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Consultations, Reviews & Surveys
For details of current and concluded consultations, reviews, research & surveys
 

The British Horse Society is running a survey to gather information about what hi-viz items equestrians use – or not as the case may be!  It is very interested in the reasons behind the choices and will use the answers to guide a national campaign later this year.

 

Sheila Hardy (BHS Senior Executive Safety) said “The survey went 'live' on Facebook at lunchtime on Wednesday 30 March and has already received over 600 responses - if you are amongst those who have responded already, many thanks.  It will run until the end of May and there will be a free BHS Gold membership and £20 BHS bookshop voucher for one lucky person.  Every response is giving valuable information”.

 

The survey will run until the end of May 2011 and a summary of the findings will be available later to those who request it.

The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/bhshi-vizsurvey2011

 

Does your horse or pony suffer from repeat attacks of laminitis? If so he or she could be eligible to take part in an ongoing trial at The Laminitis Clinic (TLC).

Find out more »

 

Britain’s leading equestrian organisations have launched a survey to find out more about the welfare standards in livery yards.  
 
Livery yards are very popular in the UK for those people who are unable to keep their horses and ponies at home. However, there is no record of how many horses are currently at livery or indeed the number of operating yards and the welfare standards under which they operate.  

Representatives from the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA), World Horse Welfare, The British Horse Society, RSPCA, Association of British Riding Schools, South Essex Insurance Brokers (who currently insure a total of 8,562 DIY and livery stables), and for local government LACORS and CIEH, set up a working party to carry out some research into UK livery yards to become better informed about standards. The group took the view that asking the general public about their local livery yard would help to obtain information about the number of yards and get a general picture of the range and standard of accommodation and services that livery yards offer. 

Horse owners, grooms, yard owners, veterinary surgeons, farriers and other equine professionals are invited to complete the online survey at www.liveryyardsurvey.co.uk so that the working party has the most up to date information on livery yards. They should complete a survey for each livery yard about which they have first hand knowledge.

BEVA Chairman Elect, equine veterinary surgeon (and Chair of the working party), Chris House comments: “We are in the early stages of discussions about licensing Britain’s livery yard system to ensure better welfare standards for horses kept at livery. However, there is currently a void of information about these yards.   Working Party members agreed that it was necessary to survey those involved with this important industry to gather the facts about standards before any decisions are made.”  

World Horse Welfare Deputy Chief Executive and member of the working party, Tony Tyler added: “Our UK Operations team receives around 30,000 calls a year and a significant percentage of these relate to horses that are at livery. We are not seeking to impose a gold standard on livery yards, but we believe that there may be holes in the current system that lead to welfare problems. We must find solutions that make improvements for vulnerable horses at the bottom end of the market.”

Visitors to the site will be able to complete the survey confidentially and the results will be reviewed in September 2008 to establish what further action, if any, is necessary.  

To report a welfare concern please call the World Horse Welfare Hotline free on 08000 480180.

 

Equine Hoofcare Code of Practice offered for public consultation

 CLOSED - ended 30 April 2008

In 2006 the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) set up a Sub Committee to look at barefoot trimming.

Its purpose was to address the following criteria:

•        The Philosophy of Shoeing and Barefoot Trimming

•        Regulation

•        Education

•        Provision of Farriery and Barefoot Trimming Services

•        Research

A Code of Practice for Equine Hoofcare has been agreed with registered farriers, veterinary surgeons, welfare agencies and industry professionals and is now offered for wider public consultation.

Details of the consultation can be found at:  http://www.newc.co.uk/codes/hoofcare.php

The consultation period is six weeks and closes on 30th April 2008.

A list of organisations, consultees and Pledges of Support will be made available on the NEWC website when the consultation is complete.

About NEWC

The National Equine Welfare Council is made up of 60 equine welfare organisations including Animal Health Trust, British Horse Society, Blue Cross, Donkey Sanctuary, The Horse Trust, International League for the Protection of Horses, National Pony Society, Redwings Horse Sanctuary & RSPCA.

The President is Dr Harry Greenway with Vice Presidents Dr Elisabeth Svendsen and Mrs Lesley Barwise-Munro.  The Chairman is Martin Taggart.

Find out more from http://www.newc.co.uk

 

Equine dental technicians and barefoot trimmers’ survey

  CLOSED - ended 31 March 2008

How many equine dental technicians and barefoot trimmers work in the industry?  The first online survey into the industry now aims to find out.

Lantra Sector Skills Council is carrying out the survey on its website to find out the numbers working as paraprofessionals, their background and the challenges they face.

Lantra Equine and Professions Allied to Veterinary Science Industry Partnership Manager, Lisa Jarvis said:  “We estimate that around 500 dental technicians and barefoot trimmers work in the UK, but it is an emerging area and very little is known about it.”

Training is an essential way to overcome challenges and plan effectively for the future.  As the representative body for the equine industry, Lantra works to ensure that training and qualifications meet the needs of employers and industry.  It also represents the industry at government level to shape funding policy, so that areas where there are skills gaps and a training need are prioritised.

Lisa adds:  “In order for Lantra to work with the para-professionals and Defra to develop frameworks for training and qualifications we urgently need equine dental technicians and barefoot trimmers to take part in this research.”

The survey questions are grouped into eight main themes:

·        Current numbers employed in the industry

·        Entry route into current job role (i.e. school, college, university)

·        Training route used (length of training, type of training, accreditation)

·        Predicted numbers entering the industry

·        Job roles – tasks, competencies

·        Business – number of clients and horses treated

·        Membership of organisations

·        Links to other professionals (e.g. veterinary surgeons, farriers)

If you are a paraprofessional, or a client or colleague of a paraprofessional, please take the time to log onto the business section of the Lantra website www.lantra.co.uk/businesses/equine/ to take part. 

If you would prefer to receive a copy of the survey by email, please contact Lantra Connect on tel: 0845 707 8007 or email connect@lantra.co.uk. The closing date is 31st March 2008.

 

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Defra consultation information

Details on current and past Defra consultations can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/default.asp

 

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