The British Horse Society (BHS) castrated its 200th colt on Wednesday (19th October) to help tackle the UK’s horse overpopulation crisis.
Veterinary professionals and students volunteered their time to help the charity through the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) as Britain continues to be in the grip of an unprecedented horse crisis.
A rise of horses abandoned in recent years has seen scores of the animals going uncared for and, in the worst scenarios, humanely destroyed when they have nowhere else to go.
The BHS has now held nine castration and healthcare clinics nationwide with Monty, castrated in Preston, being the 200th colt.
In total, 208 colts and stallions have been castrated and altogether 379 have attended the clinics as part of our healthcare and education package
Gemma Stanford, BHS Head of Welfare, said: “We want to end the pointless suffering of unwanted foals by castrating colts.
“We are so grateful to BEVA vets and partners generously donating their time and resources to the cause.”
Luke Edwards, veterinary surgeon at University of Liverpool, said: “I have been to several of the BHS/BEVA castration clinics. Each one has been constructive and satisfying.
“It is difficult to successfully manage a colt or a stallion, and after speaking to the attending horse owners it is often clear that the animal will have a better quality of life after castration.
“The clinics are well run and there is a good team atmosphere between all the volunteers.
“More than one student has said that attending the clinic was one of the best days of their entire five year vet course!”
Lauren Manzor from Forth Valley Equine Vets, who volunteered on the project, said: “I originally volunteered for the project because I have professionally witnessed first-hand the issues that go along with indiscriminate breeding and horse over-population.
“I feel that if the horse population can be controlled and clients can be educated with projects such as BHS/BEVA Castration Projects, the overall welfare of British horses can be improved.”
The BHS has also been generously supported by Zoetis and Shires with lots of assistance from World Horse Welfare, Redwings, RSPCA, Blue Cross, Dean Bland from Well Equine and The Donkey Sanctuary.
To find out how you can help us help horses, visit: http://www.bhs.org.uk/welfare-and-care/our-campaigns/helping-horses
