CONFLICTING ADVICE

THROUGHOUT the current lockdown, horse owners have been bombarded with conflicting advice on how to behave. First, we were advised not to ride for fear of injury and overburdening the NHS, but to lunge or hand-walk our horses is, in my experience, a far more hazardous undertaking.

We veterinary surgeons were told only to attend emergencies, not carry out routine procedures, but now apparently we can with all the appropriate precautions. We have continued to ride, with cyclists barely under control and pedestrians in unfamiliar territory in the middle of the road.

As the owner of an honest cob who I’d trust with my life, I know I’m safer on his back than on my own two feet or in his stable!

David Gabriel Avonwick, Devon