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·   Be prepared...

·   Use your head...

·   Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) 

·   Summer floods 

·   Australian Equine Influenza outbreak

·   Eventer killed at horse trials in Germany

·   Teenage event rider killed in rotational fall

·   BE to pull plug on sub-standard events

·   Eventing safety group meet in London

·   New Australian research on falls and injuries in eventing

·   BHS petition calls for bigger say for equestrians in access law-making

·   BHS Riding and Road Safety Test achieves QCA Accreditation

·   New Highway Code confuses horse riders

·   BHS access officers save Lincolnshire route

·   Highways Agency targets ragwort near pasture

·   Grant for disabled riders

·   Horse stabbed to death in barn

·   Second Dorset horse death with suspected knife wounds

·   Fury as horses released on to road

·   Horse cruelty cases rise by 33%

·   Ragwort epidemic sweeps the country

·   Strangles survey reveals spread and ignorance of disease

·   Longer insurance for long-in-the-tooth horses

·   Fire Kills 44 Horses

·   Suspected arson attack at stables in Coventry

·   Woman dies after being kicked in the show ring

·   Horse put down after road smash

·   Driver hurt after van collides with horse

·   Queen's former horse rescued  

·   Fire crew saved my horse’s life

·   Drivers warned to check horsebox floors

·   How safe is your lorry flooring?

·   Appeal against ban on keeping horses quashed

·   Horse riders set to sue over RAF jet injuries

·   Record fine for illegal shoeing

·   'Madman on horse' gets two years' probation

·   Myth of the Month

·   New Chairman for the British Horse Industry Confederation

·   New Chief Executive for the International League for the Protection of Horses

·   Racing stable safety a priority - $500,000 StableSafe initiative launched in Victoria 

·   Synthetic surfaces have helped decrease horse racing deaths

·   BHS Safety Conference  – 15 September 2007

·   BHS embraces equine facilitated learning - 17 September 2007

·   National Riding Festival 2007

·   BBC Programme investigates horse related accidents - 10 October 2007

·   ABRS AGM and Conference – 15 October 2007

·   BETA Conference & Autumn Exhibition – 14 & 15 October 2007

·   ILPH tackles obesity in horses

·   The British Grooms Association

·   Information

·   Training Resources

·   Sources of Help

·   Gloom lifts for riding schools 

·   Air Ambulance service for Hampshire and Isle of Wight

·   Horse & Country TV launches on Sky on 2 July

·   TV series highlights work of ILPH

·   57% in survey admit to have ridden without a hat

·   Horse rides to rescue as owner attacked in field by raging cow

Be prepared...

What's the link between the introduction of new legislation, the recent floods and the outbreak of foot and mouth disease?  Simple; over July and August we saw all three.  We also saw a horse industry that was ill-prepared to respond centrally, or to provide any guidance or help. 

On the 1^st of July a new law was introduced to make virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England smoke-free.  But there is inconsistency in how the law is being interpreted by local authorities - one council insisted that "no smoking" signs be placed on every stable door.  We shouldn't have this nonsense; the horse industry must ensure that it's involved with the proposals and consultation for new legislation, so that any new laws can be sensibly and uniformly implemented across all equestrian businesses.  The Smoke-free Regulations shouldn't be open to interpretation - for equestrian businesses, one size should fit all. 

It's unlikely that anyone could have foreseen the severity of the flooding suffered by so many in July and August.  The only organisation formally to offer help - by telephone - was the British Horse Society.  As this edition of Riding Safely is published, there is still no definitive guidance available for horse owners and equestrian businesses - although it is understood that Defra may have something in the pipeline.  It's a sad fact, but we are beginning to see the effects of climate change, and flooding is likely to recur in the future.

Amidst the astonishing scale of the biosecurity lapse at Pirbright, horse owners, equestrian businesses and industry organisations reacted responsibly in trying to prevent the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease.  But the outbreak caused considerable panic, confusion and disruption to the equestrian community.  "Where can we ride?", “Can we go to shows?", "Should we hold our show?” were some of the questions asked, often with inconsistent answers being provided by Defra. In fact the general consistency, quality and level of information provided to horse owners by Defra in the early stages was undeniably poor.  Various horse organisations provided what information they could - British Eventing were particularly good - but again, the horse industry was ill-prepared to respond centrally.  Subsequently, the British Horse Industry Confederation has made a request that the horse industry be represented on the Exotic Animal Diseases stakeholders group. 

But while it's easy to make Defra the whipping boy for the inadequacy of providing and communicating information, the horse industry must also shoulder some responsibility.  The last outbreak of FMD was in 2001.  Good quality information was provided for horse owners at the time.   Much of that information is still available on the internet today.  Most of the information hasn't changed, but why wasn't it published for quick and easy access during this outbreak?  Bearing in mind the financial cost to the equestrian community of this latest episode, shouldn't the horse industry have ensured that it was there? The Exotic Animal Diseases Contingency Plan (which includes FMD) is up for annual review, with over 150 equestrian organisations being invited to comment.  Let's hope they look deeply to make sure that there is provision within the plan to provide adequate information in a timely manner to all interested parties. 

These may seem harsh words for an industry that is now beginning to work well together.  In partnership it is tackling and solving problems.  One need look no further than the recently launched Emergency Services Protocol - guidelines to help the emergency services cope better with equine incidents and ensure that any horse involved in an accident receives proper care as quickly as possible.  After many years of fragmentation, the industry, partnered by Defra, also deserves credit for developing and implementing longer-term strategies.  But perhaps now it’s time to shift its focus temporarily to identifying and mitigating the threats -- those shorter-term risks (such as flooding and FMD) -- that might adversely impact heavily on the health, safety and welfare of people, and horses, and ultimately, the future sustainability of all equestrian businesses.  Maybe it's time now for the industry to be better prepared...

Ken Law

Editor

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Use your head...

With darker mornings and evenings now upon us, there might be in the odd occasion when you need to use a torch around the yard.

The problem:  Hand-held torches aren’t always suitable as many yard activities require both hands and trying to hold a torch at the same is sometimes just asking for problems. 

The Solution:  Enter the headlight!  Readily available, they are small, lightweight, bright, robust and offer good battery life. 

What to look for:  Look for ones that use LED’s, these are solid state bulbs, and unlike the normal filament bulbs, aren't susceptible to breaking if the headlight is dropped and should never need replacing.  Also choose a headlamp that has just one or two high powered LED’s, preferably with a lens in front of them.  You'll usually find these to be much brighter than those offering sometimes up to 12 LED’s.  Being able to get batteries easily is important, so choose one where you can pick up batteries at any shop.  Typically these will be AAA batteries. 

Expect to pay: around £10 - £15.

But remember:  Headlamps around the yard should be used on the odd occasions.  If you're using one a lot, then you need to ask yourself if you need additional fixed mains lighting.  But they are great for keeping in your pocket for the odd occasions and worth their weight in gold if you ever have a power cut.