Fantasia - Cape Times today.

Muhtiman Wrote:

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> mr hawaii Wrote:
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>

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> > and another reference to Bush Racing - Hope the
> > NHRA take note
>
> This story broke on another site and the SPCA
> published their version about the rescue and had
> no references to bush racing at all.....one can
> surmise that this may have been a township work
> horse one of many used to cart scrap to scrap
> merchants and worked until it was found in a
> gutter..... Who ever has laced this story with
> "bush racing" has got it all arse about face as
> the only bush in Delft is the one smoked by the
> locals.....

The journo seems pretty good if you Google him - Larry Wainstein is quoted so I'd like to believe he must have called the RA - If he did not then he would really be destroying his career - I'll go with what I see here - If you read carefully you see the SPCA woman says they "race them around the block on tar roads" so not "bush Racing" but illegal racing

Seemingly the RA and Phumflea had cut their donations in half until this story broke and suddenly upped their donations and hurried their spue out,can anyone confirm?

any suggestions on a sustainable plan for horse retirement system, I don't think the owners should shoulder it all. Perhaps a levy on turnover Phum, GC and sales companies? Does anyone have an idea of how many horses leave the track a year, how many get absorbed in to show/jumping and how many get abandoned and need to be homed?

Don...IMO...there isn't one...neither for the human beings.... we can only enforce the laws....(which we are not doing well enough:()

There just are too many horses retiring annually off the tracks and not enough owners that really care where they land up. And those that become horror stories like this, taint the picture of all those successful rehoming stories

"A horse is down in the
township - can you come?"
The call came in to our Horse Unit late on a freezing, wet Friday night.

Off we went, bumping along dirt tracks past informal shacks, until we came across a large group of people partying round an open fire ... music booming ... taxis hooting ... and a horse’s body lying prone in the gutter. Children playing football in the street were using the horse's outstretched legs as goal posts.

Clearly we were too late. But as we walked towards the lifeless body, we saw the horse's eyes following us.

With mounting horror, we realised that this broken beauty was a thoroughbred. Bred for speed, her thin coat, delicate hooves and athletic build made her chances of surviving the hard life of the township virtually impossible.

DonateEven with all our help she just could not summon the strength to get to her feet. Trying so hard to please us, she struggled and fell, again and again. In the end, we had to roll her onto a blanket, and heave her into the horsebox.

Back at the unit, we examined the damage: mouth torn, probably from a very thin bit or even a piece of wire. Gashes and grazes all over, from falling on a tar road or possibly hit by a car. No hoof walls left, only the soft fleshy part of her feet. Emaciated and dehydrated.

But we made a pact – as long as she wants to fight back, we will fight by her side.

Please will you also fight alongside us ... by making a donation towards feed and vet bills now?

Fantasia – as we named her – is safe, comfortable and cared for now. But she will need large amounts of pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication, as well as antibiotics to fight off the multitude of infections – from abscesses in her feet, to infected cuts and open suppurating wounds.

And this is where your help would make all the difference.

Our stable dog, Zumba, lies quietly by her side for hours – and sometimes licks her face as if to remind her that she has friends now, friends who will help her regain her health and strength.

Please will you be be one of those friends? Fantasia needs all the help she can get to recover

This was taken from the SPCA website and there are further captions of TOWNSHIP WORK HORSE

mr hawaii Wrote:

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>
> The journo seems pretty good if you Google him -
> Larry Wainstein is quoted so I'd like to believe
> he must have called the RA - If he did not then he
> would really be destroying his career - I'll go
> with what I see here - If you read carefully you
> see the SPCA woman says they "race them around the
> block on tar roads" so not "bush Racing" but
> illegal racing

......I smell a cover-up as I clearly recall that Carte Blanche did a story some years ago on the Cape Cart horses and SPCA inspectors where supposed to have been receiving funding to keep the cart horse industry in check.....I do not believe that this story is about bush racing at all ....and yes once these horses have been injured and not fit for carting they are further abused by drugged up/drunken township youths for sport......:X

hibernia Wrote:

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> Co incidence this story comes out about the same
> time Phumeflea say they have donated R1m to the
> horse units

Phumelela get a lot of flak for a lot of reasons and a lot of it is well-founded.

However, the Highveld Horse Care Unit has received a lot of money from them that they otherwise would not have. Phumelela are profiting from the positive publicity - and so they deserve to.

This photo-op may or may not be opportunistic but the fact remains that the HHCU get more money from Phumelela than everyone else combined.

sugahorse Wrote:

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> There just are too many horses retiring annually
> off the tracks and not enough owners that really
> care where they land up. And those that become
> horror stories like this, taint the picture of all
> those successful rehoming stories

The first time I heard of Mrs O's horses being PTS if they weren't fit for breeding, I nearly soiled myself. The more I think about it though, the more I agree with it considering what the 'options' are.

_undertaker Wrote:

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> sugahorse Wrote:
>

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>

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> > There just are too many horses retiring
> annually
> > off the tracks and not enough owners that
> really
> > care where they land up. And those that become
> > horror stories like this, taint the picture of
> all
> > those successful rehoming stories
>
> The first time I heard of Mrs O's horses being PTS
> if they weren't fit for breeding, I nearly soiled
> myself. The more I think about it though, the more
> I agree with it considering what the 'options'
> are.

Every single day hundreds of thousands cows, sheep etc are killed for human consumption - the horse is no different and unless the animal can be guaranteed a safe home then better dead then years of torment

@ undertaker @ sugahorse @ mr hawaii

I agree fully with your sentiments.

anyone have any idea how the UK and USA deal with their 'surplus goods' in the system?
Mauritius - unless going to stud, become dog food. Same in HK I suspect - not sure about Japan other than only so many horses allowed in the system per year.
can SAF take a lesson from any of these countries, any good suggestions would be welcome now.
(apart from the killing option).