Highlighting Issues Around Horse Welfare

As an ethical insurance company, the welfare of horses is an issue about which Animal Friends Equine is passionate. Some of the horrific stories about the mistreatment of horses and ponies are not even heard.

With so many cases of cruelty, neglect or abuse, it is important that people know how to provide best possible horse care, and that they appreciate the outstanding work that so many fabulous horse charities do in order to save these beautiful creatures from sometimes horrendous conditions.

One horrific story of neglect and abuse in 2008 has been well-reported in equine news with the trail being followed closely by the media. Spindles Farm in Amersham in Buckinghamshire was found to have horrific scenes of neglect, and many deaths had already occurred by the time the RSPCA and vets had stepped in to help these poor animals.

Not only were the majority of the horses at this farm - some of which had been bought for as little as £1 - seriously emaciated and dirty, but there were cases where they were too weak to even stand on their own feet. Horrifically, out of over one hundred horses that were being neglected here, four of them were so severely unwell that they had to be put down on the spot to keep them from any more pain and suffering. There were also mounds of bones and hooves from horses that were already dead when the RSPCA arrived, and rotting corpses were found penned in the same enclosures as some of the horses.

Thankfully, however, many of these horses were rescued and were able to live out the rest of their lives in retirement, where they could be treated with the respect and kindness that they deserved.

There is hope that occurances like this can be eliminated, and World Horse Welfare is aiming to do just that. By enlisting the support of Alex Hua Tian, the charity has launched its "Hands On" campaign which sheds light on some of the horrific horse welfare stories around in order to educate. With t-shirts on sale in order to spread the word, we can see hope for some of the horses that aren't being treated correctly, as horse charities try their utmost to save as many as they possibly can.