet people are still fueling the demand for cheap imports from overseas from dealers whilst our native ponies end up going for meat.

The demand for bargain horses encourages dealers to buy lots of cheap horses with problems or unschooled youngsters and then sell them on to unsuspecting homes and fueling the cycle of unwanted horses.

I know this may be controversial but if we all stopped looking for bargains and were willing to pay more and be more careful in our horse purchases then we might find horses changing hands less. Sadly on this forum there seems to be alot of people saying they are going to sell their horse cos it is unsuitable or looking for very cheap horses.

A well schooled or handled healthy pony or horse is unlikely to be a bargain because of the amount of work it takes to produce them.

I think as buyers and sellers of horses we need to take more responsibilty to make sure that our horses end up in the right home.

Would n't it be wonderful if everyone on the forum donated a little to help the horses, hopefully most people can spare at least £5.
 
Frances and I were "gifted" a poor specimen of a horse a few years back, the owner said as she was getting married she didn't have the time for him.

We took him and had him PTS as he wass suffering.

On the grapevine we heard that the reason she gave him to us is she didn't have the courage to do the decent thing and she knew we would.
 
Frances and I were "gifted" a poor specimen of a horse a few years back, the owner said as she was getting married she didn't have the time for him.

We took him and had him PTS as he wass suffering.

On the grapevine we heard that the reason she gave him to us is she didn't have the courage to do the decent thing and she knew we would.
Words fail me!!!!!!!!
 
This person has another horse now! I wonder who she will get to do the messy part of horse ownership next time.
 
We bought two donkeys at southall market - our charity does a lot of market visits to check on conditions and complain about things. There were two donkeys going for meat, both were in poor condition. We brought them to the sanctuary and one died within 2 days despite a lot of veterinary care - animals in this condition should not be at markets, the poor thing had a dreadful few final days, being carted around the country, going through rings, while feeling really ill.

We took in a horse from someone who had fallen ill and had no one to look after it - the horse was in a very bad way by that time. We had to have it pts two weeks later as it just was too far gone. Cost us a fortune.

We get so many people who have an 18 or 20 yo that has been their 'good friend' but they want to keep riding, and they want a replacement but cannot afford two. So the old one has to go. Usually we can't take them so who knows where they end up.

We struggle to keep horses as well as a good private home could - we have more than 80 this winter and very few staff on site per day! Some days two people have 40 stables to muck out each day. It is depressing also when our loan horses start coming back in october as people don't want to winter them.

I agree with the previous comment about looking for cheap horses and not being prepared to pay a price that reflects the work involved in producing a sound and safe horse. I fostered two of the sanctuary's youngsters - from 18 months till they were four, when they went for started at a professional trainer (cost £500 each) and were rehomed from the yard they were broken in - they are still, 10 years later, in the same homes. They had a very poor start to life, but at least they were then handled consistently, fed well broken sympathetically and kindly, and went on to be good riding horses with no vices and good attitudes to work and people. I hate to think how much it cost me to produce them but their market value in no way would have reflected these costs - even if they had been for sale.
 
Surely the mart should have been brought to book for offering ill animals for sale?
 
They were complained to but nothing done. It is considered one of the better markets as you can buy a cup of tea there and the toilets are ok - i am sure that makes the horses feel a lot better.

The RSPCA were there but didn't intervene.
 
I am old enough and bold enough that I offer quite blatantly to take care of the messy part of it all for people with animals which they "love" in a sentimental fashion, but not with a love strong enough to overcome squeamishness or embarrassment.

Sometimes it only involves a chat to vet or farrier "um, four litters last year ... maybe five. Yes that's why she's scrawny and I think she's got pyometria ..." or "no, the shoes have apparently been on since the SPRING half-term, not the October one ..."

Sometimes a visit with a greater degree of finality has to be organised.

Very often they are very grateful, albeit embarrassed to the extent that they won't speak to me afterwards for weeks or months.

Doesn't do any good for the poor creatures under the dominion of the sub-species of human with no conscience, though.
 
Rest assured that no charities are forgotten, i also support the charity that tiggerthepony is involved in, and at time like this the charities all pull together behind the scenes. we just dont always know about it.
 
With few exceptions a domestic animals life is shorter than homo sapiens. Therefore the owner WILL have to make the final decision. If you are not willing to take responsibility for the end then don't take on the animal! No arguments or question. I hate it but I will do it, be it a vet job or wringing a chickens neck! Nobody has to take on the responsibility of animals, therefore NOBODY has the right to neglect them! End of lecture. Yes I will do something in case of ill treatment and, years ago, a close relative of mine broke a car window to get air to a very hot dog shut inside whilst it's caring owners were shopping!!!
 
When we marched in and acted we have had nothing but ridicule as being trouble makers!

The repercussions are huge.
 
it hasnt started yet, part 2... a plan to organise sponsered rides
through towns (with the permission and support of police ect) its not just about the donations to the charities but about the fact the chances are this guy could walk away free and further more may get some of the horses back, this is the harsh reality, and theres alot of us about to stand up and fight, ive personally put a huge amout of time into this and i will do what ever it takes to make enough noise so that things do change, all i want is the nation behind us, no point in talking about it we need to act.
 
thankyou, even my hubby cannot belive my devotion to this, or the amount of time ive put to it... 3am i got to bed!
 
aw bless! you must get some sleep tho ;) Anyway what i just wanted to say was we must keep on going, mustn't forget once the news slips from our minds, too often people get compassion fatigue...which is sadly understandable considering the world we live in. I hope this stays at the forefront of people's minds and you are helping in a huge way - all i can do is donate money, unless there's anything else i can do? PM me if there is :) xx
 
good morning! this morning i shall be contacting my local papers, radio stations and news stations... horses done, shall go to work at some point, am going to flatter my boss and try and get a nice donation from him! it is taking a lot of my time up but without people like me and the others this will be out of the public eye... there is a big feture being run on it in this weeks horses and hound, depending on what area you are in (r u in the uk?) theres collection points all over the uk.
 
Hullo! Hope you got some sleep! Yes i'm in the UK, Leeds West Yorkshire....*makes note to buy H&H* ! I work for a charity myself so can't get a donation there, but am going to take a load of old dvd's and ask for a donation and see what happens. Don't have my own horse, so don't have any 'stuff' to donate, would if i could!
 
they are also needing feed and vet goods such as purple spray ect, even 1 bottle will help, have a look on the forums of horse and hound in the new lounge theres a sticky with who to contact for each area.

is it a horseie charity you work for?
 
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