Ü People Welfare & Development
Ü Health & Safety Executive
Ü Roads, Byways and Rights of Way
Ü Legal updates and cases
UK: The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) job is to protect people against risks to health or safety arising
out of work activities. They do this through research, information and advice,
promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, inspection, investigation and enforcement.
HSE Myth of the month – March 2009
Myth: Health and safety
rules take the adventure out of playgrounds
The reality
We're all for playgrounds being exciting
and challenging places. Children should have fun in them, get fit, develop social skills and learn how to handle risks.
What’s
important is to strike the right balance - protecting children from harm while allowing them the freedom to develop independence
and risk awareness. Exciting and challenging playgrounds do this, poorly maintained or badly designed ones don't.
Health and safety
laws don’t stop children having fun but ill-considered and overprotective actions do.
Go to the HSE’s
Myth of the month homepage
Get free leaflets from the HSE - Clear and simple advice on a range of health and safety issues
UK: The “Safety with Horses” course just got better...
The award-winning "Safety with Horses" course is acknowledged for
setting the standard of safety training across the horse industry. But the course
which can be completed at home and your own stables just got better...
If you join during the current campaign, not only do you stand to make your yard
a safer place for people and horses while achieving a nationally accredited award, but you'll also receive a free ticket to
a top equestrian event, meeting one of our top riders.
By successfully completing the Equi Study “Safety with Horses” home/stable
study course and you will receive a free ticket to one of four top equestrian events including Olympia, Badminton, Burghley
and Horse of the Year Show. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet a leading rider, learn about top level competition
and ask questions about show jumping or eventing.
There are seven start dates during the year so you can choose both your favourite
event and the best time to complete your course.
Anyone who is 16 years and over who has access to horses and equine facilities
can take part. You’ll also need a competent person (Level 3 – e.g. AI)) who can observe you undertaking some basic
but key practical activities with horses. Everyone will be able to access their own Equi Study Tutor to help them complete
their course. Click here for more information on the “Safety with Horses” campaign.
Find out what the Health and Safety Executive say about the course
Riding Safely thoroughly recommends
this course
The Emergency Services Protocol
Guidelines to help the emergency services cope better with
equine incidents were launched in May 2007.
The guidelines aim to ensure that any horse involved in
an accident receives proper care as quickly as possible. They cover everything from how a 999 call should be dealt with to
advice on identifying horses and coping with a large animal in an incident.
An Emergency
Services Protocol Fund has also been set up by the BHS and BEVA, to help minimise delays for injured horses receiving veterinary
care when their owners cannot be traced. The fund will also pay for rescue training and specialist lifting and rescue equipment
for the emergency services.
To donate to the fund, contact BEVA (tel: 01638 723555).
Read more from Horse & Hound Online
Download the Emergency Services Protocol leaflet.
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No one likes an accident. Those featured in this section come from media sources and often lack
the detail of the circumstances that may have contributed to the tragic outcomes. Even so, by being aware of the types of
accidents that have happened in the past may help to prevent or lead to action to prevent similar accidents occurring in the
future.
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Ü Consultations, Research & Surveys
Ü Looking forward - Diary Dates
Get more from Riding Safely
Ü How to get the most from this page
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Check out the latest local, national and international weather forecasts from
the Met Office »
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In what is believed to be the first of its kind, an internet-based survey has
been launched to measure the extent and consequences of horse-related injury across the USA, Britain and Australia. The survey
was developed by Dr Patricia Evans at Utah State University, and has been adapted for wider international use with help from
Ken Law, editor of the UK-based website Riding Safely and Denzil O'Brien, who has recently completed a 5-year surveillance
program on risks in eventing. It is being co-hosted by the Equestrian Federation of Australia.
The survey is aimed at anyone who has suffered a horse-related injury and asks
questions across a broad range of equestrian activities and disciplines. Some questions have a distinct USA or UK focus and
should be answered accordingly. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete. “This is possibly the first time
that such a survey has been undertaken across such a wide range of potential respondents, and we believe that it will
provide valuable information on the extent and cost of horse-related injury in our sector.” said Denzil O’Brien.
“We are hoping to obtain richer information than that previously gained through hospitals.”
The survey and data analysis are being undertaken through Utah State University.
Under US law it can only be completed by people aged 18 or over. Anyone taking part will not be asked for identifying information
- data gathered will be used statistically not descriptively.
“We’ve had such surveys in the past but these have normally been
limited to individual countries” said Ken Law “running the survey simultaneously across three countries and gaining
comparable data may prove of enormous benefit in improving safety internationally – I urge everyone to take part”.
Click here to take part in the survey that runs until 28 February 2009.
Ü UK: The Barefoot Trimmers National Occupational Standards Consultation
Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the environmental
and land-based industries, is holding an initial consultation meeting on Wednesday 4 February 2009 regarding the development
of National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Equine Barefoot Trimming.
Currently there are no National Occupational Standards
for this area of work and their development was a key recommendation from Lantra's Paraprofessionals research report: titled
'An investigative study of Barefoot Trimmers and Equine Dental Technicians'.
Lantra's industry partnership manager for the equine industry
and Professions Allied to Veterinary Science, Lisa Jarvis said: "National Occupational
Standards describe the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to do a particular task or job. One of the uses for these
standards is using them as building blocks for qualifications, so ensuring that these are right and meet businesses' needs
are vital to the industry's future and equine welfare." Lisa adds: "If you want to play a part in developing these standards, then join Lantra on Wednesday 4 February, at
an initial consultation meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to establish industry requirements for National Occupational
Standards to ensure that they are fit for purpose."
If you would like to participate in the initial NOS development
meeting, please contact Lantra on 0845 707 8007 or email connect@lantra.co.uk
Ü UK: (DEFRA) Consultation launched on changes to horse identification
legislation
Defra has launched a consultation
to revise the existing equine identification legislation. The consultation period runs from 10th November 2008 to 10 February
2009.
The main requirement for the new Horse Identification legislation is the compulsory
microchipping of foals born after 1 July 2009. This requirement will not be retrospective for older horses.
Under the current legislation, all equidae are required to have identification.
The new regulation aims to improve this current method of identification by linking each ID issued to an electronic microchip
implanted into the animal. Linking the microchip and ID, which are both recorded as a unique life number on a national database,
will reduce risks to human health by stopping certain animals entering the food chain, help disease surveillance, and aid
recovery of lost or stolen horses.
The purpose of the consultation is to seek views on draft Regulations intended
to apply Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/2008 in England. The consultation document is confined to the application of a
number of derogations provided for in the Regulation, along with new offences created and penalties for non compliance.
The consultation can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/equine-id/index.htm
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Ü Ireland: Cross-country course design seminar - 8 March 2009
The Association of Irish Riding Clubs in conjunction with Eventing Ireland
and the Equestrian Skillnet are holding a seminar on cross-country course design.
It will take place at Gurteen College, Co. Tipperary on Sunday 8th March 2009,
running from 10.30 to 15.30 and costs €20.
This seminar will give participants an insight into designing and creating
cross-country courses and fences to allow horses and riders to train and compete to a high standard.
It will also facilitate riders moving up the levels and give them the skills
to competently negotiate the challenges that lie before across country.
A strong emphasis will be placed on safety and issues concerning the safety
of designing fences.
The sessions will be led by Tony Ennis
(A.I.R.C.) & John Swanton (Eventing Ireland).
Tony Ennis, chairman of A.I.R.C., has designed the cross-country course at
Gurteen College and it has since been modified by Ian Stark (British Olympic Eventer).
John Swanton, former chairman of Eventing Ireland, has stewarded at many international
horse trials in Ireland. John has assisted with the design and building of some
courses including his own at Ashmount.
To book a place, contact Cathy Cooper on 045 - 854 514 or email ccooper@horsesportireland.ie
This event is subsidised by the Equestrian Skillnet
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Ü UK: National Equine Forum - 31
March 2009
The National Equine Forum is a high profile annual event that is held at the
Royal Society in London. The audience includes invited leaders of the various disciplines and interests in the horse world,
and is normally attended by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal and the Minister for the Horse Industry. There are a small
number of tickets available on a first come first served basis for paying guests at a cost of £100 for the day’s event,
including a buffet lunch. The Forum provides an outstanding opportunity for networking with the leaders of the horse industry,
and represents exceptional value for money for those wishing to engage in continuing professional development.
The 2009 Forum will be held from 0930 to 1600 on Tuesday 31 March. It is a
not-for-profit event that investigates topics of current interest and concern in a non-partisan and non-commercial fashion,
with plenty of time for questions. Topics selected are always relevant and frequently controversial. Expressions of support
in debate at the Forum can often lead to initiatives going forward, as for example with the formation of the British Grooms
Association.
The 2009 Forum will include the following topics:
· Feed, including papers on the impact of biofuels
and world food demand, the advantages and disadvantages of additives, and the risks of accidental doping from cross-contamination
· Whether the equestrian world is hobby, sport, recreation
or industry
· Progress in setting up the British Grooms Association
· The implications of recent Government policies
on developments in work based learning
· A coordinated presentation by the Worshipful Companies
of Saddlers, Loriners and Farriers
· Olympic and Paralympic Games, looking back to performances
in 2008, and forward to the selection of locations in 2012
· Undergraduate thesis of the year
· Topical spot, this year looking at vaccines and
the BEVA laminitis study
If you would like to apply for a ticket, please contact the Hon Secretary,
Mrs Tracy Lepkowska, at Warwickshire College, Moreton Morrell, Warwick, CV35 9BL email TLEPKOWSKA@WARKSCOL.AC.UK
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Ü "In sicknes and
in health"
The ‘In sickness and in health’ fundraising campaign is designed
to support the BHS’s work of preventing the suffering of thousands of horses and ponies, which it does by providing
expert advice across a broad range of equine topics.
Read more »
Ü Breaking
the Strangles hold
In February 2007, the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and British Horse Society (BHS)
launched a nationwide Strangles Campaign, which has two aims. The first is to raise awareness of this dreadful equine plague,
and the second is to gain support for the research programme.
For this, the target is to raise £250,000 to fund research into the next stages
of the development of improved means of diagnosis and prevention – ultimately to eradicate this terrible disease.
The campaign was launched by the President of the AHT, HRH The Princess Royal,
at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. It continues to make great progress, with the total raised so far standing at
£159,000.
For more information about Strangles and the campaign visit www.strangles.org
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Riding Hats/Helmets
Ü Riding hats and helmets are just different terms used to describe the same thing -
protective headwear.
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