Newsletter Spring 2008 - May 07 2008
From the Chair
I am very pleased to be able to say that as the result of publicising our Board vacancies in the last newsletter, we have been able to recruit some excellent new members immediately to fill the existing vacancies and also to have people lined up to take over when some of the members’ terms of office end later this year. I would like to welcome Jenny Chryss from Cheltenham and Barry Johnson from Bilsborrow who both bring a wealth of experience to the Board. Amongst other things Jenny has been a field officer for the ILPH and Barry recently retired from his veterinary practice in Goosnargh. Both are looking forward to helping to guide the TRC through the next few years.
As we start the new financial year there has been a lot of coverage in the media about the change in the basic rate of income tax and the effect that this will have on individuals – some good and, inevitably, some bad. There is the additional issue for all charities, including the TRC, that eventually this change could result in our losing three percent of the amount of tax we can reclaim from our supporters although it is likely that the Government will agree to make up the 3p in the finance bill later this summer. The donations and resultant tax reclaimed from our Friends of the TRC is the single largest source of revenue income that we have and without it we could not do the work that we do and we are very grateful for this support. Those of you who work in rural industries will already be aware of the significant rise since last summer in the price of hay as well as the cost of other supplies and raw materials necessary to run a successful business and these price increases are hitting us hard. I therefore make no apology in asking you to consider signing up as a TRC Friend if you haven’t already done so and a leaflet is enclosed with this newsletter. If you are already a Friend perhaps you could increase your monthly gift by a couple of pounds a month or possibly recruit someone else to support us in this way? For the longer term financial future we do also have a Legacy Club and
full details of that are on the website or we can post information to you.
We are anxiously waiting to hear from Retraining of Racehorses, the industry charity which grantaids the TRC, whether they are going to pass on to us any of the £2.5m windfall that they received last year when the Racing Post was sold. Needless to say a contribution to the TRC would be most welcome! We are still fund-raising for capital projects at the Centre, the most important being the vet building so that we can carry out more procedures at the Centre, and we also need to convert the old barn into offices, preferably before the Portakabin falls apart.
There are more opportunities to visit the Centre this year with eight yard visits scheduled and at least two clinics (further information and dates can be found in this newsletter) and I hope that we will be seeing many of you over the course of the next few months.
Richard Witt
Chair of the Board
What a wet winter we’ve had and as usual at this time of year the fields are tired and poached – thankfully we have enough land to rotate and so far April has been kind but it’s a far cry from last year at this time. Over winter we have, as always, been very over subscribed and the waiting list still sits at 17 to come in – we could have many more but it is both inappropriate and impractical to continually add to the list as these horses will end up waiting, in most cases too long for the owners.We also continue to be bed blocked by the older, teenage horses that I mentioned in my last letter. These horses really are difficult to place – their quality of life is excellent, they can be ridden but their abilities are limited due to natural stiffness and/or long established quirks or vices. The TRC is not prepared to simply kill these horses – they are useful, they do deserve a life – they do not warrant humane destruction – but they slow down the re-homing process. It’s very frustrating, especially when our statistics show these horses sticking – everyone wants to see results and understandably so, and the TRC must be rehoming but I feel like asking people that base success on figures, exactly what would you have us do with these active older horses that take more time to rehome. We’re not a retirement home, nor are we an abbatoir.
Whilst I was away in February andMarch the yard re-homed eight horses which is very good at this time of year. As with all other animal welfare charities a number of our loan horses return each year for a wide variety of reasons. Although it is regrettable that this happens, it proves the efficacy of our loan system that these horses have remained our property and therefore return to the Centre whilst we find them another loan home. Our re-homing rate remains steady with them too.
We have decided this year to try something different from a large one-off open day. Having had a couple of extremely successful yard visit weekends over the winter we have found that on these weekend visits, when we limit the number of visitors to 50 pre-booked places, we are able to give people a much more satisfactory experience. The visit gives a comprehensive look at all the horses plus a ridden demonstration (in relative comfort with good sightlines) and of course a chance to speak to the staff, trainer and me making it a lot easier for everybody to connect. The dates for these visits are 17 and 18 May, 14 and 15 June, 13 and 14 Sept and 18 and 19 Oct. The charge is £10 per person with parking, tea, coffee and biscuits provided. The visits start at 11am and last a couple of hours. Call the office to book a place. The TRC is also running a series of training clinics which provide help and advice for retraining your thoroughbred. The first clinic was held on 4 April. Participants spent the day with yard director and trainer Julie Robinson looking at all aspects of training and rehabilitation and also had the opportunity to work directly with some of the horses at the Centre. The day also included advice on fitting saddles, advice on feeding, discussions on common problems (health and behaviour) and a question and answer session. Participants were engaged in hands-on practical sessions and in observing senior staff at the Centre working some of the horses. The clinics last from 10am - 3pm with lunch provided and the charge is £100. The first one really was a comprehensive day for the participants and very well received and a day we enjoyed doing. If you are interested in taking part in our next one please call Nicky McDonald in the office, tel 01524 812649 for full information and dates.
As we have so many horses out on loan all over the UK, we are constantly on the look out for committed field officers to join the very good team we have now. Areas where we desperately need field officers are the South East, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, the South West and Scotland. If you have good equine knowledge and would enjoy this role then, as before, please contact TRC administrator Nicky McDonald on 01524 812649 for full details. I have had an extraordinary trip travelling in India and Thailand for the last 2 months. In Asia I am always reminded of how fortunate we are in the UK to have organisations such as the TRC and other animal welfare organisations supported by the public throughout the country. However with the serious global recession we are galloping into, everybody’s belt is tightened and predictably charities will be affected so having returned to work I will be working even harder to highlight the welfare of ex-racehorses, the TRC and our work. This recession will not only make it harder to meet our operating costs but will see many more horses being placed at our door as people are unable to meet their costs and are unable to to sell. Our load will only get heavier and any help you are still able to give us is hugely needed and appreciated. I wish I could say after 17 years of working on this charity that raising funds was easier but quite the reverse – with so many other organisations in our field now, it just gets more difficult. In my new role as the TRC’s Founder and Ambassador I will be travelling the country spreading the word and raising funds so please get in touch if you have contacts with an organisation that would be interested in a talk from me or helping us in any other way.
Carrie Humble
Founder and Ambassador
Well, I have survived my first winter at Whinney Hill as Yard Director – my posh new title to go with my new responsibilities. Spring is in the air and the dark days of winter are fading from our minds but hats off to the senior staff and their co-workers for coping with acres of mud, grumpy horses, more mud, extreme cold (and nowhere does cold quite like Whinney Hill when the north wind blows) and did I mention that winter enemy of all horse folks – mud fever?
Despite the weather we have had a steady run on the re-homing front with 14 re-homings over the winter period. As usual at this time of year we have had our fair share of returnees, mostly as a result of their loaners’ experiencing a change in their circumstances. There seems to have been a run on pregnancies (the loaners, not the horses!) but then it is the season to get under the duvet. Sometimes the horses return simply because we haven’t found them the right match initially and often we are able to find another horse on the yard that is right for the loaner. Chester, Diamond, Borisheen Bay, Up the Aisle andMark Equal have all returned recently but happily Chester, Borisheen Bay and Mark have already been re-homed again, hopefully this time to permanent loan homes. The number of returnees has inevitably stalled the intake from the waiting list so we are desperate to get some of these in. We had to take in an emergency at the end of March, Stanley Wolfe. He is a sweet five-year old who had his last race in November 2007 and was immediately sold to a family in Manchester. They soon realised that he wasn’t quite the ‘steady’ ride they had been sold and they rang us in desperate circumstances. Another new inmate is a 10 year old gelding, Luke, again with a super temperament and we are looking forward to riding both of these boys – I’ll keep you posted.
The ‘ready to go’ list is beginning to be groundhog material with the same names cropping up month after month. It is the usual problem of horses of a certain age, two are over 14, plus other problems such as not being a hundred percent in traffic. We have four mares on the list at present which is unusual and we also have four horses going out to new loan homes in the next couple of weeks which is a good start to the spring. All being well next time I should have more new horses to tell you about.
Comings and Goings
Since the last newsletter we have re-homed the following for the first time – Gunner Cee; Jack Martin; Gohh: Ginger; Playful Dane and Legend. Gone to their second or subsequent loaners are Leopard Rock; Mouse; Borisheen Bay; Up the Aisle; Needs a Hand; Noufari; Camp Commander; Chester; Genuine Jay; M for Magic and Baritone. Horses taken into the Centre for the first time are Zacs Spree; Star; Second Chance; Playful Dane; Quaffle; Dispal Conqueror; Luke and Stanley Wolfe.
During all the comings and goings two names jump out – Borisheen Bay and Up the Aisle. Borisheen Bay sailed off in November to a very nice loaner who had him a week and uncharacteristically he managed to break her arm, therefore he arrived back here in disgrace. Once home he reverted to his usual placid self and has now happily gone to Aberdeen. The loaner who took him had brought back Up the Aisle, returning for the second time due to his unpredictable behaviour. Within a day or two he was back to being one of the more chilled residents at the Centre. Perhaps he is telling us that he likes it at Whinney Hill too much?
Sadly, we have had to have two young mares humanely destroyed due to extreme physical problems and as usual it puts a real downer on proceedings but sometimes there are simply no answers. On a happier note, we are just beginning to turn the horses out at night, which makes our lives easier and lets some of the more vibrant customers let off some much needed steam.
Julie Robinson
Yard Director