What do we do while we wait?
Well, what to do? We are coming to the end of week 4 of EI 'shut down' and still no light at the end of tunnel.
For the first couple of weeks most people in our area were still ‘working’ their horses at home but this last week I have noticed that we have all stopped and pretty much turned horses out. I also noticed during the first couple of weeks that our local saddleries in Tamworth were still reasonably well supported but on a trip to Tamworth on Wednesday they were empty and down to skeleton staff. It makes me sad to think that this disaster (and it is a disaster) can and no doubt will (if it hasn’t already) cause the ruination of many lives not related to the racing industry.
And all that the government (both levels) seem to be concerned about is their ‘precious’ racing industry.
Each day there are reports of hundreds of new cases of EI but the DPI & Minister for Ag keep telling us that they have it under control & that the movement ban & sanitary precautions are 'working'. There are over 10,000 cases in NSW now just in the Sydney, Hunter Valley & Nth West 'corridor'. This is a very small part of the state and when you look at a map so you can understand why they might 'think' that they have it under control when the reality is that they don't really know if it is contained. They are probably just hoping.
I think the thing that is really getting up horses owners noses is the all the 'special' concessions being made to race horse owners & breeders! They are being allowed to transport horses from one race track to another in Sydney tomorrow to race! They are going to be allowed to transport mares to stallions in the HV for breeding purposes but the rest of the horse community can just suffer because obviously we aren't as important and they seem to think that we don't generate as much income into the economy.
We are in the 'red' zone even though we are at least 40kms from our nearest cases in any direction. However because we are directly in between the Hunter Valley and Tamworth we have been included in this restricted area.
At first all I wanted to be able to do is go out for a ride up the road (not far) however even if this was possible now I can't because I can't get anyone to shoe my horse that is now due. We are now going to have to pull his shoes off ourselves tomorrow and trim him back as best we can hoping that he suffers no lasting damage going bare foot. Thankfully our other horses are used to being bare foot and we will be able to just keep their feet ‘tidy’ til we can get a farrier again. We are in an area with no infection but still according to DPI guidelines if a farrier is to come & shoe or trim horses he has to go through as many sterile procedures as an orthopaedic surgeon doing a ‘joint replacement’ (any medicos out there will understand what I mean) AND he has to do this for every property he enters & leaves. No wonder they (the farriers etc) are just quitting and getting other jobs. With the DPI requirements there is no way they could do enough horses to pay the bills!
For 35 years my life has revolved around horses, in between work & other commitments. The last couple of years since I gave up work it has been pretty much wholly focused on horses with me buying a couple of ‘doer uppers’ each year to work & sell so as to finance my ‘keepers’ (those horses we have to keep). I have just sold a lovely mare to a lady in Vic. And yes she (the mare) is still here now on agistment for an indefinite time. This is a small hardship for us really although I should have purchased another horse by now to be working on during this time. I am sad for the lady who has bought this mare because she still hasn’t seen her in the flesh. I have offered for her to come up & stay for a week to at least see & ride the horse she has bought however this is her busiest time at work & she can’t get away. After the first week of the ban I recommended that the lady get the mare insured just for peace of mind. The first thing that the insurance company told her was that they weren’t covering for EI. Surprise! Surprise!
I’m sure that there are stories like this all over the state and country. People are affected in ways that the government can’t even imagine because they have no real concept of the horse industry or the people and businesses it involves.
So again what do we do with ourselves? Because we can’t get farriers & the like for our horses it is not even possible to continue training at home for when we do get to go out & compete again. And where is the motivation anyway when we can’t even get a time line. Christmas has been bandied about as a possible date but how can they know? 4 months (from beginning of ban) is a long time in the horse industry especially when it’s the breeding season (for everyone not just the race horses!!!)
So what do we do with ourselves? Well I got a couple of nice horse models for my birthday on the weekend (I’m a bit old I know)……….maybe that could be the start of a new ‘hobby’ but certainly not a ‘way of life’ as the real ones are. They are definitely cheaper to buy & don’t need feeding but………………………….somehow I don’t get the same ‘buzz’ from them.
So Mr McGauran, Mr McDonald please tell us what we are supposed to do with ourselves?
KC
Wallabadah
For the first couple of weeks most people in our area were still ‘working’ their horses at home but this last week I have noticed that we have all stopped and pretty much turned horses out. I also noticed during the first couple of weeks that our local saddleries in Tamworth were still reasonably well supported but on a trip to Tamworth on Wednesday they were empty and down to skeleton staff. It makes me sad to think that this disaster (and it is a disaster) can and no doubt will (if it hasn’t already) cause the ruination of many lives not related to the racing industry.
And all that the government (both levels) seem to be concerned about is their ‘precious’ racing industry.
Each day there are reports of hundreds of new cases of EI but the DPI & Minister for Ag keep telling us that they have it under control & that the movement ban & sanitary precautions are 'working'. There are over 10,000 cases in NSW now just in the Sydney, Hunter Valley & Nth West 'corridor'. This is a very small part of the state and when you look at a map so you can understand why they might 'think' that they have it under control when the reality is that they don't really know if it is contained. They are probably just hoping.
I think the thing that is really getting up horses owners noses is the all the 'special' concessions being made to race horse owners & breeders! They are being allowed to transport horses from one race track to another in Sydney tomorrow to race! They are going to be allowed to transport mares to stallions in the HV for breeding purposes but the rest of the horse community can just suffer because obviously we aren't as important and they seem to think that we don't generate as much income into the economy.
We are in the 'red' zone even though we are at least 40kms from our nearest cases in any direction. However because we are directly in between the Hunter Valley and Tamworth we have been included in this restricted area.
At first all I wanted to be able to do is go out for a ride up the road (not far) however even if this was possible now I can't because I can't get anyone to shoe my horse that is now due. We are now going to have to pull his shoes off ourselves tomorrow and trim him back as best we can hoping that he suffers no lasting damage going bare foot. Thankfully our other horses are used to being bare foot and we will be able to just keep their feet ‘tidy’ til we can get a farrier again. We are in an area with no infection but still according to DPI guidelines if a farrier is to come & shoe or trim horses he has to go through as many sterile procedures as an orthopaedic surgeon doing a ‘joint replacement’ (any medicos out there will understand what I mean) AND he has to do this for every property he enters & leaves. No wonder they (the farriers etc) are just quitting and getting other jobs. With the DPI requirements there is no way they could do enough horses to pay the bills!
For 35 years my life has revolved around horses, in between work & other commitments. The last couple of years since I gave up work it has been pretty much wholly focused on horses with me buying a couple of ‘doer uppers’ each year to work & sell so as to finance my ‘keepers’ (those horses we have to keep). I have just sold a lovely mare to a lady in Vic. And yes she (the mare) is still here now on agistment for an indefinite time. This is a small hardship for us really although I should have purchased another horse by now to be working on during this time. I am sad for the lady who has bought this mare because she still hasn’t seen her in the flesh. I have offered for her to come up & stay for a week to at least see & ride the horse she has bought however this is her busiest time at work & she can’t get away. After the first week of the ban I recommended that the lady get the mare insured just for peace of mind. The first thing that the insurance company told her was that they weren’t covering for EI. Surprise! Surprise!
I’m sure that there are stories like this all over the state and country. People are affected in ways that the government can’t even imagine because they have no real concept of the horse industry or the people and businesses it involves.
So again what do we do with ourselves? Because we can’t get farriers & the like for our horses it is not even possible to continue training at home for when we do get to go out & compete again. And where is the motivation anyway when we can’t even get a time line. Christmas has been bandied about as a possible date but how can they know? 4 months (from beginning of ban) is a long time in the horse industry especially when it’s the breeding season (for everyone not just the race horses!!!)
So what do we do with ourselves? Well I got a couple of nice horse models for my birthday on the weekend (I’m a bit old I know)……….maybe that could be the start of a new ‘hobby’ but certainly not a ‘way of life’ as the real ones are. They are definitely cheaper to buy & don’t need feeding but………………………….somehow I don’t get the same ‘buzz’ from them.
So Mr McGauran, Mr McDonald please tell us what we are supposed to do with ourselves?
KC
Wallabadah
posted by Horse Deals at
3:42 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home