“Just three weeks ago, 25 thin and neglected foals, stallions and pregnant mares were removed from an isolated farm in Aberdeenshire. The semi feral horses had not been handled or received even the most basic of care for many months and were forced to wade through thick mud to reach what little grazing was available. They had been allowed to breed indiscriminately and the body of a still born foal had been left where it lay. A weak and collapsed filly was also found and had to be put to sleep.

The plight of the horses was discovered after a concerned member of the public called World Horse Welfares free UK Welfare Hotline. Field Officer Doug Howie was sent to investigate and was shocked at what he found. Doug knew that in order to get the horses signed over and ensure their safe removal, he would have to keep quiet about a terrible discovery he had made at the premises.”

Every year, hundreds of thoroughbreds from the U.S. are sold to stables in Japan, where 90 percent of all horses end up in slaughterhouses. In most Japanese slaughterhouses, horses meet a frightening death. They are killed, cut apart, and end up as food for dogs and humans. Read more….PeTA Slaughterhouses: where racehorses go to retire

Answer from Caroline Andresen: I frequently see intermittent undiagnosed lamnesses like this…… its so frustrating not to have an answer!!!!!
It depends if she wants to go down the barefoot route or not. I personally am convinced that it may well solve the problem.
If this was my mare, I would:

Take shoes off
Get AANHCP trimmer in
Provide rockie vit/min lick, good hay and good water
take away all sweet feed (i.e barley, maize, molassed stuff)
take away Alfa A
try giving Formula 4 Feet as a supplement (I have had quite a few good reports) – note: not farriers formula, but formula 4 feet
turn the mare out on a paddock paradise type arrangement to encourage her to move – movement is key.

And wait…. she will work through whatever she needs too. I obviously wouldn’t be able to judge how long it would take – each horse is an individual. If riding her, she may find she needs boots to start with, or maybe not. The general rule is the more natural movement the horse does the quicker the process.

If the shoeing in the past has caused damage to the feet the mare may abcess. This is nothing to worry about – its a good thing, as it is a natural way for the body to remove waste and unwanted or dead material. (OF COURSE if the mare continually and constantly abcesses over a longer period of time that would need to be looked at) The mare may also be reacting to the concussion from wearing shoes. Taking them off will give her back her natural shock absorbers. I find incredible results with horses that have arthritis – its so much better for their joints to have their natural shock absorbers back!

The other things i guess I would ask would be – has the vet nerveblocked her – could the problem be higher up? Even if this is so, usually going barefoot will help solve those kind of problems too.
Also – it would be useful to see a picture.
I have attached 2 pics.
First one is of a client of mine on the first trim just after the shoes came off: I am seeing alot of these type of feet following long periods of shoeing – underrun heel, long toes etc
Second one is of same foot after I had worked with the horse for 3 months (and of course the client had tightened up on feed etc)

Caroline Andresen’s website can be seen here http://www.ukhooftrimmers.co.uk

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1179058/Trader-guilty-Britains-worst-animal-cruelty-case-horses.html

Please sign and forward far and wide. This cannot ever be allowed to happen again!!! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/794654813

UPDATE: From Equine Section
Belle is as I write this on her way to the epona trust pony rescue and will arrive there this evening. We raised altogether £611 and then someone sent me 350 euros to there was plenty to get her out of the fat farm. I am getting the transporter that goes over to france to bring the rescue horses back the money to give the farmer and he will give me a receipt for it.

Please thank all your supporters for their donations the old lady is now on the way to a loving place for the rest of her life.

Debbie

Further update received via email Sunday 8th June 08
From Belle’s new home The Epona Trust in France:

Hello,
I am happy to tell you that belle arrived at the Epona Trust and is doing well on her first day. She arrived at 11:45 pm yesterday and all the other horses raced to greet her, she is settling in well, and we will send you some photos of her when we get some!
Thank you
Jo

Further update

For those who don’t know her, Belle is a bright chestnut mare with a white star – she was clearly a very high quality horse who for some reason ended up as a brood mare, and she, and her 8 year old daughter, Romana, both ended up at the fattening farm.

Belle was reserved and was due to come to the UK but when Rober the transporter came to collect her, she panicked in the lorry and had an extreme breathing problem, so he could not bring her as she was unfit to travel – she would have been ‘fit’ to go to Italy but not fit to come to safety.

She is a beautiful mare, we all just wanted to gather up and hug her, as she had such a lovely face and so down on her luck. She was probably, at some stage in her life, valuable and valued, but she got chucked on the scrap heap probably through no fault of her own, other than getting older.

“Belle is wonderful and she has not had any problems this winter with breathing. We walked her a mile this week to a new field and she acted like a three year old, she has no stress in her life now and everyone who meets her loves her.”

Belle - upon arrival at The Epona Trust

Belle - Latest Picture

Belle - At the French Fattening Farm

The following is our original appeal to help Belle:

This is Belle. She is an 18 year old mare currently in a French fattening farm, and doesn’t have long left before she will be transported for slaughter. She is unable to travel to the UK, so needs to stay in France. She has been offered a rescue place but the rescue cannot pay what it costs to buy her. She costs 610 euros – £484 and another 300 euros £238.00 transport costs to get her to the rescue. Total 910 euros – £712. I have donated £130.00 so that leaves £580

Please click the donations link below if you can help: There is a donate button on the page.

Donations

Please help save Belle from a tragic journey to slaughter!

“Quote” the less fortunate Equine’s who are still seeking home’s before being needlessly PTS. These Equines are currently on fattening farms in France, their fate will subject them to a 3 day journey from France to Italy with no food water on a crushed lorry containing many foals, pregnant mares often with foals at foot who are within 2 weeks of their gestation period. Most perish before arriving at their destination (the Italian slaughter house!!!!) some may call these the lucky ones. Many of these equines are failed racers, bred for meat or elderly and outlived their use as a brood mare.

Our website designer is offering a 7 page website for £100. This offer is open to anyone who wants a website, but it is a great chance to have a professionally designed website for non-profits. He did a fantastic job for us!

Click here to visit his site:

Branch Of Design

There is a paypal button on her site. Please go here: Starving horse in need  and donate a minimum of $2.00 if you can, please!….it’s not much to ask to help this beautiful horse who has suffered so much. She has a chance now, with my friend’s help. Please help her!!!!
Thank you so much
Last Angel Equine Defence

Horses sold for petfood as owners duped

Anthony Browne

Sunday, January 28 2001 The Observer

Hundreds of horses sent into early retirement by their loving owners are being chopped up and sold as dog food by con men.

The owners are being duped into handing over their old horses by criminals who sell them for pet food at £100 each. Police say they know of hundreds of horses that have disappeared, and have uncovered one conspiracy that spans the country.

Hampshire police recently made four arrests after a two-year undercover operation, and are preparing 20 specimen charges. A spokeswoman said: ‘We have got a lot of horses missing. We know it’s common. The owners are really distraught.’

When a horse is too old to ride, owners who cannot afford to keep it often try to find it a new life as a ‘companion horse’ in a stables, keeping other horses company. Ann Pritchard’s horse, Sally, disappeared after she answered an advert in a horse magazine saying ‘companions wanted’. A man came the next morning, showing photographs of where the horse would be kept and of his own horse, which was pining away because it was on its own.

Ann Pritchard trusted the man and handed Sally over. But when she tried to visit her old horse he said she couldn’t and became abusive. One of her friends telephoned him a few days later and he said he still needed a companion horse.

‘I’m very, very upset – it’s very stressful. I didn’t sleep for the first fortnight. I can’t believe I was taken in by this man,’ said Ms Pritchard. ‘I thought I had found a good home for Sally, but instead she’s almost certainly been sold to the knacker’s yard. I haven’t told my daughter yet – it would really upset her.’

In another type of scam, old and injured horses are given a strong painkiller, which disguises the fact that they are lame. They are then sold for thousands of pounds. The new owners quickly discover they have been conned and often sell the horses, which end up in abattoirs.

The con men entice owners through classified advertisements but use only mobile phone numbers. One recent advert in Horse magazine said: ‘Companion horse wanted – any offers considered.’ Another read: ‘Wanted on permanent loan. Any height stamp, loving farm awaits.’

The dealers usually make sure that the owner never sees the horse’s supposed new home. However, in some cases, dealers have persuaded owners to go to fake locations where there are other horses. When they return to visit their horse, they find the place deserted.

Nichola Gregory of the British Horse Society said: ‘It’s fairly widespread. There are a lot of people who can’t afford to look after their horses and a lot of other people who want to make money out of it.’

Many horse owners feel intimated by the dealers and are afraid to speak out for fear of retribution.

‘They are the sort of people who set a hay barn on fire or poison a horse,’ one said.

Sometimes the dealers offer a token sum to the owners for the ‘companion horse’ because it means that they are buying it and so have a legal right to do with it whatever they want. If they simply take the horse without payment, the owners could have some legal redress.

anthony.browne@observer.co.uk

The Observer

Please join our Horse Angels Rescue Forum this is a free to join community where updates and appeals for horses are placed. We would love to hear from any horse lovers who would like to be a part of our group, and who can help us with appeals and fund-raising.

Could you be a horse angel?

Last Angel Equine Rescue are looking for caring and experienced people who can foster or offer a permanent home to an unwanted horse or pony. We get a lot of enquiries from people who are looking for the ‘perfect’ rideable horse/pony. If that is what you’re looking for, we just don’t have it! We deal with equines that may have some problems or have been abused or neglected, or who are simply no longer wanted, and whilst some may be rideable, on the whole they will be suitable as companions only.

Guardian angels wanted to care for rescued horses and ponies

Do you live in the UK?

Do you have the experience and facilities to care for a rescued horse or pony? If you do, we want to hear from you!

Some people would say that if a horse is due to be slaughtered, it is for a good reason. In some cases, ie if the horse is terminally ill or has such a chronic condition, that it is suffering, then the reason is obvious. We are only talking about those horses that are due to be slaughtered for all the wrong reasons. We are all aware that many horses or ponies still continue to end up at the slaughterhouse unnecessarily; horses and ponies that owners have become bored of, can’t afford to keep, or are misbehaving when ridden.

Rescuing a horse is by no means a walk in the park! but the rewards are enormous when you see a previously badly treated animal learn to trust again and blossom before your eyes.

To apply to become a guardian angel to rescued horses,  please fill in our online application form here: Last Angel Foster and Adoption Application Form

If you can help with transport, either with your own horse lorry or horse trailer, or you you could just drive a borrowed one for us, please send an email to:
admin@lastangel.org.uk

Last Angel Equine Rescue

BHS Stillmans Petition

Information about Stillmans slaughter can be found here:

StillmansHorseSlaughter

Virtual candlelight vigil in rememberance of slaughtered horses
Please click below and light a candle:
www.fund4horses.org/vigil

Please go here: Animal Aid Stillmans

Horse slaughter in an English abattoir

To TAKE ACTION and for further information please visit here: TARA

Posted 18 September 2007

THE FOOTAGE

The enclosed footage was filmed covertly by Animal Aid at Potter’s abattoir, Taunton during August 2007. It shows a succession of apparently fit and healthy horses being shot in the head with a rifle and then butchered for human consumption. It is the first time that such scenes have been filmed in Britain and made public.

One of the horses arrived seriously injured and – after a long delay – was shot while lying in a yard. We will be calling on the Meat Hygiene Service to investigate this incident with a view to bringing a prosecution under cruelty legislation (see below). Another horse looked as though she could be pregnant. Among the slaughtered animals were children’s ponies and young healthy-looking Thoroughbred race horses.

THE ABATTOIR

Lawrence J Potter (South West) Ltd describes itself in the company’s latest annual report as being engaged in the ‘elective euthanasia of equines and export of horsemeat’. Stephen Potter, a director of the company, was reported in The Observer (1 October, 2006) as saying that his establishment killed ‘some 3,000 [horses] a year’. He added that ‘only 100 [horses] a year came from racing’. About 20 of the roughly 50 horses we filmed over just two days and one evening were Thoroughbreds.

BACKGROUND

For the past eight years, Animal Aid has investigated the horse racing industry, publishing a series of detailed reports exposing the oppressive regime to which Thoroughbreds are subjected. Hundreds of horses are raced to death every year and thousands of ‘surplus’ animals are slaughtered or otherwise destroyed.

While Thoroughbred bloodstock sales are an integral part of the multi-billion pound racing industry, there is also a lucrative private sales market in horses and ponies used for show jumping, dressage, cross-country, hunting and hacking, as well as those employed by riding schools. No matter what their background, there is always the likelihood that a horse will meet his or her end in a slaughterhouse, with the meat sold abroad for human consumption.

NOTES ON THE FOOTAGE

Injured mare on the ground

The severely injured chestnut mare, who is seen lying on the ground, arrived at Potter’s Abattoir at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 14th August 2007. This was likely to be after the killing line had been closed for the day. A considerable time elapsed before the horse was shot. Animal Aid has called on the Meat Hygiene Service to investigate whether the delay in putting her out of her misery was due to the time it took Potter’s employees to re-start the slaughterline, on which she could be promptly butchered after being shot. The law states that, for meat to be deemed fit for human consumption, an animal must be bled immediately after being shot or stunned. But there is also a statutory obligation to despatch a seriously injured animal without delay.

The injured mare had been isolated from the rest of the horses in a separate horse trailer, which was towed by the larger wagon. On arrival at the yard, the trailer in which she was contained was unhooked and left standing close to the slaughter room doors. The wagon was then driven away and the horses were unloaded into the barn. After some time, the wagon returned and re-hooked the trailer containing the injured mare. At this point, the Animal Aid undercover team heard a commotion coming from the rear of the trailer as she was being unloaded. Some 10 minutes passed, during which time the trailer and wagon were moved out of view. Our undercover operator was now able to film the mare lying in the yard. The period of time from the trailer arriving at Potter’s to when we first filmed the mare on the yard floor is estimated to be 40 to 45 minutes.

The length of time she is captured on film before being killed is 7 minutes 11 seconds. This is in addition to the unrecorded 40-45 minutes when she was on the trailer or lying in the yard. After being shot, she was not inspected for signs of life. Instead, she was bulldozed by a JCB, then shackled and hauled into the bleeding and cutting building.

The wagon and trailer were driven by the man who was later seen shooting the horse. The second man in the sequence appears to be checking the horse’s passport for identification purposes. He could be a vet or a member of Potter’s staff.

The law governing horse slaughter

The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations (WASK), requires that animals who have experienced pain or suffering during transport or following arrival at the slaughterhouse should be ‘slaughtered or killed immediately’ (WASK, Schedule 3, Part II, 4). Additionally, an animal who is unable to walk when he or she reaches the slaughteryard should not be ‘dragged to its place of slaughter or killing but (a) slaughtered where it lies; or (b) if it is possible, and to do so would not cause any unnecessary pain or suffering, transported on a trolley or moveable platform to a place of emergency slaughter or killing where it is then slaughtered or killed’ (WASK, Schedule 3, Part II, 5).

The Food Standards Agency’s Meat Industry Guide (2006) is more emphatic on this point: ‘For welfare reasons (e.g. injury or an animal unable to walk without pain or unassisted), it may become necessary to slaughter an animal immediately on arrival at a slaughterhouse, without unloading it from the means of transport.’

DEFRA further stipulates that, should Official Veterinarians ‘see animals arriving at a slaughterhouse which show evidence of welfare problems arising on farm or during transport, they will report the incident to the appropriate enforcement body which will take the necessary follow-up action’.

Mare who looked as though she could be pregnant

The mare identified as such in the film looks as though she could be pregnant. She arrived on a lorry with two other horses who were killed before her. Legislation states that heavily pregnant animals may not be transported.

The casual manner of the killing of the ‘pregnant’ horse is evident in the banter between the slaughterman and the horse handler. ‘Watch the racing yesterday? Authorised [Europe’s top race horse and the Derby winner] won. Frankie Dettori was on him’, the slaughterman says, while positioning the horse for the rifle shot to the head.

No obvious inspection followed to determine if the horse is dead, and we can see no vet on the scene, either.

‘Frankie won on him, on Authorised’, the slaughterman continues, as he removes the bridle from the head of the floored horse.

The mare is shackled for sticking (bleeding), at which time her hind legs are seen to jerk before she is hoisted across the floor and into the bleeding and sawing room to have her head severed and skinned.

Behind the closed door, what sounds like a second shot rings out. Was this the sound of an unborn foal being killed?

Notes on other horses

The breeds and types of horses at the abattoir barn waiting to be killed are mixed: The Piebald Cob – a typical riding school pony – stands beside a Chestnut Thoroughbred, while a number of former pet Welsh Ponies intermingle with Hunter types.

The small grey Welsh Section Pony – the most popular of all children’s ponies – is taken in a cold, calculated manner to her death. This is a typical example of abandonment of a pet whose useful days are over. It occurs when a child loses interest in riding or wants a bigger pony or horse.

The freeze-marked big black cob, also killed in the film, was typical of a riding school horse. He had, perhaps, given pleasure to hundreds of children and their proud parents over the years.

Animal Aid identified more than 20 Thoroughbred horses who were killed on those three dates in August. Only two appeared injured: one looked to have an off-fore tendon injury that was bandaged, and he carried a deep cut on his hindquarters. The other (details above) was the seriously ill horse who should not have been travelling in that condition. The remaining Thoroughbreds looked young, fit and healthy.

OTHER ISSUES

• The attitudes of both the Official Veterinarians and members of the workforce at the abattoir ranged from diffident to jocular.
• There appeared to be no systematic inspection of the shot horses, by a vet or any other employee, to see if they were dead prior to bleeding.
• There are alternatives to abattoir killing that all horse owners should be aware of: euthanasia by a vet; being killed by bullet in the horse’s paddock; sanctuary via a care centre with a loan programme; or committing to the welfare of a horse throughout his or her natural lifespan.

CONCLUSION

The horses shown being killed in the Animal Aid undercover footage came from owners who either dealt directly with the abattoir or who didn’t know or care that their animals would end up in that establishment. What all former owners have in common is the transient use of their animal. They feel that their responsibility is relinquished once the horse or pony is of no further use to them.

The fundamental problem at the heart of the horse slaughter scandal that we have uncovered is that these animals are bred to excess. They are produced for commercial reasons, by both the Thoroughbred racing industry and by those servicing the pet horse and pony market. When an animal is no longer useful, he or she is often simply disposed of. This is the fate of thousands of healthy horses and ponies every year.

So, six weeks ago, I recruited the help of an excellent instructor, and we set about teaching Alfie how to be riding pony. Do I have to? is the question you get the feeling Alfie would ask if he could talk!

The first 3 weeks went well, with Alfie really taking to the process, BUT, there has always been a problem when first getting on him. We know there is nothing wrong with his back, or any other medical problem, so we wondered if he may just be cold-backed (some horses just are, and they don’t like it when a rider first gets on them, but ok once you are on) but it just seemed as though there was more to it than that.

We carried on, but tried different approaches to see if the problem would sort itself out. Nothing we did seemed to make a difference and the problem continued. Eventually though, (and I expect Alfie was completely fed up with us for not figuring it out before) we finally realised that Alfie’s problem was with working in the arena.

As soon as we took him out on the lanes and on bridlepaths, he suddenly totally relaxed and became a completely different pony, happy, relaxed and thoroughly enjoying himself.

My instructor, who is very experienced thinks that the person who I got Alfie from, the evil horse dealer I mentioned before (you know, the one who’s in prison for indecency to minors?!) had tried to start him before. But had done it in a way that was cruel, therefore leaving Alfie with a very negative association about being ridden. We both agree that it is SO easy to ruin a wonderful pony in this way, and make it impossible for a pony to have a secure future, UNLESS they are lucky enough to be found by someone who is prepared to work through the problems they have. Hence why so many go to slaughter every year.

It is a very sad fact, but one that is all too familiar. Alfie is just one more pony that has more than likely been put through totally unecessary and cruel methods of being started, and they are employed as a way of making the process quick, so that a dealer can sell the pony as quickly as possible and then just keep buying more and more and do the same thing again and again.

Don’t buy a horse from a dealer! And if you have a young horse or pony that is having problems being started, please please give the animal some time, and understanding. your horse or pony may be trying to tell you something….

Little Alfie with his tack on:

Last Angel Equine Defence