‘Heartbreaking’ farewell to foal of rescued mare
The carers of three mares rescued emaciated and pregnant from “horrific” neglect have said a heartbroken goodbye to a foal they battled to save for over a year. Bristol charity HorseWorld took in three in-foal mares in 2021. Two in-foal mares survived, but after more than a year of battling with various health problems, one of the foals has now died. “It’s always heartbreaking to lose any of our HorseWorld family, but with such a special young horse, who we all thought was on the road to recovery, it is just devastating,” said the charity’s head of welfare, Sarah Hollister.
Staffing crisis
A groom concerned by the worldwide equestrian staffing crisis is hoping to determine what needs to change for the industry to be sustainable. Susanna Liis Ole, a fourth-year equine studies and business management student at the University of Applied Sciences Van Hall Larenstein in the Netherlands, is researching the topic for her thesis. “I’ve worked as a professional groom for five years, in Germany, here, Belgium – and it’s the same everywhere,” she said. “People are trying very hard to find good staff but there aren’t many. I’ve had about 70 responses so far, from different countries also including the US and they’re all saying the same; it’s a general problem for the whole industry.”
Find out more about the research
Finding balance
Personal trainer and equestrian fitness expert Katie Bleekman talked through her top tips for finding a balance between horses, work, fitness and social life on a Horse & Hound podcast. “You have to prioritise what matters to you – things like sleep, which will make you feel so so much better. Your sleep affects your mood, it affects your stress levels and weight. Sleep is also really important for recovery and healing from injury,” she said. “Making the most of your time is crucial. I challenge you to really think: ‘do I not have time or am I wasting time?’. You absolutely need to give yourself an hour or so off to watch your favourite programme and switch off. But at the same time, if training and getting stronger and getting fitter to ride is a priority, then that is what you need to put first.”
Discover what else Katie had to say
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