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Support service launched for horse owners
Field officers from the charity are able to making in-person visits to offer support and advice.
Charity hopes new service will prevent serious welfare cases developing.

World Horse Welfare has launched a new support service to make it easier for owners struggling to care for their horses to ask for help.

The service, Help for Horse Owners, will provide advice and support to owners who are finding it difficult to look after their horse due to issues such as financial challenges, ill health, or a change in personal circumstances.

A support call can be requested to talk through issues and possible solutions, or a field officer can make in-person visits to assess the situation and provide practical advice.

There is also a resources hub available to signpost people to other organisations that can offer help with the issues that owners may be facing.

The charity hopes that by providing early support, it can help keep animals and owners together and prevent serious welfare issues from arising.

As well as owners being able to contact the service when they feel they need help, friends, family, and people providing care for horses will also be able to contact the charity to ask for help for someone.

Sam Chubbock, head of UK support at World Horse Welfare, said: “Horse owners and their families often approach us for help when their circumstances have changed, meaning they are struggling to provide the necessary care. However, we also understand how difficult it can be to ask for help - which is why we have developed our Help for Horse Owners support service.

“Our focus is on trying to keep families and their animals together when this is the best option for them in the longer term. We do this in a variety of ways, including helping horse owners to change their management practices or signposting them to other areas of support they might not know about.”

Image © World Horse Welfare

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Germany livestock import ban lifted

The UK government has amended its ban on the import of livestock, meat and dairy products from Germany.

Defra said the decision follows 'rigorous technical assessment' of the measures applied and the current situation. "If the situation changes, we will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity," it said.

The ban was implemented in January following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) near Berlin. Personal imports of meat, milk and dairy products will remain in place at a country level.