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In the News...
Training
From ponies loose on the road to a horse stuck in a ditch; both are truly scary and dangerous for the horses and humans alike. Well, thanks to our unique partnership with British Animal Rescue and Trauma Care Association (BARTA), our vital work is helping professionals who reach those horses to get them out of danger, quickly and safely. Here at The Horse Trust, we provide training for professionals such as Police Officers, Fire-Fighters and Local Authority Officers who are most likely to be first on the scene.
It is estimated that there are around 120 horse related incidents on the motorway networks each year and that’s why our team is currently training over 1000 Highways England Traffic Officers. We are the only charity that offers this training to such people, and we are incredibly proud to be involved with not just keeping horses, but the community safe too.
Equine Welfare Helpline
Are you worried about a horse or in need of some advice? Our Equine Welfare Helpline provides advice to horse owners on a variety of topics including responsible rehoming, euthanasia and other horse welfare issues. We will always try to help you as much as we can so don’t hesitate to give us a call. Our helpline is available Monday to Friday from 8.30am – 4.30pm.
Funding the Future
Here at The Horse Trust, we support equine veterinary research so all our four legged friends can receive a better quality of life. It’s great to know that this vital research will increase our knowledge of all the injuries and diseases that affect them, so that Vets can help them in the best possible way.
Atypical Myopathy:
This disease is caused by a toxin found in the seeds from some sycamore trees. This disease rapidly attacks the body and 70% of horses with this condition will not make it. American research has linked the deathly toxins from the box elder tree in the USA; however, specific trees have not yet been discovered in England. The problem is that the toxin is not always present in every seed or in seeds from every tree, which makes research very challenging. Thatʼs why we are working with the Royal Veterinary College on a project to identify exactly which trees in the Acer family in the UK pose a risk.
Wormer Drug Resistance:
Sadly, an untreatable heavy worm burden is the most common cause of death for our rescue cases that we admit at The Horse Trust. It is a very serious concern that worms are becoming more resistant to the drugs we use to get rid of them. Thatʼs why The Horse Trust supports research monitoring traditional deworming regimes compared to treatment of only horses with high levels of worms. This research aims to develop a tool that can help make effective worming decisions so our horses can be free of worms and we, as horse owners, can be more cost effective with our worming treatments.
Strangles:
This is a highly contagious respiratory infection and is the most commonly diagnosed infectious disease in horses worldwide. Obvious symptoms include discharge from the nostrils and large abbesses around the head and throat. Luckily, with the help of our support, researchers have already developed a blood test to diagnose Strangles which is in widespread use. Although Strangles is not commonly fatal and can be treated with rest and anti-inflammatories, it is a nasty disease and an effective, affordable vaccine is the ultimate goal in the hope that together, the researchers we support at our fellow charity the Animal Health Trust, can one day wipe out this horrible disease in the UK and perhaps even worldwide!
Click our NEWS page via www.horsetrust.org.uk to find out more