ANIMAL WELFARE organisations have put down 11 thoroughbred horses since January and rescued a further 65, raising fears of a major upsurge in the abandonment of racehorses in the economic downturn.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it had rescued 87 horses so far this year, of which at least 31 were thoroughbreds.
The Irish Horse Welfare Trust, which has complained for years about overbreeding in the equine industry, said it had rescued 21 horses so far this year, including two pure-bred horses last week.
These and other welfare groups believe owners are struggling to pay for the upkeep of their horses, and fear the abandonment rate will increase in the coming months. One of the two pure-breds rescued by the trust last week was a foal abandoned by owners due to a disease it had contracted through long-term neglect.
Trust spokeswoman Sarah Power said: “We have brought in four thoroughbred horses identified through chipping and five registered sports horses, one of which we think may be a foal of a top show horse.”
A pure-bred horse can cost from €4,000 to more than €10,000 depending on its condition and bloodline, while a thoroughbred can cost a multiple of this.
Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA)communications officer Orla Aungier said at least 25 out of the 77 horses they rescued this year had been either thoroughbred or three-quarters thoroughbred. “We are now receiving up to five calls every day reporting horse cruelty.
The most recent incident was in a field with over 30 horses on River Road in Wicklow. “One horse was so badly caught up in the wire that she had a severe eye injury and a deep leg injury with bone exposed through it. She had become tangled in the wire trying to get through to the last remaining grassy patch to feed.
“For the first time, though, we are seeing more and more pure-bred horses left in this condition.”
Figures from Horse Racing Ireland put the number of thoroughbred horses in training this year at 9,757, a 4 per cent drop on 2008 figures. The annual cost of maintaining a horse through training for nine months of the year is an average of €18,000.
Aidan Burns of the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners said: “You can now purchase a horse from €4,000, so there are still a lot of people getting into the business. But they are more difficult to sell than they were three years ago.” He said he would be shocked if pure-bred horses were being abandoned and put down due to the rigorous procedure that horse owners must adhere to when breeding horses.
The DSPCA called for an embargo on horse-breeding last week.
However, Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association chairman Joe Foley said an embargo would be “asking too much of an industry that supports 25,000 jobs and recognises Irish racehorses as the best in the world”.
Home straight: Buck Rogers returns to his former owner after stint with school and ISPCA
THE FORMER owner and trainer of a Grand National racehorse is to take the animal back after being informed this week that it had ended up in the care of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).
Buck Rogers, now 20-years-old, was retired by his trainer Victor Bowens in 2000 and sold to a riding school for a token sum of €1. He believed the horse, unable to continue racing at the top level, deserved to live out his days suitably occupied in a riding school.
"I kept in touch with Buck for about three years after I gave him to the riding school. He had a great life there and with me," he said. However, the horse proved unsuitable for the riding school in later years and was signed over to the ISPCA in 2006.
Contacted by The Irish Times, Bowens said he had not been aware until now that the horse was in the care of the ISPCA. "It is a shame, but not surprising," he said.
But having the heard the news, he said he would take the horse back into his care at his base in Grangecon, Co Wicklow.
"He is of course too old to race now, but we are more than willing to take Buck back. He was a great horse and a great racehorse, we have a place for him here with us," he said.
The ISPCA had informed him yesterday that the horse was still in great condition, he added.
"We are going to get things moving and Buck should be making his way back here to me next week," he said.
Information on adopting rescued horses is available through the ISPCA website www.ispca.ie, the DSPCA website www.dspca.ie or The Irish Horse Welfare Trust website www.ihwt.ie