Newsletter of the Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies Winter 2012 FRUSTRATING TIMES

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1 SWHP The Horse Hospital Newsletter of the Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies Winter 2012 Firstly we would like to say a heart felt thank you to everyone who rallied to our cause following our last newsletter. We are certainly not out of the woods but you have enabled us to carry on our work. If you are able to continue supporting us either by sending us a donation, offering a home to one of our equines or raising money for us it would be greatly appreciated. With another winter coming up the problem of more and more unwanted and abandoned equines is again on the increase. With all the equine charities in the UK full to capacity there are worrying times ahead in South Wales. We have seen in the press and personally witnessed equines left to starve and carcasses being dumped. There has been talk of culling throughout the UK as a possible answer to the problem, but this in itself is worrying both ethically and logistically. We feel as a small organisation so helpless when the problem is so great. Long term we have to address the problem of over breeding and bring back the licensing of all stallions. If you are considering putting your mare or mares in foal, please think of the foal s future; if you haven t got a plan then please don t breed. Our situation and that of all the equine charities would be helped if the law was enforced to have every equine passported and micro-chipped in the UK. Also a centralised database with all horses and owners registered on it would be of great benefit. What happens when African Horse Sickness reaches the UK, which inevitably it will, where would we start to track down all the horses and ponies in the country a very sobering thought. Very few people know what an enormous industry the horse world is, and how devastating it would be if a disease such as African Horse Sickness should take hold. FRUSTRATING TIMES After that gloomy news we have been heartened by the many lovely stories from our horse keepers updating us on the wellbeing of some of the 300 equines we have out in homes. We always love to hear how you are getting on and receiving pictures is a bonus. Two little colts who were dumped near Magor, October Both in very poor condition and needing veterinary attention

2 GELLIGAER UPDATE We have been involved with the difficult situation on Gelligaer Common and its borders since During this time we have supported Anne Keating, who is local to this area, and who has been involved with reporting many ponies in need. Anne has recently been taking in unwanted colts and stallions, with the owners permission, and has been re-homing them. To date over 40 ponies have already been re-homed by Anne, the expenses to geld and microchip being covered by the new owners. The SWHP have been helping by facilitating the castration of colts by a vet, who has been nominated as one of the best vets in the UK. We have the facilities and experienced staff available to ensure that this is done in a safe environment. We are doing this because stallions have been fighting on the commons, injuring mares and killing foals. There have also been reports of sheep/lambs being killed and humans being attacked and hounded whilst out riding. Unless we act to try to reduce the numbers of colts and stallions grazing the commons these problems will just keep occurring. When we have tried to find the owners of the offending stallions and colts they evaporate, especially if there are any costs involved. To date we have been unable to come to a resolution with all of the owners who have grazing rights on the Commons, to improve the situation. This emphasises the need for the law to be enforced regarding micro-chipping and passporting. At least then the owners could be traced. Mare and foal rescued from Gelligaer October The grey mare needed emergency dentistry work, antibiotics and received treatment for terrible scouring. The foal has also been very ill and has needed plasma, kindly donated by Abbey Vets. ABBEY VETS We would like to thank Abbey Vets for their continuing support to the SWHP. This October we received a call from Abbey asking if we had any colts needing a special castration as they had a student teaching day at Abbey Equine Clinic. Dexter was in the trailer and on his way to the clinic before we had put the phone down. He had a retained testical and possible hernia and was going to need an expensive operation to rectify the situation. We are pleased to say Dexter is doing really well and none the worse for his ordeal. Dexter with Dixie his mum. Dexter was born at Coxstone.

3 BABY BLADE Baby Blade was signed over to us back in July 2008 as his owner could not manage his laminitis even though she had been working hard with the vet to try to make him better. He was really sore when he arrived with us, but within three months and with careful management he was much improved and ready to be re-homed. He has been in two wonderful homes and currently he is having a fabulous time with his keeper Sue and has won 21 trophies, 3 sashes and 57 rosettes to date. We wanted to share this wonderful picture with you all. FLORENCE Florence was found near Tredegar Golf Club with her mum Ermintrude back in She was only a year old at the time and very poorly. Over the last 8 years she has been in some wonderful homes and has proved to have real talent. Ayesha, her new keeper, and Florence have just been chosen out of hundreds of applicants for Show jumping talent of the Future Competition at the Great Yorkshire Showground. This is run and judged by Tina and Graham Fletcher. We would like to wish them the best of luck with their endeavours. Picture courtesy of Phillip Johnson. Micro-Chipping Petition Update MICRO-CHIP UPDATE We continue to attend meetings of the Cross Party Group for the horse at the Welsh Assembly Cardiff along with other welfare organisations and good progress is being made. There is an impending crisis just waiting to happen this winter with so many unwanted horses mostly due to irresponsible and over-breeding. As already mentioned in this newsletter, of all the abandoned horses that we collect 99% are not micro-chipped. We are asking our supporters to write to:- Their local MP s Owen Paterson MP., Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs c/o House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1 Angela Burns AM, Chairman for the Cross Party Group for the Horse at the Welsh Assembly, Cardiff Bay Alun Davies AM, Minister for Rural Affairs, also at the Welsh Assembly Calling for the introduction of tough new laws for horse keeping and breeding and to enforce the existing micro-chipping laws which were introduced in 2009 and which are being flagrantly ignored and not policed. Florence with her keeper Ayesha BEAR Many of you have asked how Bear is getting on. We are pleased to report he is currently in the experienced hands of Ross Millar, a local event rider. Ross has been very supportive to the SWHP and has taken him on in the short term for schooling and education. Bear We would like to thank NAF for supplying all our feed supplements and for their continuing support of our charity.

4 Rainbow was one of six racehorses that were rescued back in January She was not even a year old when she came into us and was still with her mum, America Star. Earlier this year she went into training with Brendan Powell, and we were so pleased that she was able to be brought into top condition having had such a terrible start in life. We set up a very enthusiastic group to pay for all her expenses and she raced three times in total. She CHARITY RAINBOW showed great promise but not enough to continue with racing, so she was returned to Coxstone and she is currently having some time off before we start to look for a lovely new home for her. She has a wonderful temperament and loves her jumping, we think she will make someone a superb riding horse. This story did attract an amazing amount of publicity with her rags to riches story; it was such a unique situation. Rainbow in 2008 Liberty, a 15 month old filly, was in a field full of ragwort and all on her own. The owners, who were apparently unable to catch her, were not looking after her and so a kind lady was providing her with food and water. Liberty injured her face and the lady contacted the RSPCA for help. They arranged for a vet to come and she was tranquilised with a dart to enable the vet to stitch her face. Liberty was then left in the field and the lady was given antibiotics to treat Liberty. Inevitably she tore the stitches and her wound became infected. The concerned lady then contacted us for help. Her face was in a terrible state and we arranged to go and collect her. We took her to our vets where she had a general anaesthetic which enabled them to treat LIBERTY Rainbow with Jenny MacGregor and Chase, Jenny s rescue lurcher and re-stitch the wound; she then came back to Coxstone for her follow up care and attention. Just six weeks later she had made an amazing recovery and as you will see from the photo, there was very little sign of the original injury. She has a delightful character, is very friendly and is now looking for a new home. The photos show Liberty when we first collected her, showing her facial injury; Liberty under general anaesthetic at Abbey Equine Clinic, near Abergavenny; Liberty six weeks later recovered and doing really well.

5 MAGOR Pictured below is a recent image of Lydia and Tom, two ponies we have just taken in from a disgraceful animal rescue centre, which can only be described as an animal Belsen. We actually took in two horses from the same place back in 2001 and we are sad to say that nothing has changed. In fact there appear to be more animals on the property than before. There is a Reen (controlled water drainage ditch) on site which several horses have fallen into and who have needed rescuing by the Fire Brigade, and at who s cost, we are unsure. Just recently, the Trading Standards and a vet went to visit. When they arrived many of the horses and ponies, including a welfare case which we agreed we would take on, had been moved off site. We have been advised that the owner is given horses and ponies that are in poor order from a dealer. Unfortunately, in our opinion, it is a case of the animals going from bad to worse. The whole place is a health hazard and really needs to be closed down. How many more years do these animals have to suffer before something is done. If DEFRA were involved we are sure it wouldn t be allowed to continue. Lydia and Tom rescued October 2012 Polo and Gem rescued back in 2001 WEBSITE We have a wonderful NEW website which was kindly donated to the SWHP by one of our members. Please go and have a look on We hope you like the new modern look. We will also be setting up a twitter account, news on this to follow. TETANUS Could we please take this opportunity to remind all our horse keepers to check that their equines tetanus vaccinations are up to date? It has been our policy for the last four years that SWHP horses and ponies must be covered for tetanus. We have had a number of equines returned to us where their vaccinations have lapsed and we have had to start the course again. This results in unexpected and unwanted costs for the SWHP. Tetanus is a horrific disease which is usually fatal. Please ensure you keep vaccinations up to date. THANK YOU. RECYCLING One of our members owns a recycling centre and suggested that to raise money for the SWHP he could make collections from us. We think this is a great idea and we are going to try our FIRST RECYCLING DAY on our Christmas Open Day Sunday 2 nd December. If you have any of the following that you would like to donate to the SWHP please bring it along to the Open Day:- Clothes (should be clean, dry and rewearable). Shoes in pairs. Handbags, belts, soft toys, CD s, DVD s. Duvet covers, sheets, pillow cases and towels (NOT BLANKETS). Books. Mobile phones even if broken and not working.

6 FUNDRAISING So many fundraising activities have gone on since our last newsletter and it is unfortunately impossible to mention all of them, but we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has fundraised for us, it really makes a difference. We would however like to update you on a couple of people, firstly Michelle who did a tandem sky dive and raised a wonderful 1,000. Sue, Lucy, and Sandie who cycled from race course to race course over four days covering 200 miles raising over 2,000 and Tony who cycled from Lands End to John O Groates over nine days, 968 miles and who raised just under 1,000. Amazing effort with amazing results. Thank you everyone please keep fundraising for us. A big thank you also to Maggie King and her many helpers who raise money for us throughout Michelle Sandie, Lucy and Sue Tony the year. She has donated well over 3,000 this year. WE ALL WENT QUACKERS THIS YEAR! A huge thank you to everyone who bought and sold a duck for our Annual Duck Race this year which was the best ever! We have raised a magnificent total of 2, towards our Winter Feed Appeal. Thanks also to the kind people who donated their winnings back to the appeal. Maggie Heginbothan sold a total of 116 Ducks and wins the Picnic Rug for the most Ducks sold. Adding our two Coffee Mornings brings the total to Please continue to help our Winter Feed Appeal by coming to our illustrated Paralympic Talk by our Vet and Paralympic Team GB Vet Rod Fisher, and Olympic Team GB Farrier, Hayden Price. To be held at The Priory, Monmouth, on Thursday 22nd November, at 7.30pm. Come and celebrate the magnificent haul of 11 Medals! Further details Tickets 10 including light supper. UPCOMING SWHP FUNDRAISING EVENTS Wednesday 21 st November: WAWWA The Musical Youth presents Straight from the Horse s Mouth at the Savoy Theatre Monmouth. 8 Tickets from the box office, or call Thursday 22 nd November illustrated talk by Rod Fisher MRCVS about being Head Vet at the GB Paralympics Dressage Team and Hayden Price who was Farrier to the GB Olympic Team The Priory, Monmouth, at 7.30pm Sunday 2 nd December: SWHP Christmas Open Day at Coxstone 11am to 3pm. Saturday 8th December: Join SWHP for festive treats at Alison Tod s exclusive boutique, 38 Frogmore Street, Abergavenny. For full details of all our events please visit our website or call us on Christmas Cards & Calendars available to buy now or can be purchased at the SWHP Open Day. Pack of 10 cards postage, calendars postage please see our order form or website for more details. We would like to thank Alan and Josh at Wye Valley Country Stores, Monmouth, for all their support and help with our feed requirements. The Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies, The Horse Hospital, Coxstone, St. Maughans, Monmouth NP25 5QF Tel: Mobile: swhp@swhp.co.uk Web: Words and photographs SWHP. Registered Charity No