Horses industry taking strain during Covid-19 lockdown period
For paddock client they say this had been a very emotional time for them having limit time with their horses, but they hope to see a lift in restrictions seeing shows taking place again soon.
HIGHVELD – It has been a tough time physically, emotionally and financially for horse owners, centres and the paddock community.
Speaking for the Rapha Equestrian Centre, Ms Jolien van Deventer and Ms Christine Buchler said their horses are suffering under lockdown.
“It came as a huge shock when the president announced the lockdown along with the more strict regulations. We had to come up with some way to keep the people with their horses.
She said one cannot just separate owners from their horses.
“Horses are taken out of the wild and they rely on us as humans and owners to take care of them. It is a huge responsibility taking care of the horses.
“We made sure as horse owners that we had the correct paper work in place to make sure that we and clients were still able to care of the horses.”
Strict rules applies to every horse owner when it came to sanitising, wearing of masks and limited times.
Only one person is allowed at a time and strictly handling of one’s own horse and food is a must. For the first part of lockdown, horse owners were only given 20 minutes in the mornings and 20 minutes in the afternoon to give food and water.
As restrictions began lifting, yard and paddock owners were given an hour a day where they could lung and ride horses on top of giving just food and water, but this is still not enough time spent with the animals.
A normal routine would consist of daily cleaning of water, feeding twice daily of a balanced diet and grazing of grass, grooming, daily cleaning of paddocks, and taking care of their hooves. This is besides exercising of the horses.
“There is a lot more involved than just getting on a horse and riding it. It is taking care of your horse, giving it love, and making sure your horse is in a great condition all the time.
“The worst thing for a horse owner is being separated from their horse. You are mentally and physically connected to your horse. But like everybody else we had to accept what was happening and live with it,” ended Ms Van Deventer and Ms Buchler.
Daily exercise is very important for horses as they are grazing animals and graze for at least 20 hours a day.
Limiting movement and exercises can cause colic in a horse which can cause complication in the digestive system.
“Horses are very much social animals, being handled daily and ridden.
With this suddenly being taken away some horses get board which can cause stress and form anxiety or behavioural disorders,” said Dr Willem Engelbrecht of Standerton Animal Hospital.
Dr Engelbrecht said he is also seeing more injuries in horses because of the lack of exercise horses have been getting during the lockdown period.
“We see a lot more injuries in horses now because owners are unable to exercises their horses like they used to prior lockdown. Suddenly one wants to ride at the same level prior lockdown, but this causes damage to the tendon and muscles because of the lack of exercise and fitness levels are not where they should be.”
He strongly believes horses are very therapeutic for owners and handlers.
“Winston Churchill said: ‘There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man’,” ended Dr Engelbrecht. Covid-19 has also put restrictions of social distancing and thus left students not attending anymore and has left many in financial difficult times.
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