This site will remain live for the immediate future but we will not be adding any new blog posts here or approving comments. We have transferred all our content to the new address so you can consult our archives there too.

As ERF visit markets and welfare cases, we often need to find the owners of animals or check the history of the animals that we see. As all equines in France now have to be chipped by law, we need to purchase at least one hand-held microchip scanner for the team.

The cost of scanners has fallen rapidly recently and they are now available for as little as 150€. If only 30 people give 5€ today then we will be able to make an even greater difference for equines in France. Just click the Paypal button on the right or leave us a pledge in the comments below and we’ll come back to you.

Please pledge a fiver today…thank you.

Pastures being the appropriate word, the boys could hardly believe their luck when they were turned out into their new field full of grass!

On the journey to their new home with John and Carolyn, Leo was very stressy and didn’t travel well causing Corrie to become somewhat wound up too. We safely managed their ‘enthusiasm’ to leave the trailer (!), and after a cursory glance at their surroundings and a quick explore of their field and barn, they both settled to eat.

It’s wonderful to see them in such fantastic surroundings, but it was a wrench to leave them there. It’s impossible to not become attached to horses even though I know their time with me will end when they find their forever homes. I’m sure I’ll miss them far more than they’ll miss me though!

This Sunday, September 12th, is officially classified as Journée du Cheval in France – Day of the Horse.

More than 1,000 clubs open their doors to horse enthusiasts and amateurs to discover or rediscover the world of the horse.  This year the main emphasis  will be the on  ‘quality of life and good knowledge of the behaviour of horses’.

Why not check out your local Centre Equestre, Club or racetrack to  see whats on this Sunday.

First up, we have Coco & Roma, two brothers who have been handled since birth. They are both gelded and very friendly, we’ve known them for 3 years and even have one of their brothers in our own equine family. Unfortunately, their current owners have had to return to the UK following a change in circumstances and so we need to find them a home quickly. They can be seen in the Charente (16) where they are currently being looked after. They are both in good health and have had no welfare issues, always having been part of families and whilst they have not been backed, they are both suitable for riding and/or driving in the future.

These photos were taken on a very rainy day, so they are looking rather sorry for themselves….

Next up are Manon & Rowan – Manon was a broodmare in the meat trade and was purchased by a kind hearted supporter when she was left at the end of a meat fair after she had seen her long term partner and latest foal loaded onto a lorry destined for Italy. Manon was pregnant with her eighth foal, Rowan, at the time. Rowan was born a month ago and is a stunning little foal and has been handled since birth. However, they cannot stay where they are and so we need to find them a home where they can live out their days away from the threat of the meat lorry. Rowan will need to be gelded as soon as he is old enough but they are both in good health and well-handled. They can be seen in the Lot (Dept 46).

And last but by no means least are our very own Wilbur and Piona who many of you will remember from back in 2008. They were welcomed into a wonderful home in the north of France who have now been hit by some unexpected circumstances and can no longer offer a longterm home to the pair. Piona is 75% Baudet de Poitou and is in the ‘B’ Studbook. She has always been with a loving family and adores nothing more than standing and being loved by all around! Wilbur on the other hand was rescued after being abandoned in a barn for 6 months. He had the worst feet we have ever seen and took many months to rehabilitate – you can see a video of him on the right. Given his background, it takes Wilbur longer to trust new families and he is wary of new people. Having spent a lot of time with Wilbur during his recovery, I can confirm that once he is able to trust, he is a lovely donkey and full of character. Both Wilbur and Piona are large donkeys and can be visited in Normandy by appointment.

Piona (L) and Wilbur(R)

How much do we love each other...?

Please help us find homes for these donkeys by sharing this blog with your friends. Somewhere there are new homes waiting for all these donkeys.

We left early last Monday to go and collect Corran Ard with a fair degree of trepidation. We had no idea what we were going to find, and the cloak and dagger atmosphere surrounding the location of the farm made us wary.

We had to telephone a number when we arrived at the nearest town to the farm, and someone came to guide us there. In the surrounding fields were heavy cob type mares, many with foals at foot. There seemed to be a lot of animals for such a ramshackle set up, and you have to wonder as to what their future would hold.

Whilst polite, this was all about business. The passport was handed over, the headcollar taken down, the horse brought out of the barn and the cheque changed hands. At this point the atmosphere mellowed and we chatted as they led the horse to us and gave us charge of him.

My first impressions were of a sad depressed horse with no hope in his eye,
and no interest in those around him. He wanted no contact, or attention, he turned his head away as I tried to communicate with him. He seemed as if he wanted to run away, but didn’t know where to go. He’d totally switched off from people.

I put a tail bandage on him for the trip, and when I went back to his head, he turned to put his nose gently against me, as if to recognise an act that he remembered from when life was OK for him.

He was caked with muck and stale bedding, so the priority was to wash him and have him feel better. It took two sets of lathering to run the water clear, and as we did it, again there was the recognition of something he was familiar with, and his trust and confidence grew unbelievably in such a short space of time. It was heartbreaking to see how obviously he had missed the kindness of a human touch.

He’s a few nicks and sores, and is very thin, but nothing that won’t fix. He’s alert and pricking his ears forward when he sees me now. Watching him relax, as the realisation dawned that he was safe and comfortable, was humbling.

What trust these horses put in us, and how often it is horribly betrayed.

Very thin and dirty

Whilst monitoring the French ‘rescue’ forums over here, we saw to our dismay a racehorse from the UK, Corran Ard, at risk of going for meat.
On checking his details on the Racing Post site, we discovered that his last run on the 26th of March this year, was less than a month before his arrival on the site on the 20th of April.

His most recent trainer, Tim Vaughan, was promptly contacted and a series of emails ensued between us and the trainer’s assistant Mark Gichero, who assured us he was doing what he could to find out why the horse had ended up there.

Suddenly, on the 27th of April, the horse was taken off the site as no longer available. We then received an email from Mark Gichero saying that he had been in touch with his contacts in France who had assured him the horse would be found a home via them.

In the interim, after doing more research, we found other UK ex racers on that site from the same region of the UK. We alerted the BHA to the fact, and they have passed the details to their investigations team.

Imagine then, our surprise and horror when the horse reappeared on the website on the 15th of June, now at a lower price and in imminent danger of going to the abattoir.

We decided there was no time to waste. To ensure that the horse was given every chance of a future, but also very much to highlight the fact that this cross channel trade in unwanted UK horses and ponies to French dealing/meat yards is happening, we contacted the newspapers in the UK.

They in turn contacted Mark Gichero, who was understandably horrified that the horse had resurfaced back in the same place. After some discussion, Mark asked us how he could help to get the horse out of there, and generously funded his purchase price and transport costs. Corran Ard was collected on Monday 28th of June by ERF and now has his future secured with us.

He is a beautiful, sensitive horse who was obviously shell-shocked at the immediate change in his circumstances. Going from 5* treatment in a racing yard to being on the meat trail must have been bewildering and terrifying for him.

He will take some careful rehabilitation, he has been neglected to the extent that he was still wearing his racing plates when we collected him, over three months after his last race. Luckily, the attention being lavished on him was quickly accepted as his due, and the spark is back in his eye. The physical recovery will sadly take much longer.

You can read the Newspaper story in Wales Online.

We’ll update his progress in a couple of days. But just for the moment, here he is after a bath having a pick of grass.

One of our ERF supporters had been unlucky enough to fall within the 2km radius for quarantining and compulsory testing for EIA, after two positive cases of the disease were identified locally. She was obviously very worried about her horses when she discovered that the disease is considered ‘notifiable’ under EU regs, and that any animal found to be positive is euthanased.

Thankfully the area has now been given the all clear, and you can read her BLOG about her concerns here.

It’s hard to believe that the lives of these two lovely girls in the photo above could easily have been at risk because of the knock on effect of the illegalities of the meat trade.

Until import and export regulations are properly adhered to, there is always going to be a risk of this disease spreading. It is so important to fight to restrict the journey times of meat horses across the EU, and campaign for slaughter in country of origin.