Ireland’s financial crash from prosperity has hit everyone very hard indeed, but none are suffering more than the horses, and those involved with them. A major part of Ireland’s economy has always been the horse industry, with high prices commanded for the cream of the bloodstock from the racing world.

This link about TOM HOGAN tells of a racehorse trainer in Ireland who has seen his livelihood disappear and has had to take on the responsibility for horses left with him with nobody to pay their bills. The small owners and syndicates who had the money in the boom years and invested it in racing have been bankrupted by the fall in the economy.

It’s a heartbreaking story and unfortunately is happening across every section of the Irish horse world. There are horses and ponies of all breeds and quality being left to die in fields because the buyers are no longer there, and the breeders can’t afford to feed what they haven’t sold.

An audio link HERE reports more of the problems facing the equine population in Ireland.

Lets not fool ourselves, however, this is happening in the UK too, although not quite as abruptly.

People need to stop breeding horses indiscriminately. Mares should only be bred from if they have perfomance or pedigree related approval and stallions need to be licensed.

This is not just about the big breeders though, it’s about every person who breeds, whether it be your pet pony or just because you want a foal. Harsh and upsetting as it is, the Irish are acting responsibly by humanely destroying those horses that have no future. If more individuals in the UK would shake off the blinkers and follow suit by accepting abattoirs as a neccessary part of the equine world, then perhaps shipping horses live in horrible conditions across the channel for meat would become a thing of the past.