BHS campaign for responsible breeding

[HHO admin]

The BHS is running a campaign to encourage responsible breeding of horses throughout the UK. To find out more about the campaign, and get advice on whether you should be breeding from your mare, click here

[vjc]

What a brilliant idea!!!! I have always thought breeders should be licensed myself (expecting to get shot down now!!!) to prove they are knowledgable enough and have the correct facilities to bred.

[magic104]

"and have the correct facilities to bred." As someone on a livery yard I dont fall into that cat & it has done none of the foals born there any harm what so ever. We dont have post & rail fencing, we are lucky enough to have bigger then the ave 12 x 12 loose box. What are the correct facilities to breed anyway? We dont have stocks

Plenty of mares have foaled outside with no problems what so ever, yet most breeders would agree it is safer to have mares foal inside where a closer eye can be kept & where it is easier to manage once the foal is about, for the vet etc. What about owners who buy mares then find out after that they are carrying? Would they have to move if their facilities were deemed inappropriate?

I think the main issue is should a mare be bred from in the first instance. Why are you breeding what is the long term aim for the offspring? What do you hope to achieve from the breeding?

[marmalade76]

Hmm, I don't think that hobby breeders are responsible for the majority of unwanted and poor quality horses. IMO, the racing industry produces many unwanted horses and the traveling community are responsible for producing the majority of poor quality animals, and who's going to stop them?

And if all the hobby breeders are discouraged from breeding, who does that leave? People who breed competition and show horses/ponies. But not everyone wants or can manage a competion horse. I'm sure there are far more hoses out there kept for hacking and low level unaff comps than for anything else.

[marmalade76]

Also, if we're going to encourage resposible breeding to reduce the number of unwanted animals, should we not also encourage responsible euthanising of the unwanted and poor quality animals that fill the rescue centres?

[magic104]

"should we not also encourage responsible euthanising" - See I actually agree with that, but my god will that create uproar amongst many. If you can afford a lawn mower then that is fine, but why pass the burden onto somone else? The amount of late teens early 20yo's being advertised along with horses that have health issues has increased. I wonder if this is because people are unwilling to pay the £80+ to have the animal PTS. I know older horses can have a good quality of life if they have been kept fit & have been cared for, generally though these are owned by people who would not dream of passing them on at this stage of their life. Being cynical I do wonder when I see the older animal being advertised along with a few health issues if it comes back to the present owner not wanting to pay the money to either keep as a pet or end its life.

End of last year my friend had to decide what to do with a TB mare that had raced hard as a 2yo then bred 10 foals. At 18 & in-foal her owner put her through the sales where she was bought by someone who was not there for her when she foaled. She lost the foal & they were unable to get her back in-foal that year or the next, so sold her on at 19. She had lost the sight in one eye (but the stud/owner never bothered to have it removed), this was causing her problems. She had to be sedated for her teeth as they had not seen a dentist for some years & her legs that that seen better days were giving her problems as well. As she would not stable without stressing herself out so with great sadness it was decided not to put her through a winter (and are we glad we didnt after this one!!). I stayed with her & though it was extreamly upsetting & I felt like sh+t the guy was great & it was quick, the mare never had any stress, & we know she wont suffer anymore. We know in her last months she had the best care & she was loved, there was never ever a thought of passing her on. I have a mare who will end her days with us, there is no question of her being passed on "just before she becomes a burden" through age or health issues. If I cant afford the vet bills then she will be PTS. Most horses owe us nothing & dont deserve to have every £1 squeezed out of them.

[Blacklist]

Bravo.

During the life of a horse if it is well cared for when it reaches the end of the road or its usefulness it is far better for it to be destroyed than to end up going round the horse sales being underfed and mistreated and probably ending up on a lorry to europe for meat. Much kinder to do a good job here in the uk - finish. it is better to have one bad day in its life (if it has to) after a good 20 years than weeks/months of suffering.


The real question is 'to breed or not to breed' only put a mre in foal if there will be a future for it - will it be saleable? or just end up being good for meat.

I have probably lit the blue touch paper - but I am not going to run!

[GrassHorse]

Its crazy the amount of people gone into breeeding over the last ten years. No the breeders cant sell most of their horses and they are ending up in the factory. Im from Ireland , the newspapers are now full of stories of neglect. Its very sad. I think a licence for breeding is a step in the right direction. Most breeders I think would agree with this.

[lillith]

How about rather than licensing breeders we license horses. They have passports allready, make it illegal to breed a horse that has not been licensed for breeding by whoever is out there judging the breed. Sport horses licenced by SHB, exmoors by the exmoor society ect. To be licenced to breed a horse/pony mustnot have any mahoosive conformation glitches and must not have any heritable conditions and must fit in with the aims of the relevant soc. If you can't get your brilliant s/j licenced with it's breed soc because it doesn't have a pretty enough face licence it with a s/j body who don't care about the face. Breed to the horses who are licenced by the people who do what you want to do....

[Achinghips]

The BHS had a great day organised for its volunteers at the Newmarket Stud the other day. The highlight for me, following the discussion about responsible breeding, was seeing a young TB mare with a 3 day old at foot, being serviced.