THE Irish Horse Rehoming Programme (IHRP) was set up three years ago by Carrie Keogh to rehome healthy equines intended for euthanasia by local authorities in the country’s largest pound in Co Kildare. Keogh previously worked for another horse charity, the Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) as their Chief Welfare Officer, successfully rehoming numerous equines during her 14-year tenure.

The IHRP operates by rescuing healthy equines intended for slaughter from the country’s largest pound and then makes these equines available for rehoming to all sectors, including riding schools, trekking centres and therapeutic facilities, on a permanent basis.

The IHRP differs slightly from other rehoming organisations in that once a person has agreed to take on an equine, it is placed in their ownership and their name is recorded on the horse’s official passport.

Keogh explains: “I transfer ownership so that makes us a bit different, most charities retain ownership of the horses even after they are rehomed. We spend time finding the right owner and then we transfer full ownership to them.”

DIFFICULT DECISION

Keogh selects horses for rehoming based on health, soundness and temperament. “When you go to the pound first there could be 70-80 horses in pens, unfortunately I can’t rescue them all. I might only be able to rescue a few each time, so to start with I keep my eyes up and look for the biggest ones. Bigger horses are easier to rehome, but we do take in a large number of ponies as space permits.

“It’s very difficult because there is not much time to look at the animals – a cob or anything ideally above 14.2 that’s what I initially zone in on. Then it gets more technical, I’m assessing the general health of the animal, its conformation, soundness and temperament.

“You can get carried away and let your heart rule your head and look at something and say that will be rehomeable in six months’ time, when I’ve put some work into it, but at the end of the day my priority is to take what can be rehomed as quickly as possible, that gives me the best chance of saving as many horses as I possibly can.”

The IHRP take great care to ensure that any equine rehomed by them is in good health. It will be vetted, treated for worms, receive farrier attention and have its teeth checked upon arrival to the IHRP. The animal is then rehabilitated and a permanent owner is sought for the horse.

“We have had 251 horses come through here over the past three years and currently have 211 horses re-homed,” states Keogh.

THE PROBLEM

We can see from Figure 1, the number of horses being seized and euthanised is dropping year-on-year, but there are still thousands of horses without owners to care for them responsibly, both in the pound and left emaciated and neglected around the country.

Just last week a lady in Meath was convicted and fined after two aged horses were removed by the ISPCA. Subsequent veterinary examinations at the National Animal Centre revealed that, not only were the animals weak and emaciated, there was also evidence of heavy lice infestation and a number of other ailments, particularly dental issues that were preventing the horses from eating properly.

Given the age of the horses, the level of suffering they were enduring, and the poor prognosis for complete recovery, both animals were euthanised on humane grounds to prevent further suffering.

Keogh has spent many years working for animal welfare and rehoming organisations so I asked her why so many animals in Ireland are ending up in this situation.

“It’s a culture thing. You have a mix of the travelling community – they are all breeders and that’s for profit. So it is mostly colts that end up in the pound because they are worth nothing to the travelling community for breeding. So that’s the cob end of things.

“Then when it comes to trotters you’ve got them mainly in the cities and big towns. That’s a sport and there is gambling attached to that. There is huge money on these races. So that’s why the urban owners have them, but a very small percentage of these animals are looked after properly and then if the animal breaks down they are worth nothing.

“They might then be passed on to some young person who has no idea how to look after it or the animal is just left abandoned and so they too end up being picked up by local county councils.

“But it’s important to point out that it’s not just cobs and trotters that are coming through the pound. You will see plenty of well-bred Connemaras, sport horses and thoroughbreds there too.

“The other side of it is that there is not enough implementation of the law. No person under the age of 16 is allowed to own a horse under Irish law, but animals are not being taken off these young people. But you’d need the army to go out and do it. The resources just aren’t there.”

THE PERFECT MATCH

Keogh’s success in rehoming is due mainly to the time and effort she puts in to matching a suitable equine to a suitable owner. Anyone interested in rehoming, must complete an official application form – this is key to the matching process.

Prospective owners outline what kind of animal they are looking for, be it a companion pony or a small thoroughbred that might be suitable for polo or mounted games. Once Keogh has a demand for a certain animal she can do her best to source and save one from the pound.

Applicants can also view horses that are available at IHRP for rehoming on the IHRP website and if they are interested in a particular equine they can specify this on the application form and a visit to the yard to be introduced to the equine can be arranged.

All prospective owners are required to provide references, which will be checked. If a suitable match is found the prospective owner will be contacted and if the applicant decides to proceed with the rehoming arrangement a visit to the premises where the equine will be kept will be arranged in order to carry out a home check.

If successful, the IHRP and the applicant sign a legally binding contract, laying down the terms and conditions of the rehoming. This is devised to safeguard all concerned, particularly the welfare of the equine involved. Once the contract is signed and the appropriate fee is paid, the equine will be registered in the applicant’s name and the passport shall be obtained.

RELATIVE DONATIONS

Each horse at the IHRP is given a tailored donation value. “We ask for a fair donation when someone comes to take a horse – on average it would be higher than most other charities. It does slow down the number of rehomings but it gets us the right people.

“We tailor the donation to the individual horse. Most rescuers charge a very low, standard amount of say €250, but to me that is absolute nonsense. A horse with a clean passport is worth factory money at least, so all of our donation prices would be above this to ensure it puts the animal out of the factory and dealer markets.

“I don’t want to rehome 20 horses to the wrong person, I’d rather rehome two to the right person. I’d love if we had 10 horses going out of here every week that would be fantastic but there is no point if they are not going to the right place.

“We value the animals accordingly – that’s how we operate here. It’s a protection fee more than anything else.

“The animals are worth a lot more in Germany, the Irish cobs are worth thousands in Germany, whereas they are only worth hundreds over here. We have more gone to Germany this year than Ireland – there are approximately four a month going – in Ireland we are lucky if there is one a month.

“Irish people generally don’t want to pay the donation. They think they are offering a good home to the pony so they should have them for free or give you €50. Nobody values the Irish horse as little as the Irish themselves, so rehoming is slow.

“But by the time an equine is fit to go to a new home a considerable amount of time and money has been invested in it. We are only funded by the department and we are very grateful to get the ex-gratia grant, but all that covers really is hay. So to do what we are doing people have to be willing to make some kind of contribution.”

GETTING INVOLVED

You don’t have to be able to take a pony saved from slaughter to help one, For a small weekly, monthly or once-off donation, you can sponsor a foal, pony or pregnant mare of your choice, and help the IHRP give them the best of care until they are rehomed.You could also share the news of your good deed with your friends and help promote the work that the IHRP do.

If you are interested in rehoming or sourcing a horse or pony through the IHRP, you can go online and visit their website to view the horses available for rehoming and download an application form.

Alternatively, if you wish to have an application form posted out to you, you can get in touch with the IHRP by phone or email.

Web: ihrp.ie

Email: info@ihrp.ie

Tel: 086 026 6650

HAPPY CUSTOMER

VICTOR Connolly, of Burgage Stud in Co Carlow, recently worked with Carrie Keogh to source a pony for his breeding operation.

Connolly was in the middle of the breeding season when his teaser pony had to be put down. “It was the middle of the breeding season and we had mares coming to the stud each day. Our little Welsh teaser pony, which we had for many years, was suffering from old age and the right thing to do was to put him down,” Connolly explained.

TEASER PONY

“The role a teaser pony plays is so important and finding a suitable pony is imperative. A friend of mine recommended that I give Carrie a call. Luckily Carrie understood what I needed and was able to source a suitable animal from within the pound and I’m glad to say everything has worked out – I’m a very happy customer.

“I was struck by the way that Carrie operates – she is very practically minded, she really is providing an excellent service and it’s very much under the radar. I see a lot of people and organisations who want to save the world, they want to save every animal but that’s not always practical. Carrie takes great care in matching the right animal with the right person and ultimately gives each animal she takes on a chance to find a forever home - that’s an education many could benefit from.

“I would urge people who are looking for a horse or pony to consider making an application with the IHRP. You could find the perfect animal and help save it from a sad end. While not everyone might want to take on a horse or pony, you can still support the work that is being done at the IHRP by donating - this is genuine stuff.”

Case studies

PRINCESS

The mare pictured below is a five-year-old thoroughbred by a stallion from one of Ireland’s top studs. Unfortunately she turned out to be quite small and the owners felt she wouldn’t have a career in racing so they registered her as a sport horse. Princess ended up tied with rope around her neck at IKEA in Ballymun.

Carrie Keogh was automatically drawn to this beautiful, relatively healthy animal when she saw her in the pound and Princess is now set to travel to her new home in Northern Ireland.

Elijah

Elijah is a miniature cob, just one of many that Carrie Keogh would see when she visits the pound. Keogh explained that: “That is the way Ireland has gone with cobs. The travelling community dictated it, they always had the best of Irish cobs, big 15hh cobs, but they sold them all out of the country when cobs were good. When the traditional cobs were gone and they couldn’t compete they introduced this new mini cob – around the time when everyone went mad for micro-sized animals, micro-pigs, and tea cup chuiawas. Here we have the teacup cob so they have got smaller and smaller but they are of no real use – they don’t do a job here. Luckily they are highly sought after in places like Germany and Poland as children’s ponies. Elijah has found a new home in Germany and leaves today for his new home.

LOLLIPOP

This little gelding has been very unfortunate. He has a full Welsh pedigree passport and yet quite recently he was deemed worthless and left abandoned by his owners. He was then rescued by a lady who ran a riding school, but the pony wasn’t there long before the lady found him to be difficult to manage and unsuitable for children to ride in the school. He had been kept completely isolated from other horses in the riding school because he had initially kicked out at another horse. Someone told Carrie Keogh about the pony and so he ended up at the IHRP. It became apparent that the pony had some stallion tendencies and when Carrie checked she found that the pony was in fact a rig. He has since had the testicle removed at UCD veterinary hospital and has started to settle down considerably, giving him an excellent chance at finding a forever home.