Horsey Talk

RIO 2016

FEI CELEBRATES DRUG FREE GAMES

Denmark's Stinna Tange Kaastrup and Smarties, double bronze medallists Rio 2016 Paralympics, grade 1b (Liz Gregg/FEI)

The FEI is proud to announce that all human and equine samples taken during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have returned negative, making for back-to-back clean Paralympic games for para-equestrian sport, from both London 2012 and Rio 2016.

This follows the recent announcement by the FEI of back-to-back clean Olympic Games for the Rio 2016 and London 2012 Games.

A total of 38 equine samples were taken during the Games and sent for testing at the FEI's Central Laboratory in Newmarket (GBR), one of the five FEI Approved Laboratories worldwide.

Human testing, which is conducted by the IPC during the Paralympic Games, also returned 100% negatives for the equestrian athletes that were sampled.

Six days of top level competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympics saw Team GB continue its unbeaten Paralympic record with another team gold, with members Sophie Christensen (grade 1a) and Natasha Baker (grade II) becoming 2016 triple gold medallists when successfully defending their London 2012 titles.

Belgium's London 2012 champion Michèle George (grade IV) also successfully defended her Individual Freestyle gold, with Ann Cathrin Lübbe (NOR) topping the grade III Individual Championship, and Lee Pearson (GBR) winning yet another Individual Freestyle grade 1b. Sanna Voets (NED), Individual Freestyle grade III, Sophie Wells (GBR), Individual Championship grade IV and Pepo Puch (AUT) Individual Championship grade 1b, all topped the 2016 podium.

The Games also saw Uruguay field a para-equestrian athlete for the first time, and the host nation won bronze in the Individual Freestyle grade 1a with Sergio Olivia, the first Paralympic equestrian medal for Brazil since 2008.

Multi-agency operation to microchip ponies of Bodmin Moor a great success

An ambitious four-day operation (12-17th September 2016), developed by Redwings in collaboration with the Bodmin Moor Commons Council, saw over 160 ponies rounded up for passporting and microchipping.

Led by our Head of Welfare and Behaviour Nic de Brauwere and funded by the Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust, the project involved colleagues from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Bodmin Moor Commons Council, as well as Blue Cross, Bransby Horses, British Horse Society, RSPCA and World Horse Welfare coming together to formally identify the ponies on the Moor in order to secure their future welfare.  

"The fundamental aim of this project," explains Nic, "was to formally identify the ponies of owners who have rights to graze on the Moor through microchipping and issuing passports. This safeguards the future of the ponies both by ensuring all the owners adhere to their responsibilities to their animals' care and by preventing any unscrupulous individuals seeing the Moor as a dumping ground or opportunity to fly-graze their horses."

The plight of the ponies on Bodmin Moor has been well documented; indeed, this operation sees our third visit to the area this year

A lack of formal identification of horses and a lack of enforcement of identification laws has led to ponies being abandoned or illegally grazed. This overcrowding (in particular a high population of stallions), coupled with poor grazing as a result of adverse weather conditions, has made life for the ponies of Bodmin Moor particularly difficult.

The work of the animal welfare charities and Commons Council in helping the horses of Bodmin Moor has also attracted the support of MP for North Cornwall Scott Mann, who has championed the microchipping operation and attended on Thursday 15th September. Scott Mann MP said:

"We had a number of people contact our constituency office with concerns for the ponies on the Moor, particularly during the spring months. I felt the welfare of the ponies was an important issue to take on and so this project was something I was eager to be a part of."

In total, over 160 ponies were rounded up for processing during the operation. Sixteen unclaimed ponies – some of which required urgent veterinary attention and others whose condition was such that they will not survive the winter – were rescued from the Moor and brought back to Redwings. The Mare and Foal Sanctuary and the RSPCA also offered homes to ponies, and pledges for more homes were made by Bransby Horses and Blue Cross.

As well as distinguishing ponies that are legally and illegally grazed, this operation was also designed to assess the health and condition of the ponies. The ponies on the Moor are largely feral and unhandled so all those rounded up received a full health check and worming.

"Without the facilities and handling skills of Redwings and partner welfare organisations we simply wouldn't be able to get close enough to microchip these semi-feral ponies," reflected APHA Veterinary Officer Lorna Stevenson. "The whole operation has been a real pleasure to witness and be part of. It has been carried out in a calm, quiet and professional manner without causing any undue stress to the animals and it has also given us a valuable opportunity to assess the health status of the ponies so we can build a picture of the welfare issues affecting those on the Moor.

"It is also great to see the commoners involved in this operation as ultimately it is the commoners' responsibility to ensure the future welfare of the ponies and they will be able to do so with the guidance and support of the charities."

Echoing Lorna's comments, Commons Council Secretary Julie Dowton said: "This operation is a huge step forward for Bodmin Moor. Problems with formal identification of the ponies and associated welfare issues have been occurring for many, many years, and we simply could not solve them alone, so my heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone involved this past week".

Special training courses to tackle loose horses on the roads

The Horse Trust recently ran the first two pilot courses for Highways England  which was an extreme success.

Horses loose on road networks are a dangerous prospect, both for public safety and equine welfare so these courses hope to improve the safety of Traffic Officers and in turn the welfare of horses.

This is why The Horse Trust and the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Care Association (BARTA) are developing bespoke courses, tailor made to meet the needs of anyone whose job may cause them to encounter horses in their everyday activities enabling a common approach and understanding.

The Horse Trust will be rolling out training to 1024 Highways England Traffic Officers, who look after the safety of the public, dealing with around 120 horse related incidents on motorway networks each year.

The attendees cover the essential elements of horse behaviour. They then apply these skills practically by approaching and catching loose horses, moving horses that cannot be caught and loading, taking into account the horse's natural instincts and how they learn.

During the courses emphasis will be placed on reducing anxiety and minimising further stress by having an awareness of how horses react during dynamic and frightening situations. Responders can use this knowledge to facilitate ways of calming the situation and controlling the scene in order to resolve it using the skills they have received, coupled with resources and other agencies in place to support them.

This training is a major step forward in organisational planning to resolve the challenges animals place on their staff and safeguard the public and The Horse Trust is proud to be delivering this. This also goes hand in hand with the training already delivered to the Police and Fire and Rescue Service.

The feedback from Traffic Officer's was extremely positive:

"Fantastic day, I am now more confident in handling horses, despite never doing anything with them before"

"Interesting day, an excellent presentation and demonstration from Charlotte"

 "Excellent day, I really enjoyed it. I definitely feel more confident in dealing with animals, great practical sessions" 

 "A very good fundamental course on understanding animal behaviour, prior to our approach to animals on the network. Charlotte was particularly professional and taught at a clear level. The Horse Trust organisation is professional and a perfect host for this course. An excellent course and look forward to further development. Good course, thank you"

The Training Manager Charlotte Launder said "The course was extremely successful, it is extremely important that responders understand how horses behave, particularly when frightened in order to lessen their trauma and to keep those attending them, and the public, safe. It is really rewarding to see the responders grow in confidence when handling and dealing with horses".

Scientists discover horses can communicate with humans

- Horses can learn to use symbols boards for communication with humans

- They could indicate if they wanted a blanket put on, taken off or stay same

- Learned the task after training for 10 to 15 minutes a day over two weeks

Read more:

A third of UK horses are lame reveals horse survey

A third of the UK's horses (32.9%) were recorded as lame during this year's National Equine Health Survey (NEHS). Consistent with previous surveys lameness was shown to be more likely to be caused by conditions such as osteoarthritis in the limb rather than problems in the foot.

Blue Cross carries out NEHS in May each year, in partnership with the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA). It is sponsored by Dodson & Horrell and Zoetis and supported by the UK's leading equestrian organisations and charities. This year saw a 14% increase in participation compared to 2015, with survey records returned for almost 16,751 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules and 5635 people taking part. Most horses were kept in livery or a private yard and used for leisure and hacking.

Lameness has been consistently seen as the most common syndrome affecting horses in the NEHS results year on year. In the latest survey a total of 32.9% (24.4% in 2015) of horses and ponies were recorded as lame. Overall, as in previous years, lameness in the limb was more common than lameness caused by problems in the foot. A breakdown of the types of lameness revealed that 47.4% were recorded as suffering from proximal limb lameness (the limb above the foot), 31.9% from causes of foot lameness other than laminitis and 20.7% from laminitis. Degenerative joint disease (including foot and proximal limb) was the most frequently reported single cause of lameness (41.2% of all lameness) and the most frequently reported joint affected by DJD was the hock (15.3% of all lameness).

Reports of foot lameness (excluding laminitis) more than doubled this year at 10.5% (4.5% in 2015) of all syndromes reported with pus in the foot being the most frequently recorded problem. This could possibly be attributed to the persistent wet weather during and prior to the survey, which can increase susceptibility to the condition.

Josh Slater from the Royal Veterinary College, who is a member of BEVA's Health & Medicines Committee and analysed the NEHS data, said: "The data gleaned from the Survey remains consistent year on year, confirming the reliability of our findings for benchmarking, referencing and research. This year's increase in overall lameness may be in part attributed to the higher incidence of pus in the foot but may also be because owners are becoming more aware of lameness issues. Ongoing research on lameness has generated significant media coverage over the past year, helping to raise understanding of the importance of accurate diagnosis and treatment both from welfare and performance perspectives."

The six most notable disease syndromes identified in the 2016 National Equine Health Survey are:

1. Lameness 32.9% including laminitis (compared to 24.4% in 2015, 21% in 2014, 19.2% in 2013 and 12.9% in 2010-12).
2. Skin diseases (sweet itch, mud fever, rainscald, external parasites, skin tumours and wounds) 25.5% compared to 17.2% in 2015 (18.3% in 2014, 14.6% in 2013 and 15.2% in 2010-12).
3. Laminitis 6.8% compared to 6.4% in 2015 (7.1% in 2014, 4.4% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2010-12).
4. PPID ('Equine Cushing's Disease) 6.6%. This is similar to the high prevalence of PPID reported in 2015 (6.4%) and 2014 (5.6%) and possibly reflects increased surveillance through sponsored testing programmes as opposed to true increases in prevalence from the pre-2014 surveys.
5. Recurrent Airway Obstruction 5.6% compared to 6.7% in 2015 (6.9% in 2014, 4.2% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2010-12).
6. Back problems 5.5% compared to 7% in 2015 (7.7% in 2014, 5% in 2013 and 3% in 2010-12).

Gemma Taylor, Education Officer at Blue Cross said: "The significant increase in participation again this year shows that owners and keepers of horses are really getting behind the Survey and recognising its importance in safeguarding the future health and of the UK's horses. Over the past year NEHS data has been referred to in leading equestrian and veterinary media, showing its credibility as a valuable benchmarking reference."

Further news on the important findings of this year's NEHS will be disclosed as it becomes available. The 2016 NEHS survey results are now available.

To download a copy visit http://www.bluecross.org.uk/nehs2016results  and to register for next year's survey please visit www.bluecross.org.uk/nehs

Pupils at Duchess of Cambridge's old £35,000-a-year college buy their own RACEHORSE

- Pupils at Marlborough College have bought a racehorse for £35,000

- Boys joined forces with their housemaster to buy half share in gelding

- Boys called horse Pack It In after the phrase used by their housemaster

Details ........

Magistrates Deliver Prison Sentence
For Horse Neglect

A 25 year old man from South Yorkshire was handed an 18-week custodial sentence and a lifetime ban on keeping equines after a group of ponies was removed from his care last winter.

World Horse Welfare was called to a youngster in distress and Field Officer Sarah Tucker attended as a matter of urgency, finding the 6 month old foal collapsed. With the assistance of the RSPCA, Bransby Horses, a vet and the Police, the foal and two other ponies were removed from the field under the Animal Welfare Act (2006). Matthew Groves from Howbeck Drive, Edlington failed to comply with a Warning Notice issued by the RSPCA over the remaining two ponies regarding provision of a suitable diet and so in early January they were also legally removed due to their deteriorating condition.

Sarah Tucker says: "I can only describe the scene I faced last December as tragic. The collapsed foal had clearly been in a distressed state for some time. Because he was so weak we decided World Horse Welfare's closest Rescue and Rehoming Centre was too much of a journey for this urgent case, so we worked with Bransby Horses to take them to the safety of their Lincoln centre."

She continues: "It was a relief to be able to remove the horses; however despite vet Lynn Mabbit's best efforts to save the colt foal, very sadly he died shortly after he was rescued.  The sentence reflected the severity of this case and it is reassuring to know that Mr Groves will no longer be permitted to keep horses."

As well as the custodial sentence and lifetime ban, Mansfield Magistrates Court ordered that Mr Groves pay £750 costs and £80 victim surcharge.

Be ware of heavy machinery transporter.

STUART REID

Professor Stuart Reid was awarded the British Veterinary Association's (BVA) most prestigious scientific award for the distinctive contribution he has made as an exceptional veterinary academic and a gifted researcher at BVA Members' Day in Bristo.

The Dalrymple-Champneys Cup and Medal is presented each year to a member of BVA to mark and recognise the work of outstanding merit which it is considered will encourage the advancement of veterinary science.

The award also recognises Stuart's "outstanding" contributions to the profession, both at the national and international level, including his recent presidency of the RCVS, his senior office at the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and his chairmanship of the European Committee on Veterinary Education. Stuart has been a Trustee for The Donkey Sanctuary since 1996 and was appointed Chair in 2007. Stuart was the first elected President of the European College of Veterinary Public Health.

Head of Trustees for The Donkey Sanctuary, Professor Stuart Reid said: "It is a huge honour and an enormous privilege to be recognised by the British Veterinary Association; the fact that it is the Dalrymple-Champneys Cup and Medal is truly humbling. The advancement of veterinary science happens in every facet of our profession – the practices, labs, offices, consulting rooms, on farm, in lecture halls and in surgeries…everywhere, home and abroad. I have been fortunate enough to work with colleagues – both veterinary and non-veterinary – in all of these environments and I like to think that if the contributions arising from these collaborations are judged worthy, it is very much a recognition of the collegiate approach and the efforts of the entire team. Our futures will depend upon us advancing veterinary science ever more rapidly in our changing world – the BVA and its cognate organisations have a central role to play and the Dalrymple-Champneys Award speaks directly to this important agenda. I am delighted to be this year's recipient."

Awarding the Dalrymple-Champneys Cup and Medal for 2016, BVA President Sean Wensley said: "It gives me real pleasure to present this award to Stuart. He is a popular and deserving recipient. As his nominator said 'It would be difficult to propose a more illustrious candidate for the Dalyrmple-Champneys award'".