A campaign to have horse owners think about end-of-life decisions for their equine companions has been launched by British-based charity World Horse Welfare.
 World Horse Welfare is urging owners to think about end-of-life decisions for their horses. |
The charity has called its new initiative Just in Case, and says it centres around encouraging owners to make a plan for that final decision well in advance of needing it.
Just in Case manager Samantha Lewis says the idea of the campaign is to get people talking about the difficult subject of having their horse put to sleep.
"We want to make it OK to think about the options available as well as any legal restrictions and other important details. It can be quite an eye-opener when you start looking at costs involved. It's a tough subject for owners to think about at any stage, but leaving it until there is a distressing situation to deal with will only make it harder."
Lewis said it was a subject people tended to think about only if their horse was elderly or ill.
The charity wants owners to start thinking about it as soon as they take on a horse, regardless of its age or health.
Chief field officer David Boyd said: "Our team of field officers deal with hundreds of welfare problems every year. Many of these will be horses which have been sold on and ended up in a downward spiral or their owners are struggling to make that final decision.
"This is one of the most difficult things that we as horse owners have to do and it's generally the last thing we think about.
"If this initiative can encourage everyone to plan ahead, hopefully we can help owners preserve the dignity of their horses and stop some of these welfare cases from ever happening."
The campaign was launched on Wednesday at the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress.
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