Horse Aware Week

The first Horse Aware Week for 2021 will take place on the week of the 26th to 30th April and will be focusing on the Cherry Orchard & Ballyfermot areas of Dublin. The week will concentrate on 5th & 6th Class students in the local Primary Schools for virtual talks through Zoom. The main aim of the talk is to explain about responsible horse ownership, issues/needs of urban horses and to discuss the various careers that are available in the equestrian industry, allowing students to find out more about the pathways to those careers.

This week is part of a concerted effort to increase awareness about responsible horse ownership in the Dublin area spearheaded by the DRHWWG (Dublin Region Horse Welfare Working Group), which is a regional group established in 2017 by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and South Dublin County Council. Other members of the group include Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council & Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council. Representatives from the various animal and equine welfare organisations including DSPCA, the Irish Horse Welfare Trust, Clondalkin Equine Club, Fettercairn Youth Horse Project and Cherry Orchard Equine Centre have all signed up to DRHWWG. The focus is on improving equine welfare, reducing indiscriminate breeding of horses, promoting education and awareness relating to urban horses.

The Education task group which is part of the DRHWWG ran the first Horse Aware Week in 2018 and this is the fifth event for the Dublin area. The group includes DSPCA, Cherry Orchard Equine Centre, Clondalkin Equine Club, Irish Horse Welfare Trust, & senior representatives from the Dublin City Council and Department of Agriculture Food & the Marine. Familibase Youth Centre & Horse Power Project are taking part in this event to help promote responsible horse ownership in their area.

The talks will last no more than 40 minutes and are run free of charge. To find out more and to book your talk please email DSPCA Equine Department or Cherry Orchard Equine Care