Horse insurance: People 'don't consider owner responsibilities'
A number of horse owners take on their animals without fully appreciating the responsibilities involved in caring for the mounts, an expert has said.
Roly Owers, chief executive at World Horse Welfare, said that people often don't realise that they will be liable for costs outside of the obvious payments for food and accommodation.
As a result, many new owners struggle to afford to care properly for their animals, resulting in issues of neglect.
Mr Owers explained: "In our experience a significant number of people take on a horse without realising how much responsibility is involved. For example, we had one new owner who had no idea that they would incur farrier's bills on a regular basis."
Earlier this week, the Lincolnshire Echo reported that mother and daughter Vennessa and Charlotte Malone were banned from keeping equine animals for five years, after having been "cruel by being kind" in taking on horses that they could not afford to maintain.
April 20th 2011
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