British horse owners are being urged to think twice before taking on too many animals, after a charity's field officers reported unprecedented numbers of welfare cases involving large groups of horses.
 A horse at the centre of a welfare case late last year. © World Horse Welfare |
World Horse Welfare said its field officers have recently been involved in several welfare investigations where horse owners have had a group of horses with numbers ranging from six to 150.
It says there have been seven instances in the last month where staff have rescued groups of horses of three or more.
Nearly 20 horses have already come into its care, with another 25 due to arrive in the near future.
"With our centres already at capacity, we are struggling to find space to meet the current demand," the charity's deputy chief executive, Tony Tyler, said.
"We treat each case very seriously and try and work with the owner to resolve the situation, but in some instances the best course of action is to remove a horse or horses from the site if their welfare is compromised."
World Horse Welfare is finding that horses are often bought in the summer months where most do well turned out in a field.
However, when the winter arrives and hay/haylage and concentrate feed needs to be fed, owners simply cannot afford to feed the correct amount required and the condition of the horses deteriorates.
The charity cited a recent case involving chief field officer David Boyd, in which a woman from Lincolnshire, who owns a large group of horses, has appeared in court and is due to be sentenced next month.
In another case, a field officer worked with the RSPCA to remove three horses - Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe - from a field in West Kingsdown, Kent.
They were underweight, covered in lice and riddled with worms.
In this instance the owner could not be found so the horses were rescued and signed over to World Horse Welfare, where it is hoped they will be successfully rehabilitated at its Glenda Spooner Farm in Somerset.
"Owners need to look carefully at how they are going to house their horses during the winter," Boyd said.
 A woman in Scotland was earlier this month banned for life from keeping horses after more than 20 horses were found in conditions described as "dreadful" in 2009.
Horses were struggling to find grass in the puggy (poached) field.
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"A field quickly becomes a quagmire and the horse's health is compromised. If the horse is to be stabled, it's essential that the environment is kept clean and there is space for the horses to have freedom of movement.
"Too many owners cram too many horses into a barn and deep-litter the bed badly, leading to injuries and health issues."
Financial constraints play a part in horse owners having to sell their horses as they can't afford to look after them.
Boyd continues: "Many horse owners are only looking at the purchase price of a horse and are not looking at the real costs of keeping a horse. In some situations horses are being sold very cheaply or even being given away.
"It is time that horse owners, current and potential, started to think carefully about how many horses they can care for correctly before they acquire more horses than they can cope with.
"One thing the field officers hear all the time is that 'we rescued the horse because we felt sorry for it', or 'it looked so sad at the sale'.
"Unfortunately on more occasions than is acceptable the new owners simply find that they cannot cope financially and the horse finds itself neglected as they are just left in a field."
There are also instances when people think it is worth buying horses cheaply as they will be able to make money from them when they come to sell them on. However, the prices of horses are not rising so people continue to collect horses, their herds get larger, and the horses ultimately suffer.
The charity wants people to seriously consider how much it costs to look after a horse.
Boyd says: "Routine maintenance of the horse can all add up, therefore current and potential horse owners need to think about the cost of having the horse's teeth and feet checked, as well as worming. You also never know when something may happen such as accident or illness which can require extra expense."
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