Grassroots Animal Welfare

Our grassroots education and training programme is spearheaded by the Cart Horse Inspectorate and the cart horse owner area representatives to the carting community. 

Weekly evening workshops are in the communities of Netreg, Bonteheuwel, Freedom Farm, Phillipi, Mandalay and Valhalla Park. The venues are a far cry from a boardroom setting - wendy house by candlelight, Rastafarian DUB Hall with natural ventilation, garage in the heart of gangland and a stable yard. Despite the rustic venues and cold winter weather the workshops are very well attended by both the cart horse owners and drivers. 

Various aspects of the carting industry were addressed - the Animal Protection Act, CHPA”s Zero Tolerance Policy, veterinary, farriery, correct feeding, grooming, harness, working speed, safety on the roads and attitudes towards members of the public. The underlying message being that Cart Horse is there to help but will not tolerate abuse. These informal forums also gave the the ”carties” the opportunity to share their experiences, day to day struggles (being ”hi-jacked” on their way home and their scrap stolen), and to offer suggestions on how they can improve the life of their working horses.  

The workshops have proved very successful, this can be seen in the increase of the number of horses visiting the clinics and a decrease in the number of complaints received involving cart horses.Our sincere thanks goes to Claremont Rotary who have generously supported this Education and Training Project.