ü There were 37 Horses on the day of the visit 4 March 2008. In June there were 44 Horses. 2 Horses were euthanized. It is assumed that the other 6 horses died of starvation and without care or were sold. This could not be clarified by the DVS.ü The DVS reports that 18 horses are sold and awaiting passports for the horses to go – I am told 5 will go to new owners by Friday 7th March. ü This leaves 19 at the Ranch. The Owner would like to keep and has indicated he has enough resources to keep 11 horses. There are 8 more for sale (plus 2 at DVS Ranch later on for sale).ü There were some improvements compared to the photos from Jan and June – There is feed, there is water, the stables maintenance is in need of work, one horse escaped during the visit after knocking down the gate that was tied together with bailing twine. ü There is a vet treating the skin condition for the ponies, and overseeing the Ranch. DVS Enforcement Officer Frances visits the Ranch every 2 days to oversee the management – this is since January visit. Immediate problems are: ü husbandry – fresh hay put on top of droppings and urine in stables – the workers (2) have no time to get round to cleaning. ü There is no sawdust/substrate – supply has run out and it has not been replaced. Substrate was only provided for the best condition horses (assuming they are the winners of the amateur racing). ü 12 Horses were out in the field (soaked from rain the day before – concern over foot health)
ü 80% of the horses there have a poor body condition probably due to chronic malnutrition.
The DVS are hesitant to confiscate as they have no expertise or resources to spend on a confiscation of this scale
Filed under: Ranch A
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