Posted: 14th October 2019 | Back to news feed
One year on, an initiative to inspire more people to take proactive steps to protect their horses from strangles has seen over 550 horse owners and 135 yard managers across the UK pledge their support!
Last November, Redwings Horse Sanctuary launched an online ‘Pledge’ as part of its award-winning Stamp Out Strangles campaign, urging horse owners and yard managers to make a voluntary commitment to champion biosecurity practices, attracting support from Hartpury University & Hartpury College and Richmond Equestrian Centre.
You can make your Pledge here - https://www.redwings.org.uk/strangles/make-a-pledge
The Yard Manager and Horse Owner Pledges are part of a Stamp Out Strangles online hub, full of information and advice on spotting the signs of the disease and preventing and managing an outbreak. And with strangles being a topic of continuous scientific research, all pledgers receive regular updates and practical tips to help them stay one step ahead of the disease.
Yard Pledgers are also pinned to a map making it easy for horse owners to see who is behind the campaign and therefore committed to protecting their horses from infectious disease.
Andie Vilela, Education and Campaigns Manager, said: “We’re thrilled with the reaction to our Pledge so far and to see how people are using it to raise awareness. So many people have shared stories of their experiences with strangles and the stigma they’ve faced, demonstrating a clear appetite for meaningful change to happen.”
The launch of the Pledge kick-started a busy year of events to raise awareness of the campaign and inspire more people to act.
In March, Redwings co-sponsored an industry Strangles Symposium which brought together leaders from across the equine community, including vets, farriers and equine welfare organisations, at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, to discuss the better prevention and management of the disease.
This was followed in May with Redwings’ Head of Welfare & Behaviour, Nic de Brauwere, and Education and Campaigns Manager, Andie Vilela, joining the world’s leading scientists and vets at the Dorothy Havemeyer Foundation Workshop in Iceland to present on their experiences of strangles.
Then, in July, Redwings instigated a special day of action - Speak Out On Strangles Day - which urged yards to host activities for their clients, such as horse temperature taking demonstrations and revising protocols, to encourage more conversations about good biosecurity and to help tackle the stigma still sadly associated with strangles.
And the year isn’t finished yet! In December, Redwings will be organising a free veterinary seminar for horse owners in south Wales to help them stay one step ahead of the disease. Keep an eye on Redwings’ website for further details soon.
Andie Vilela, added: “We know people are more likely to change if they have made a commitment to do so. That’s why we developed the Stamp Out Strangles Pledge to ask horse owners and yard managers to commit to good practices that they know and value highly. The more people who share that they have pledged, the more we can nudge standards up and accepting poor hygiene facilities or absent protocols will be a thing of the past.
“If you haven’t already done so, please visit the Stamp Out Strangles Hub, pledge and share the resources online. We want to make change before an outbreak happens!”
To find out more, head to www.redwings.org.uk/strangles
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