Wider problems in Ireland

I think that the problems associated with Smithfield market are part of a musch bigger equine crisis in Ireland, and  indeed the world . INAG for Equines writes movingly here.

Horses ‘starving to death’

The DSPCA has criticised council workers after seven horses starved to death.

The horses were among 100 others being kept illegaly on the old Dunsink tip-head which is owned by Fingal County Council.

But there was not enough grass for the horses to eat causing many to become emaciated.

DSPCA chairman Jimmy Cahill said that the horses had been bought at the Smithfield horse fare.

He said: ”The DSPCA has had to step in to provide emergency feed for the horses, a situation which could have been prevented if Fingal County Council exercised greater controls on the land.

“There are more than 100 horses on that land that are there illegally,” DSPCA chairman Jimmy Cahill told Northside People.
“We’ve been told by one council worker that he found and buried as many as seven dead horses on the tip-head over the last two weeks.
“It’s appalling to see so many horses just left there to starve to death because there simply isn’t any food for them to eat.
“This time of year is the leanest time for fodder. Added to that is that fact that no grass was ever planted on the tip-head so the horses had been just scratching around in the snow and frost for any little bit of feed they could find.

 “But even on the best summer’s day, the horses would still not be able to find any feed on the land.”

“The horses are completely emaciated and they are quite literally dying with the hunger.

“Each time we’ve gone up to the tip-head we have been approached by people who have warned us not to take their horses,” Mr Cahill continued.

“This is not a situation we want to be in and the council needs to step in to alleviate the suffering of these horses.

“The council should take control of the land so that people can’t keep their horses on the site. But instead it seems a blind eye is being turned and we are being left to pick up the pieces.

“People all too easily fall back on charities such as ourselves to protect and look after the animals but unfortunately we can no longer afford to look after abandoned horses around the city.”

http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/2849/57/

Black and white pictures

This fantastic collection of black and white pictures from Smithfield market comes from Raflos on Flickr. The pictures are from a recent market and include several children and teenagers driving carraiges. I’ll add the photos to the pictures section of the site shortly. Enjoy!

Ireland’s equine crisis

Ireland is in the grip of an equine crisis as hard-up horse and pony owners dump their pets, the DSPCA claims.

The DSPCA say that they have recused 100 this year and 58 have been put down.

In the most recent case, a two-year-old mare with a broken rear right leg that was dumped on a road side in Dublin is believed to have come from the Smithfield market.

DSPCA inspector Liam Kinsella said:

“Smithfield Market was on on Sunday and the common theme was that nothing was selling. We suspect that the owner of this horse dumped her on the way to the market.

“The injuries that this animal sustained are consistent with that of a horse kicked in an overcrowded horsebox. It was abandoned in horrific pain and left to die.”

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/horses-left-to-die-as-equine-crisis-deepens-1968118.html

Stray horses cost Smithfield

It’s been a while since I posted anything here for various reasons. But there hasn’t been anything coming up recently about the market.

The latest news was that Dublin City Council had a massive bill last year for seizing stray horses. They paid €320,000 to a private firm to impound 312 horses from around the city. This was then refunded to the council by the Department of Agriculture.

Cllr Dessie Ellis blamed kids buying the horses from Smithfield for the huge bill.

“A lot of the horses are being purchased by very young children in Smithfield, and in some cases they haven’t been able to take care of them,” he said.

“There’s a tradition in areas like this, whether we like it or not. The kids have always loved horses. It’s something they grew up with and they love the whole idea of being able to ride freely.

“I don’t agree with kids getting horses from Smithfield market, it needs to be controlled a lot better.

“If people are putting out the horses illegally, then they’re asking for trouble. The council are going to come and collect them.”

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/citys-bill-for-stray-horses-hits-euro320k-1956300.html

 

Hungry as a horse

Horse care has been updated with some general advice for feeding horses and ponies. Hopefully there will be tips from an expert nutritionist and pictures there soon.

New pictures

Two new sets of pictures have been added. Thanks to Siobhan Bermingham and Mickh51. Mick’s are in the post below.

pictures

Updates

There’s now a page called ”horse care” where general advice will be added in the coming weeks. Feel free to e-mail me if you’d like to contribute to this.

I’ve also added a map!

New videos

Two videos have been added. The first is a cool little  mini documentary on the market that is well made and balanced. The second is a home made video set to Irish music. This is the documentary…