Equine rehoming co-ordinator interview
Do you ride or own a horse?
I have ridden and worked with horses since I was six years old.
I got my first pony when I was ten, when I was 16 I saved up £100 to buy a Welsh cob foal.
My five current horses are all her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
How did you get into the role?
I was a market inspector for the RSPCA when the need arose for a specialist rehoming officer.
At the time there were over 80 horses in boarding in Wales.
They could not be rehomed locally, so I began sending appeals for individual ponies to horse magazines.
It was a success and my first three featured ponies were adopted by the first caller, but there were lots of other applicants of course, which meant that I could rehome as many as ten ponies from one appeal.
What training or experience was needed?
As a market inspector I was used to the workings of the RSPCA.
As for equine rehoming, there was no precedent so I made my own way.
Fortunately, I already had skills which lent themselves to the task and my knowledge of human nature and computers is increasing all the time.
How would you describe a typical day?
Most days begin early, exercising one of my own horses.
By mid-morning I am usually sitting by my telephone answering enquiries for horses and ponies.
My duties are many and varied.
I move horses and ponies around the country for the RSPCA, trying to put them in the appropriate centre for their needs.
I also do home visiting and meet people who come to view or try a horse.
I represent the RSPCA at equine gatherings and I liaise with specialist horse charities.
I assist inspectors if they need help with equine calls, no two days are alike.
The work is diverse and extremely interesting - I meet a lot of people and horses and learn something new most days!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The sight of a happy, healthy pony which has been rehabilitated and is ready for rehoming.
Our adopters are very good at keeping in touch with me and my Christmas post is amazing.
The 'happy ever after' photos keep arriving - lots come by e-mail now as well - as do the accounts of days at the show.
I think the best moment was when a five year old girl phoned me at seven o'clock one night to tell me that her pony (brought in as an abandonment on a tether in South Wales) had won the 'Mother's Dream' class at her local show.
She was so excited she could hardly speak and slept with that red rosette for weeks afterwards.
What do you least enjoy about your job?
Seeing cruelty cases brought in by the inspectors.
Most of the ponies and horses which need our help have been starved, one way or another.
I remember a cream mare that was at the point of foaling, she was in a terrible state.
She foaled a live filly but was too weak to stand afterwards.
This is a big deal for a semi-feral pony whose every instinct is telling her to get up and defend her foal.
They both recovered and are quite happy in their new homes, but these are the things that stick in your mind.
What is the most common problem you encounter in your job?
People who think there is somewhere for their horse to go when they no longer want them.
The horse charities are overrun with unwanted animals and the RSPCA has so many cruelty cases to deal with that there is often no room for old horses.
- Make sure you can cope with a horse for life before you go out and get one.
If you could get one message across to the public to improve equine welfare what would it be?
Learn as much as you can before getting a horse - particularly about feeding.
We encounter nearly as many problems with overfeeding, countrywide, as we do underfeeding.
A thin horse can usually be nursed back to health, laminitis is for life!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just to pay tribute to the wonderful people who apply to adopt ponies and horses from the RSPCA.
Only a very small percentage are successful, but the sheer number of applications makes it possible for me to choose the most appropriate home for each horse or pony.
