“Please Note Graphic Image below, do not scroll down; viewer discretion advised. My apologies for this post being late…it won’t be the only one, sorry!!!”

“OMG…this is just heartbreaking; I can’t think straight for crying!! The POS who left these horse to die, need to be found & prosecuted; to the full extent of the law. The cold-hearted bxxxxxx’s should be thrown in a bare field, without food; until they beg for mercy…then beg a little more! Sorry but as a horse owner, I get very upset at these stories. The scum that did this are not fit to scrape sxxt off my shoes; let alone breathe the same air!! Please if you know who did this, or who the horses belonged to, I beg you to tell the police or WHW; you don’t want the death of horses on your conscience do you??”

“It should be made mandatory that all horses are chipped, irrelevant of age! Most responsible owners have their horses chipped, it’s not worth the worry not to! But there will always be the cob colts at sale rooms, from unscrupulous owners & breeders, there to make a few quid; that won’t be microchipped! So perhaps the sale rooms & livestock auctions, should refuse entry & report those who don’t have their horses chipped!”

” I have to agree with World Horse Welfare on the issue of hot branding; I think it’s cruel on horses, never mind cattle! Regards the ponies on Bodmin, perhaps it’s time the mares were given birth control drugs, although it won’t be easy trying to catch them; it’s better than having an excess of ponies who are going to die through lack of food etc”

“My horses are chipped, not just because of getting loose…their also chipped due to horse thief’s, who target certain horses to steal, especially rarer breeds like my Gelderland. There have been a lot of horses go missing, unless they are microchipped, they will probably never be returned to the rightful owner. Please see my note at the bottom about adopting horses, by way of a donation!”

The death of more than 20 ponies on Bodmin Moor last week has shocked local people and further highlighted the “equine crisis”, say welfare charities

The ponies were dumped on Eastmoor, Cornwall, and left to starve. In total more than 20 died, including eight that were put down by Defra vets.

A further 30 animals are currently being monitored by the Government.  But there is no clue as to whom the ponies belonged.

Though microchipping has been compulsory in foals since 2009, this is ignored by many owners.

World Horse Welfare field officer Jeff Herrington was there.

“The scene was horrific,” he said. “I was walking across the moors and there were bodies everywhere I looked.

“We have to sort this out. We have to find a way to link animals to their owners to hold them accountable.”

Julie Dowton of the Bodmin Commoners Association told H&H that pony dumping on Bodmin is a growing concern.

“We had a couple of incidents in previous years, but thought we’d got on top of it,” she said. “But with the tough economic climate, more ponies are being abandoned.”

Redwings took in 19 ponies after a similar incident on Bodmin in 2011.

“This is a shocking and disappointing regression,” Redwings’ Nic de Brauwere said. “But if we can’t identify owners, we can’t prosecute. We are in the midst of an equine crisis; horse identification needs improving drastically.”

There are more than 600 ponies on Bodmin and Ms Dowton added that local farmers are “distraught”.

“It has made us look further at the issue of visible marking,” she said. “We are even looking at hot branding such as in Dartmoor and Exmoor so ponies are easily identifiable.”

The Exmoor Pony Society agrees it is vital to identify semi-feral ponies visually.

“It helps us recognise ponies that have been ‘dumped’ on the moor and may not be able to survive in such an environment,” said a spokesman.

World Horse Welfare disagrees with hot branding but would like to see other methods used.

“Microchipping has to provide the solution, as it must be possible in the near future to be able to scan at a distance,” said chief executive Roly Owers. “In the meantime, alternatives such as the short-range reading of microchips and cutting manes and tails need to be relied upon.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (25 April 2013)

News Link:– http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/outcry-over-dead-ponies/#lrpJzJGkL8ullLFa.99 

“Redwings & World Horse Welfare do a fantastic job caring for homeless & abused horses, they are amongst my top charities. I have several virtual adopted horses & love receiving news on their progress, especially from Will the ex police horse. Please visit their home pages to see if you could adopt a horse. By donating this way, you actually see the horse that your money is helping & it feels great to be able to say “I have an adopted horse”!!!”

 Adopting a horse costs just £5.00 a month with WHW & is great way to help give a horse the second chance in life it deserves: –http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/Home

The Redwings Adoption Club is the fun way to support our charity and make a new friend in the process! A year’s adoption of a Redwings horse, pony, donkey or mule costs just £12.50, which goes directly towards the daily care of your chosen equine and their friends. Choose from a Standard adoption pack or our brand new Online version. Please remember that whichever you choose, your kind donation will help us take care of our rescued residents and work to help more horses in trouble across the UK :-http://www.redwings.org.uk/