MUMSHAYNET OPINION
TIME TO STEP UP TO CLIMATE CHALLENGES
Whether you are a climate change believer or denier, one thing that is beyond dispute is the disruptive nature of weather – and its potential to harm our horses.
In the latest edition of MumsHaynet we talk to Anna Gabteni who rescued three endangered Sorraia horses when wildfires swept through Portugal last summer.
In this case, the horses were lucky, but in recent years there have been well documented tragedies in California, Australia and southern Europe where horses and other animals haven’t been able to escape the inferno tearing through tinder-dry forests.
Of course, it’s not only fire that puts our horses’ lives at risk. Air quality is also becoming a major concern among athletes, and that should include our equine partners.
A horse’s respiratory system is a remarkable machine, but it has its limits.
Following a wildfire, smoke can drift hundreds of miles from the scene of devastation. Elsewhere, sands storms from the Arabian peninsula bring dust clouds that hang in the air for days on end. And then there’s your everyday air pollution.
All of this should be a concern to anyone with a horse, but especially for those who have an older horse, or a heavy horse, or a horse prone to allergies.
While warmer weather brings an increase in zoonotic disease transmissions, at the other end of the spectrum, excessively wet weather brings its own share of welfare issues.
Following a major flooding event, which usually occurs in the summer, mosquito populations will rise because of standing water, potentially leading to cases of West Nile virus and Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis viruses. Tetanus is also an increased risk after such natural disasters, as are insect-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.
And then there’s the matter of food.
Given the on-going onslaught of rain in the UK and Ireland this summer, this is one area where horse owners might already be feeling the effects.
The impact of a warming planet on hay and grain production boils down to water – either an overabundance or a lack of it. As a result, hay and grain are getting harder to grow in areas where they’ve reliably grown in the past. And that means, higher prices.
Right now, there are a number of groups, working across the globe, to protect the planet from climate disaster. These range in size from government and corporate initiatives to small rewilding projects like Anna and her Sorraia horses.
Hay and grain producers are also thinking up ways to adapt, looking at alternative feeding methods and alternative crops in areas that might not have been historically looked at.
However, as horse owners, we have the ultimate responsibility to protect our horses.
Should there be a fire or a flash flood, do you have measures in place to evacuate at short notice? Does your yard? Check. Ask the questions. Get the answers. Get that trailer serviced.
Are your horses up to date with their vaccinations? Does your yard follow the correct quarantine procedures for arriving horses? Is there a fire hazard close by that needs attention? If there is a hay shortage, do you have alternative sources to go to?
While it might not seem much in the face of a looming catastrophe, small, proactive, preventative measures throughout the year can potentially make a huge difference to the health and wellbeing of your horses when the horse muck hits the fan.
