Officers from a rural crime police unit will now carry donated headcollars and leadropes following 130 incidents of loose horses in the past 12 months.
Lincolnshire Police has placed the equipment in stations across the county, and in every rural crime team response vehicle. The 20 headcollars and leadropes were donated by Cobbs Country Store to Bransby Horses, but as the charity often helps the police with loose horses, Bransby donated them to the force.
The headcollars are fitted with QR codes, which when scanned with a smartphone, will provide officers with information on how to approach, catch, and lead an equine, as well as contact details for Bransby Horses and other charities.
“This was after an idea raised during a meeting with the rural crime action team about best practice when handling loose and abandoned horses,” a Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said.
“During the last 12 months we have attended more than 130 incidents where horses have been reported loose. Officers can now use the headcollars and leadropes to keep the horses safe. When a horse roams away from where they should be, they can cause a serious risk to road users with the potential of a collision causing serious harm to all involved.”
The spokesperson added that when a horse is found loose officers, who also carry microchip readers, will try to locate an owner, but if an owner cannot be contacted, the force liaises with Bransby and other local contacts to provide temporary boarding.
“As part of Bransby’s continued efforts to work collaboratively with emergency services, they approached Lincolnshire’s rural crime team to share their knowledge and experiences and to gain a better understanding of how they could best support us with equine-related incidents,” said the spokesperson.
“Bransby Horses cannot respond to loose equines on a road, only assist, as they need the services of the police to make the area safe for all road users.”
PC Karen Irving, of the rural crime action team, said: “We’ve all been to jobs where we’ve used belts or similar to hold onto a horse”.
“While crisps or a packet of Polos sometimes works, this equipment will help secure a horse and reduce the chance of things going wrong. We are very grateful to Bransby and Cobbs Country Store for kindly donating the equipment,” she said.
“We’ve talked about horse abandonment and other issues and this idea was brought up as a positive way to contain loose horses and keep our colleagues safe. The work we do in the rural crime action team is aimed at keeping our rural communities safe, preventing and investigating rural crime and protecting the welfare of animals.”
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