Equine Head to Tail by Billie Morris

13/06/2026

This is why saddle fit is so important. And why gadgets interfering with the front end, restricting movement also restricts hind end movement. Everything is connected. Get rid of the gadgets and the quick fixes.

11/06/2026

This is good news for Exmoor ponies.

11/06/2026

There are a number of views and stories going round about out Dartmoor Hill ponies. This 👇 makes a very interesting read.

11/06/2026

Travellers at Appleby Fair have been in the news lately and not in a good way. This tradition of selling and showing off their horses and ponies has been well and truly exposed for what it is. A young recently gelded pony was found dead, the marks which say who he belongs to were disfigured. No one wanted to stand up and say ‘yes, I am the cruel bastard who did this to this pony.’ Big enough to inflict cruelty, but not big enough to accept responsibility.

When I lived in Somerset, Travellers would often race their ponies along the A303, along the Illminster Bypass and up towards Martock. The police would stand idly by whilst traffic built up behind them.

Every year here in South Devon they drive their ponies through heavy traffic. Ponies and gigs/sulkys bouncing off cars wily nily. I have witnessed this myself. I have seen social media saying how wonderful this sight was. Every. Single. Year. Often these animals are just running through sheer terror and are then tied up outside pubs, whilst their drivers are having a drink. There is no drink for the ponies as they stand there with their sides heaving and heads on the floor.

Not every traveller is cruel to their horse or pony. Some of these animals are very well cared for and the quality of both horsemanship and horse are excellent.

But I am sick of seeing the second rate travellers with their under fed, weak, youngsters, some of them just older than foals, being pounded on tarmac dragging two or more adults behind them until they are exhausted.

And before you spout on about it being a tradition. It’s a s**t tradition when animals are routinely abused especially at such a young age. They clearly are not fed properly, they just aren’t cared for. Chucked out in a field, if they are lucky, with random stallions covering everything with a pulse.

The resulting foals being born from poor worm ridden mares, often just babies themselves, to carry on the tradition of pulling a sulky, being raced on roads. The sick orphaned foals being dumped on roadsides. Left to die alone.

There are a number of petitions on change.org to challenge this so-called sport. Please have a look.

Join over 500,000,000 people creating real change in their communities.

08/06/2026

Ponies should never have to risk their lives racing on busy public roads.
In the United Kingdom, pressure is mounting to ban pony and trap racing on roads, with animal welfare groups and campaigners calling for stronger protections for ponies.
For years, concerns have been raised about ponies being forced to race at high speeds alongside traffic, putting both the animals and the public at serious risk.
Animal advocates say these races can lead to injuries, exhaustion, stress, and dangerous accidents, while exposing ponies to unsafe road conditions.
Supporters of a ban believe public roads should never be used as racetracks and that animals should not be placed in situations where their safety is at risk.
The campaign has gained increasing support as more people call for an end to the practice.
For many animal lovers, it is a simple issue: animals deserve protection, not unnecessary risk.
Because ponies belong in safe environments, not racing on busy roads.

07/06/2026

Well that’s only been a matter of time. Poor animal, recently gelded as well. Bloody disgrace.

‼️ RSPCA Appeal ‼️ | , Cumbria | horse dies at Appleby Horse Fair in distressing circumstances.

The RSPCA is appealing for information following the discovery of the piebald gelding on a grass verge on the unnamed road into Brampton from the south.

Animal welfare officers attended the scene at 12.40pm on Saturday 6 June with support from vets, fire and rescue officers and police.

The horse, described as approximately 14 hands high, was mostly white with black patches, all white legs with feathers, and a black tail.

He is believed to be between five and seven years old and had been recently gelded.

What is believed to be a trader’s mark sprayed on the horse’s body in blue-green paint appears to have been altered in what is said to be an attempt to disguise the trader’s identity.

RSPCA chief inspector Lyndsey Taylor said: "This is a very upsetting incident.

"At the moment we don’t know the cause of this horse’s death, but it seems as though he may have died in suspicious circumstances.

"We are looking for evidence of him being worked, handled or traded and want to hear from the person responsible for him, or anyone who can help us to identify them.

"Do you know what colour sulky or tack was he wearing? Was he tied to a horsebox? Can you give us any numberplates associated with him if he’s been pulled off a lorry?

"If you have any information that will lead us to establish what happened to this horse, please approach an RSPCA or police officer or call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 and quote incident number 01822356."




https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/26172908.rspca-investigating-death-horse-appleby-horse-fair/

07/06/2026

Farmers are struggling to survive. If these ponies are lumped together with cattle and sheep, there is no way the Dartmoor Hill ponies will survive.

"Once the ponies are gone from the moor, they will be lost forever..." 😭🌲

A massive battle is erupting over the future of Dartmoor National Park, with warnings that new red tape could wipe out 90% of its legendary pony population.

New grazing contracts are forcing a massive reduction in livestock on the moors. Because the rules don't separate wild ponies from commercial sheep and cattle, campaigners say the ponies are being squeezed out completely.

A petition to save them has already exploded to 23,000 signatures, with locals arguing that the ponies are actually the secret weapon to saving Dartmoor's biodiversity, not destroying it.

Defra says it will monitor the situation and explore ways to prevent a further drop, but is it too little, too late for a herd that has already shrunk from 7,000 down to just 900?

Who loves heading out to Dartmoor to see the ponies? 🙋‍♂️ We cannot let them vanish.

04/06/2026

https://c.org/fST4x4QKst

This is the link 👆to sign to protect our Dartmoor ponies who Natural England want to reduce. After they have obliterated Dartmoor ponies, no doubt they will turn their attention to the Exmoor ponies. Their numbers were very low a few years back, but by careful managing their numbers have come back up.

Natural England needs to have a look at the ponies in Wales, particularly the Blackdown Hill ponies. Those ponies are overbred, with too many stallions running with them. The mares are in a dreadful state, but they are still churning out foals year after year.

But then again being a gov organisation what can you expect?

Dartmoor’s Hill Ponies face extinction. They need YOUR help now.

03/06/2026

We only have five equine licensed slaughterhouses in England. There are no licensed facilities in either Scotland or Ireland. The Irish horses going for slaughter are mainly brought over here to England. God knows where the other poor things end up. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

And yes, racehorses are still being slaughtered on a silly scale and yes, they are entering the food chain. If they have been given certain drugs in their lifetime, then their bodies shouldn’t be sold for meat.

This why I bang on about all this unnecessary breeding. And I shall keep on banging on about it.

Maybe with the cost of living keep going up, people will become more responsible. 🤔