# Protest horse drive in Tipton causes traffic chaos



## Cuffey (3 August 2011)

Traffic chaos in Tipton as horse owners protest against the Council removing horses grazing inappropriate places
Pic shows well looked after horses
I dont think the Council will ever stop these people owning horses, negotiation needed.

Comments are quite a mixture under the article!

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/07/30/protest-trots-along-causing-long-tipton-tailbacks/

According to Dragon Driving advert this action will be repeated.


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## HappyHorses:) (3 August 2011)

Take it these are all travellers horses? 

Most horse owners have to undergo the expeness of paying for grazing, insurance etc. Be great to graze for free but in this day and age it just doesn't work that way. 

Do these horses have 3rd party insurance?  I can understand why the non horsey public would be concerned about this. Be them footing the bill if something went wrong.


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## Cuffey (3 August 2011)

Think they have caused problems for ages in this area

Sure there are ''settled travellers'' in other parts of the country who manage to keep horses without causing so many problems.
However with the likes of the Bridgend horses last winter there needs to be negotiation and compromise.
Taking them away does not work--eg 18 removed from Bridgend and held in Somerset were stolen back
These people will always keep horses whether they can afford them or not, they may not be kept like we keep ours but most look really well and there is a pride in that.


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## stormhorse (3 August 2011)

not travellers horses but they have been kept in this way for generations so very hard to change peoples minds. Several horses have been removed by the bailiffs as they had not been taken away by the owners even after being warned. Lots of horses kept roaming loose in areas & do cause problems with traffic (not sure how more havnt been hit really) & found eating front lawns etc causing distress to the local people. In this area horses have & are still kept in back gardens & even heard of them being kept in houses.


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## Zeta (8 October 2011)

Some of these horses may look well but behind the scenes is a different story I`m afraid. Left without water,no signs of any hay.There were around 70 horses at one point on any open space in the area.Children are afraid to play on these places and some have been injured.Horses have died, and mares are left on tethers with very young foals.Last winter many ran the streets ripping open bin bags they were so hungry.Some were even suffering from Strangles.I have many photographs of the conditions these horses were kept in.Anyone who loves horses would never condone permanent tethering.


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## lachlanandmarcus (8 October 2011)

Couldnt agree more Zeta. 

Tethering as a tradition is fine, horse is tethered on FRESH ground with GRASS as the caravan moves along the journey the traveller is making. Tethering as a means of illegally keeping your horse permanently on land that isnt yours and you have no permission to do so and which deprives the horses of more than one of the welfare code 'freedoms' is unacceptable welfare. 

In addition the tethering of stallions etc in this way makes it extremely dangerous for horseriders to safely use commons etc for legal purposes eg riding. 

I believe that tethering should only be legal for max 18 hour period in any 24 hours and illegal to tether in the same field without a 7 day break in between.


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## Cuffey (8 October 2011)

Zeta
Please share your information with World Horse Welfare in confidence

http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/contact/tellus


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## Paint Me Proud (8 October 2011)

i live local to the areas where tethering is common practice. They arent travellers but it is a 'Black County' tradition. You see them tethered along the railway lines and river banks etc when you drive through the areas.

Our YM lives in one of these areas in a large cul-de-sac - she says they regularly get horses tethered on the grass in the centre of the cul-de-sac.


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## Zeta (9 October 2011)

Many thanks for those who replied to my post!The Council have been negotiating with horse owners for approx. 10 years.Tethering as a means of keeping horses cheaply is normal in this area.It`s been going on since the 1950`s.As it isn`t illegal it`s difficult to get anything done.The Animal Welfare Act isn`t much help as horses are regularly left without water. Horse Passport Law seems to be for other people and I haven`t heard of anyone here being prosecuted yet!
Several horses were taken by bailiffs and no one came forward to claim them.This included those suffering from Strangles.Some pictures of the unclaimed horses appeared in our local paper,when horse owners were claiming the stray horses are destroyed.One last thing.Someone told me it is not compulsory to have stallions licenced or colts gelded any more.Is this true?


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## Cuffey (9 October 2011)

Zeta you are correct anyone can keep an entire colt and they do, they breed anything and everything with little thought.
Quite sure that owning a colt/stallion to some is the same kind of status as having a 'fighting' dog

Chatted to one lad one day with a nice colt, which he had bought in the pub the night before!


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## Zeta (9 October 2011)

Yes, Cuffey.It`s sad to know there are as many irresponsible horse owners as there are dog owners.I do know of people who have "bought a pony for the kids" because it was a colt and cheap.Only to be sold on after a few weeks because it nipped and kicked.
It will be interesting to see what happens in Tipton this winter and whether we see abandoned horses again in the streets.I do hope not.


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## rascal (17 October 2011)

Welfare or lack of it has been an issue there for about 15yrs, its time these horses were rounded up and sold to good homes to cover the cost. There are literally horses everywhere!! Everyone keeps them tethered on every bit of grass and they are often on the roads. Just because its always been done doesnt make it right now with the busy roads, these people should be forced to either rent grazing like the rest of us do, or sell.


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## jasmine (17 October 2011)

My friend lives by the canal in Netherton, where the horses are also running loose.  About 6 months ago a foal had to be removed from the canal, where it had fallen in and drowned.


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## Zeta (18 October 2011)

I found this video on YouTube recently,showing horses tethered in the Tipton area of the West Midlands.Food for thought? 

[youtube]lzSsnFf896E[youtube]


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## packwood (19 October 2011)

I am doing some research into this problem. If anyone has any information could they pm me. Thank you. All pm's would be confidential.


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## rascal (19 October 2011)

Im near walsall and there ALOT of tethered horses around here as well, some are ok some not. They just seem to keep mares for breeding. The council doesnt get a choice about providing the grazing. Alot of them fall in the canal there was one in the paper recently.


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## packwood (24 October 2011)

I was there at the protest drive and it was heavily Policed and there was no traffic chaos as reported. There are responsible people who keep horses on tethers but there are plenty of irresponsible ones too. Problem is everyone gets tarred with the same brush. There has to be a licensing system or something similar so that responsible owners can keep their horses in the traditional way. Everyone agrees that tethering is not the ideal way but my own horse came from the Black Country and had been tethered and it did him no harm at all. In fact tethering him on the roadside has made him completely bombproof.


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## rascal (26 October 2011)

Tethering is no way to keep any horse, ever. What if the horse was attacked by dogs (something else parts of the midlands have problems with) or yobs like the one a few years ago, Maggie? A tethered horse couldnt get out of the way. Some of the wounds caused by tethers are horrific, they dont have  access to water, alot are not moved to fresh grazing when they need it, most are kept tethered permenantly with no exersize, its not a life its a nightmare! Its just to avoide paying a few pounds for grazing.


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