Pony deaths shut down RDA centre

Jun 26 2009 by Iain Howie, Stirling Observer Friday

A RIDING school which specialises in providing lessons for disabled and special needs children and adults has been devastated by the death of four ponies.

Bannockburn Riding for the Disabled, based at Sauchieburn, has been hit by Equine Grass Sickness which led to the fatalities between last Thursday and Monday of this week.

The organisation says that as well as the immediate ramifications of the deaths, including explaining the deaths to the children and families, the effects will be felt for up to a year due to the hours required to train their replacements.

The centre is currently closed.

Today (Friday), through the Stirling Observer, the RDA team is appealing for your help to get the charity back on its feet and is asking for any support, from the loan of ponies to financial donations.

Centre manager Sara Smith told the Observer: “Everyone at the centre is at a loss to even begin to contemplate what’s happened. We are completely devastated.

“Losing one horse was hard enough, but to lose four in only a few days is very difficult.

“We are struggling to explain it to the families so that the news can be passed on to the children.

“We are now concentrating our efforts on trying to protect the others.”

That task could prove to be difficult due to the random nature of Equine Grass Sickness, which strikes but has no apparent cause.

In the case of the Bannockburn RDA, the strain was acute, leaving no chance of recovery for the affected ponies.

The deaths have left the centre having lost a quarter of their workforce, which is also half of the driving ponies. Three out of the four ponies were loaned to the centre.

In a glimmer of hope, vets have said that the Sauchieburn Centre is doing absolutely everything it can to make sure no more ponies are affected.

The other ponies are being fed a diet of biotic feed in an effort to keep them well.

Ms Smith added: “We are facing costs of around £20,000 to fund the vet bills, the feed and also the work we will have to do with their replacements.

“We provide for 150 riders, drivers and vaulters a week and that will be severely disrupted. We believe that the drivers will be affected for around a year.

“The group will now have to work hard in raising this money to replace these ponies and loss in income. Any help would be much appreciated.

“We need donations of money to cover new horses and lost income.”

If you have a suitable horse you would be willing to loan, contact Sara Smith on 07736 731743 or visit the website at www.bannockburnrda.org.uk for further information.

A Paypal facility for donations via the website is being set up and should be available soon.