BREEDING MINEFIELD
Sir — Registering a foal can be a
minefi eld. Those who’ve selected
the best stallion to suit their mare
can lose all their breeding choices
by choosing the cheapest pet
ID passport, rather than giving
some thought to the most suitable
studbook for their foal. Therefore,
as a breeder and stallion owner, I
thought I’d of er some advice.
Quite simply, if you breed you
foal in Britain, then it is British
bred. At the outset, you should
be given a covering certifi cate by
the stallion owner, which can be
used to obtain a breeding passport
for your foal. You can go to the
studbook of the stallion or your
mare but, if they are both foreign,
use any of our main British
studbooks of sport horses. You
could also register your foal with
the continental studbooks, but
why should they gain the kudos of
your selections?
Have your mare graded — even
if foreign — as a youngster, when
she’s in foal or after she has foaled
and before the foal is registered.
Your foal may well help with
the grading marks, as can any
performance and produce record.
If wanting to show your
mare and foal in sport horse
classes, register with Sport Horse
Breeding of Great Britain; or if
selling your foal to the world, the
Anglo European Studbook or
British Warmblood Breeders
Studbook UK may be recognised
more by foreign buyers. The Elite
Foals Registration Tour and the
Futurity provide viewing, grading
and evaluation opportunities.
Anne Dicker
Stockbridge, Hants
TOO LATE TO RIDE
Sir — Is it me or does anyone else
feel uncomfortable with how late
riders were going across country
in the last month of British
Eventing (BE)? Often the light
casts bright and dark shadows
when the night is drawing in.
I had a horrendous fall many
moons ago in these conditions
and spent weeks in intensive care
when my horse misread a bank
under trees. Please BE, be careful!
Carol Rowclif e
Tiverton, Devon
A BE spokesperson replies: “At
all BE fi xtures, cross-country
safety is paramount and, as
well as inspecting the courses
before they run, the technical
advisers and stewards monitor
the courses throughout the
day for deteriorating ground,
poor light or low sun. Actions
can and will be put into place
if necessary, such as taking a
fence or fences out of the course,
holding the course until the light
improves or, in extreme cases,
closing the course before the end
of competition due to bad light.
“Rule 4.3 in the BE rule
book stipulates the number of
entries per day of competition
into categories — after British
Summer Time (BST) and before
30 September, and before BST
and after 30 September, the
latter having reduced numbers
because of the shorter days.
“This year’s particularly
bright and sunny autumn has
highlighted the fact that course-
designers need to take into
account low sun when placing
their fences, which will be
discussed by the cross-country
advisory group.”
CUTTING UP’S NOT ON
Sir — At the recent Heritage
championships, I saw several
jockeys, mainly teenagers, cut up
other competitors. Seeing your
gap for a gallop down the long
side can be exciting, but cutting
up other competitors can be
dangerous for rider and pony.
Earlier this season, a judge
threw a competitor out for overuse
of the whip, a correct decision.
Therefore, should a judge remove
a rider who is deliberately cutting
up other competitors, causing a
danger to everyone in the ring?
Charlotte and Floriann Gilston
Preston, Lancs
THE RIGHT DECISION
Sir — Carol Phillips’ article online
on what to do with retired horses
(21 October) certainly struck a
chord with me.
Charlie was 30 and had
arthritis, shoulder issues and
was no longer able to digest food
properly. The winter of 2017
was particularly hard for him, so
because I didn’t want to see him
suf er anymore, I decided to have
him put to sleep.
However, I didn’t know what
to do with Charlie’s companion,
Rio — he was a good horse with
no health issues, just old and
a bit grumpy. And I certainly
wasn’t going to give him away for
all the reasons you talked about
in your article.
In the end, both my guys
were put down in their fi eld and
buried under the crab apple
tree, but the reaction I had
from others made me doubt my
decision. Deep down, though,
I knew I had done the best for
both my horses, but I am saving
your article so that in future, if I
start to regret or feel awful about
my decision, I can re-read it and
comfort my mind. Thank you.
Meghan Louer
Amsterdam, New York, USA
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Sir — I have been an instructor for
40 years and if there’s one thing
I’ve learnt, it’s to be consistent.
It’s with this in mind that I appeal
to the governing bodies to be
consistent in their rules on welfare
issues across all disciplines.
Therefore, if a tight noseband
is bad for a dressage horse, it can’t
be acceptable for a showjumper
or show horse. The same goes for
rollkur, weighted boots and crank
nosebands. We need to take the
lead from scientifi c evidence and
decide what is acceptable for all
horses’ wellbeing, whether they
are international competitors or
pleasure horses.