Swiss Animal Protection officials argued the need for legislation as that the basic needs of horses were being ignored on many Swiss farms.

Describing horses as sociable and highly mobile animals, SAP vet Cynthia Lerch said that more than 80 per cent of Switzerland's horses were being kept in solitary or near-solitary conditions. According to SAP figures, 60 per cent are confined in a living area of just ten square metres, while 20 per cent still spend their days tethered up.

However veterinary office spokesman Hans Wyss believes Swiss Animal Protection is underestimating the improvements which the guidelines have already brought to the husbandry of horses.

"I am convinced that the horse-owners want to keep their horses in the right manner," argues Wyss, "and I see the situation getting better every year. As well as the guidelines, we have produced special information booklets and videos for horse-owners and we think the first step is to get the message across and then give the farmers time to adopt the guidelines.

And it seems that the Swiss farmers and horse owners have already got the message as even before legislation was passed on these requirements there was a 25% increase in horses stalled in groups, a 108% increase in those housed in group stalls with free-access paddocks, and a 50% increase in those allowed to interact with other horses.

 

Illegal Practices in Switzerland
• Shortening the base of the tail
• Shaving off tactile hairs (ears and muzzle)
• Non-natural shaping of the hooves
• Adding weights or harmful shoes to hooves
• Training with electric shocks
• Competing with horses whose nerves have been cut, whose skin has been made hypersensitive, or who have been treated with pain-inducing substances
• Tongue-tying
• Poling (raising a jump pole just as the horse is going over the jump, so next time he jumps higher to clear the fence)
• Maintaining a hyperflexed head and neck position