​For many of us, lockdown conditions have forced us to have a long, hard think about how best to manage our horses and ponies. From decisions on whether to continue riding or driving your horse, to restrictions put in place by livery yards, how to comply with Government advice and the worry over finances and jobs. All these need to be taken into account. World Horse Welfare has the following advice with links to help, support and guidance.

These are extraordinary times and whilst we may not wish to make changes to our animal’s day-to-day management, we may have to make some difficult decisions to enable us to fulfil the requirements of the government restrictions. We are all being challenged to do things differently to protect ourselves and the public, while also protecting the health and welfare of our animals.

If you keep your horse at home you will have no restrictions on the number of times you can visit and, whilst some people are still exercising their animals many, including World Horse Welfare, advise against it. Being out and about with our horses carries a risk of injury and it just isn’t worth burdening our hard-pressed NHS when we don’t have to.

If your horse or pony is anywhere other than home, things may be more complicated. Visiting your horse to provide maintenance care will be considered an ‘essential’ journey and if kept at a sole-occupancy field or yard, things should be fairly straightforward. Livery yards, with multiple owners, will have their own protocols in place which should be respected, plus we should all adhere to social distancing guidelines of keeping at least two metres apart and maintaining good hygiene by washing hands regularly. Also, aim to disinfect handles, gates, or other shared equipment you may touch. Some people have been stopped when travelling to their horses, so you may wish to carry a photocopy (or photo stored on your phone) of the ID page on your horse’s passport so you can justify the journey.

Individually, aim to visit your animal only once a day if possible (to comply with government guidance in England and Wales – Scottish guidance is slightly more flexible). This should be sufficient for most horses but not all of them, especially those that require regular medication or specific management. Are you able to check on some of your fellow liverie's horses when you are at the yard and can they check on yours at another time during the day, perhaps? Create a ‘care plan’ for your horse, outlining what feed and medication to provide, current daily routine and where key items are kept, in case you fall ill and are unable to provide the care yourself.

World Horse Welfare recommends, where possible and appropriate, that you let your horses down by reducing their workload and gradually increasing their time out at grass - if they do not usually live out 24/7 - and aim to keep them on maintenance only care. This will not only reduce the amount of time, and number of visits, needed each day but can also significantly reduce costs as well as ensuring that they are still getting some exercise and stimulation.

Turning away may not be suitable for some horses and ponies - especially those with EMS, Cushings or if they are laminitic - but many will cope very well. At the World Horse Welfare Rescue and Rehoming Centres, we have managed to turn most of our ponies out on maintenance care, even though the majority are native types that are prone to weight gain. You will need to be particularly mindful of laminitis, although a year-round concern spring grass can be particularly risky to overweight, EMS or laminitis-prone equines. It is important that we monitor weight on a regular basis and make changes as necessary; if horses are losing weight you may need to provide additional forage and if they are gaining weight you may need to restrict their grazing. Track grazing – where a narrow track is fenced around a paddock – can work well, and help to ensure that our ponies also get adequate exercise. Change their diet gradually and if they have been on hay or haylage over the winter, ensure they have access to hay even when out at grass to prevent the danger of colic, and always make sure they have constant access to fresh drinking water.

Where it isn’t possible to turn our animals out to pasture, consider ways to keep them occupied and exercised: walking in-hand, walking on the lunge in large circles, long-reining or turning out on to a manege can all help.

World Horse Welfare has helpful information about various management topics including LAMINITIS (https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/advice/health/laminitis), WEIGHT MANAGEMENT (https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/advice/management/right-weight), COST CUTTING (https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/advice/general-advice/cutting-costs