“Hello, my name is Lynn and last year on 1st June 2006  my beloved horse Toby was stolen from his field. The police came out and took a statement from me, but as the officers really dont know much about horses, there was little that they could do.

Your beloved horse is stolen -

So what do you do then?, apart from driving around, looking in fields, talking to other horse owners? Its like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I went on the internet, and found there was an organisation called Horsewatch, I contacted them, and through them have sent his photos far and wide. Unfortunately as yet I have had no news, but I find comfort in the phone calls, E mails and messages I have recieved from HW people offering to help. They go to sales across the country, sales which are impossible for me to attend. They also look out for tack, trailers, equipment, rugs. This is purely voluntary, and I cant thank them enough for trying to help me.

I am trying to raise awareness,of the growing problem of thieves taking our animals and tack etc, we need to combine our efforts and work together to help stop this happening. The more eyes and ears that Horsewatch has, the more chance we have of finding them.

If there was one member on every yard in this country, keeping an eye on new horses arriving, and checking out the Stolen Horse Register, or simply observing new arrivals in fields around their home area, then horse crime would be vastly reduced.

Just to give you an indication of how callous these people are, they recently took a 2 week old shetland foal from its mother, (picked it up over the fence of their field) took it and tried to sell it on. Luckily it was recovered about a week later, traumatised, but unharmed.

Thats how easy it is.”

Your Horse/s and items of equipment are now at serious risk, even whilst you sit reading this. Your horse-box and/or horses, with all the expensive security measures you might possibly take, could disappear tonight. Your coloured horses are almost certain to be already marked down for a visit by the theft brigade. Harness and tack disappears by the lorry loads (yes, lorry loads plural) every month throughout Great Britain.

Your equine purchase today could well be the theft of yesterday, I use yesterday in its broadest possible sense.

Perhaps, even more sadly, the incidences of neglect, cruelty and deliberate abuse of horses escalates as more and more people decide “it would be nice” to have a pony for the children, or to improve their ‘local status’, to “keep horses”. Without the knowledge, sufficient land and buildings, or money to do the job properly, will almost always begin and end in extreme suffering for the horses, and heartbreaking work for Horse Watch, the RSPCA and the Police.

The equine world is riddled with theft, cruelty and abuse. Sorry, but it is true.

So what can Horse Watch do? Well; Horse Watch, for a very small subscription of £5 per year:

    * Unites horse owners across the whole of England, Scotland  

       and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland.

    * Provides free expert advice and information.

    * Provides access to a free, Police backed, National Web Site,

      where thefts, theft recoveries, problems, events, and

      information are posted, often within minutes of the first

      report becoming available.

    * Has links to other important sites, such as The Stolen Horse

      Register, Stolen Trailers and Horse Box registers, latest

      equipment information, events and the very latest security

      developments.

    * Recovers and gives temporary shelter to abandoned,   

       neglected horses.

    * Investigates and initiates nationwide action in respect of

      any reported offences or concern.

    * Provides tack marking, freeze marking, horse micro-

      chipping events, as well as table top sales and sponsorship

      events.

    * Holds County Branch meetings where branches are

      established and also helps to establish new branches where

      a number of persons wish to set up their own branch

    * Will provide individual members with a full branch service

      from the nearest branch, if no branch local to those

      members is available.

Having said that, Horse Watch depends upon membership to be able to function and without the support of members it can only fail. We, in the Worcestershire Branch are determined not to fail and seek your help to provide a membership (and a branch) in your County. We have no paid staff and all subscriptions are applied to Horse Watch work only.

Meanwhile, we promise you that the theft brigade will have its eyes on you sooner or later. You just need to anticipate when that might be…..like tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month or next year; when you are asleep or out for the day, they can strike in minutes………and what you might do to defeat them is something we can help you with.

Call 07794 453911or email admin@shropshirehorsewatch.co.uk