Protect horses before its too late

AFTER celebrating all that is positive about the Irish Horse industry at last week’s Dublin Horse Show, we ask Minister Brendan Smith to consider the tragic equine reality.

This time last year we warned of an impending equine crisis and, to our despair, our worst fears were realised.

On a daily basis we in the Dublin SPCA are dealing with the impact of over-breeding, inadequate enforcement of horse identification systems and the effects of the economic downturn. Last year Dublin SPCA alone rescued more than 106 horses from Dublin and the surrounding counties, of these, 47 needed to be euthanised. We thought that last year was bad, but our calls are up more than 80% on 2009 and this winter will be the cruellest yet. On a daily basis we tend to horses that cannot get nourishment and adequate weight on them during these crucial summer months and so they will now face into a second brutal winter.