The Saskatchewan SPCA has noticed an alarming increase in the number of horse complaints it receives.
Dr. Brynne Rothwell is not surprised.
The Saskatchewan Horse Federation veterinarian said the province is overpopulated with horses because of low economic value, closure of American slaughter facilities and an influx of horses from the United States.
“It doesn’t matter what the class of livestock is that you’re dealing with, if they have no value, that’s when we start seeing welfare concerns and that’s what we’re seeing now,” he said. “It doesn’t surprise me there are an increased number of reports to the SPCA.”
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The federation estimates there are 115,000 horses in Saskatchewan.
Kaley Pugh, the SPCA’s manager of animal protection services, said horse-related complaints increased 13 percent to 186 from 164 between 2009 and 2010.
“In the first nine weeks of 2011, we have already received 65 complaints,” she said. “It’s just sort of shocking that we’re finding this increase number of cases.”
Minimum guidelines for winter horse care in Saskatchewan include access to hay and possibly supplemental grain.
Horses need access to adequate water at all times and require shelter from the wind.
“We’re finding that people are just putting horses out to pasture with no hay and sometime no shelter and just letting them eat snow all winter,” Pugh said.
She said this winter’s conditions have been abnormally difficult on unsupervised horses let out to pasture.
Large amounts of snow combined with melting and freezing rain and then more snow has created hard layers.
“When it’s hard and crusted like that, it’s difficult for them to break through to the feed underneath and it’s also more work for them to eat it as their moisture source.”
She also said the public is becoming more aware of animal welfare concerns and more willing to act on their concerns.
The SPCA investigates each complaint and received 1,800 last fiscal year. It has seized animals in three separate instances this year, which is more than last year.
Rothwell said wintering horses is an especially important segment in their cycle of care.
“We need to plan for them because they can’t plan for themselves. If they are going to range out, they need range with enough residuals to maintain weight with the higher energy requirements of the season,” he said. “We have a responsibility to these animals regardless of their value.”
