Post by Stepney on Jun 10, 2005 13:35:10 GMT 1
Subject : IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : kelly@montyroberts.co.uk
Date : 28.06.02 7:32:00 PM
Hi, Could someone take a deep breath and tell the Merlin story from start to finish? There are so many threads that it's very confusing. I think it will be great to save Merlin (especially as he's sniffed Pauhla's face
but really he's more a symbol (I think that's the word I mean I'm not sure) about what people can do together when they really care and also it could be a chance to bring more awareness to other horses like Merlin and really make a difference for them too. If someone could write it out in the form of a press release we could send it out to all the different publications but at the moment I don't think anyone could make much sense of it as there are so many different threads. The first I heard of it all was this morning when my sister asked if she could borrow the horsebox - I thought she meant to go to a local show ! She's only 5 feet tall is she going to be OK driving round Spain on her own? Can anyone help with licences to get Merlin out etc.? I can lend her my camera for photos though I'm not sure she's very good at taking photo's.
Anyway if a couple of you could have a go at writing an expanation of this whole adventure I think it could be really helpful. I'm on 7 days of courses now but I'll check in each evening.
Well done everyone.
Love and Best Wishes
Kelly
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Lorraine L
Date : 28.06.02 7:35:00 PM
Thanks Kelly ................. Over to you then PAUHLA !!!!!!!
hehe
xxx
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Pauhla
Date : 28.06.02 8:31:00 PM
Oh thanks Lorraine!!!! Ok well as officially sniffed and passed as fairly Ok by Merlin, here we go.
Merlin first came to the notice of the DG about 4 months ago when Sandra Boddeus, a Dutch woman living and working in Spain posted a message about the condtions that horses were being kept and worked under in Spainish riding schools. Her own horse was at livery at a yard which housed a riding school and she saw horses who were lame and or in poor physical or psychological condition being used to give lessons day in day out. One in particular stood out, a small chestnut Tb mare with an unpronouncable name who Sandra re-christened Laura. She had bucked off her rider in a lesson due to a badly fitting saddle and as a result was being starved to keep her lethargic and rideable. The pictures Sandra sent to us were up there with any RSPCA cruelty case in this country as Laura was emaciated and had open saddle sores all over her back. With support from the DG, Sandra eventually persuaded the yard owner to giver her Laura in exchange for paying the transport costs to deliver another horse he had already bought to replace her and so Laura went to another yard about 30km away for a couple of months rehab before being transported to Belgium to Sandras friend Josepha who had already been involved with a previous rescue case. Laura was acompanied by Paddy, a Spanish greyhound that Sandra had also persuaded Josepha to take on!
We thought that was the end of the story but then along came the photos of Merlin, a 7 years old,15hh liver chestnut Spanish x Tb gelding. Although in good bodily condition, he was lame in one foreleg and so as he was an exceptional jumper, the yard owner used him as a teaching horse and put him in tight draw reins as the clients complained about his excessive head movement being "irritating". Whether they realised this was because he was lame and in pain is anyones guess.
Merlin was an extremly nervous horse and although he would co-operate once out of the stabel and tacked up, he would only allow his particular stable boy to do anything with him when inside. He was kept in a stable approximatly 16 feet by 12 feet with two other horses, Junior, a very quiet and aged gelding used for giving lessons and Sporting (who Sandra named Polo as she did not know his name). Polo had an undiagnosed and untreated lameness in the near fore and could not put his foot flat on the ground and yet he was used regularly to give lunge lessons. Both horses had been taken as part exchanges for "sport horses" sold by the yard owner as they had suitable riding horse temperaments.
In June, Pauhla, a member of the DG went out to Spain to visit Sandra to teach a workshop on Reiki energy therapy as she and several friends had been involved with Laura and then Merlin and had got friendly with Sandra as a result. Another Dutch DG-er, Olga also went out for the workshop and together, Sandra was able to show them the conditions at the yard. Although the facilities were wonderful, most of the horses were stabled at least 23 hours a day in soaring temperatures and all the stables (except Sandras) had full grills over the doors so the horses couldn't even look out. There were even two ponies in cages made of weld mesh at the back of the stable blocks, one accompanied by a sheep and neither cage was bigger than 6 feet by 8 feet.
However, the most upsetting thing was the conditions in the particular stable block which housed Merlin, Polo and Junior. All 3 were tethered to the wall by a 4 foot long piece of chain, the temperature in the stable was 40 degrees, it was dark, badly ventilated and the ammonia literally made your eyes run. Pauhla managed to get into the stable and after about 15 minutes, Merlin gradually edged towards her and touched her hand. She was able to to stroke his nose and chin but although he because curious and began to sniff her face, he wouldn't allow her to touch any other part of him and there was not time to work with him any further.As they left the yard, Polo was giving a small child a lunge lesson in the outdoor school. It was about 38 degrees, the hottest part of the day and the horse was visably and upsettingly lame and yet he just went round and round and round with no objection, no hesitation and no hope of a respite.
Sandra, Pauhla and Olga all decided that it was time to reactivate the interest that had generated on the DG as a result of Sandras original story and so when Pauhla got home she posted a message telling about her meeting with Merlin and the "Merlin Fund" came into being.
With Sandra acting as a very biased "honest broker" the yard owner agreed to sell Merlin to "The English girl as a pet" !! for 1200 Euros, which is just over £800 but although everyone agreed that the ideal would be to get all 3 horses out of there the associated cost of transporting just one horse would mean that they needed to raise at least £1500. Although Donna Burger, another DG member had offered Merlin a permenant home when he finally got to England it wasn't until Kelly Marks sister Sandra came forward and offered to drive the Intelligent Horsemanship lorry to Spain and back that getting all 3 out became a possibility. The co-oncidences began to stack up but the most startling was when Sandra asked where she had to take him to and was told that Donna lived in Henley on Thames which is exactly where Sandra lived!
Sadly, although Sandra Bodeus tried to get the yard owner to sell the other two and Dawn in Lancashire offered Junior a home and Donna Penfold who was about 12 miles from Henley offered to take Polo and to have Junior there for as long as he needed to recouperate after the journey, the owner said he wouldn't sell although he did say he might consider it later in the year.
For the moment then, the story ends with plans being made for Merlin to come to England at the begining of July 2002 and Polo and Junior still back in Spain, but knowing the determination of Sandra Bodeus and the other members of the Intelligent horsemanship Discussion Group, I doubt very much if this is the end of the story!
There.....I think Sandra may be able to fill in any gaps and Olga may have something to add of her feelings when we first got there, but I think that's about the bare bones of it in roughly the order it happened.
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Gemxx
Date : 28.06.02 9:36:00 PM
I have been away for ages and missed the progress of this story, can I help at all?
where I we sending things to??
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Kelly' sister Sandra
Date : 29.06.02 8:29:00 AM
My plan is to set off next Sunday morning 7th July. I am told I can get a ferry to Spain although I am not sure how cost effective this is yet. I will have to drive back through France as the ferry journey is too long and will probably have two 'pitstops'. I could just about fit three horses in the horsebox but it would not give them much room but I will leave that to the committee to decide. As Kelly has said I need to know that when I get to Madrid I can take Merlin out of the country without any problems so his paperwork needs to be in order. I assume someone knows about this sort of thing? The real issue here as I personally see it, is to make people aware of the plight of horses in Spain and to improve the conditions. Spain is a member of Europe and should be held accountable. I would make as much of this rescue as possible to force the authorities to rethink international protection of animals. Also if it is tourists who are riding these lame horses as part of a holiday package, then the tour operators should be taken to task as well? There is little hope of anything being done if as soon as these horses are taken away, three more are put in to replace them.
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Dawn
Date : 29.06.02 9:15:00 AM
Hi Sandra
I contacted DEFRA yesterday and am hoping to have all instructions back from them by Monday 1st at the latest. If you leave me your e mail address, I'll send them onto you. As far as the international transportation side of things go, I cannot see any problems as the countries you're travelling through are EU derived, so its free trade therefore no customs problems as its basically like moving something from Darwen to Manchester! Anyway I'll help as much as I can and if you need any further help just let me know
Very very best of luck - you're a star!!
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Esme
Date : 29.06.02 12:30:00 AM
Has anyone contacted the ILPH? Surely they would be happy to help - if only to offer advise on the legalities?
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Kelly's Sandra's daughter.
Date : 29.06.02 2:46:00 PM
DAWN:
Mum isn't very good with the internet yet but my e-mail address is daisy_me20@hotmail.com so if you would like to send us any information that would help please please do! Thank you.
Love Daisy
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Pauhla
Date : 29.06.02 3:14:00 PM
Sandra, you wodnerful person you!! I have e-mailed you just in case you don't see this but I have already contacted DEFRA and there are no problems at the UK end of the journey. All that needs to happen is for the DEFRA vet to inspect him/them at the UK port for any infectious diseases and then you can go to your final destination and drop the horse/s off. If it turns out to be more than one, they do not have to go to the same destination and there are no quarantine regulatins in the UK.
Sandra Bodeus will be handling the vet inspection and certificate at the Spanish end as she has exported her own horse from Holland to Spain and another horse from Spain to Belgium so is well versed with the official paperwork that has to be obtained from the Spanish authorities. She will be in touch with you on Monday to confirm dates etc so she can get the vet inspection arranged as she has no pc at home so is out of contact at the weekend.
I believe that it is a requirement that there are stops each 8 hours for rest, feed and water, although I suspect you won't want to leave it that long...my bladder couldn't last 8 hours for a start...and it is VERY hot so you will all need frequent water stops. LOL
Hope this puts you in the picture a little but Sandra is an old pro at "international rescue" so hopefully it should all be fairly straightforward.
Pauhla xx
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : pauhla
Date : 29.06.02 3:32:00 PM
SANDRA....the other thing you may find useful is that friends of ours have recently brought some sheep back from France that had been stranded since the foot and mouth. They found that the only ferry that was interested in taking livestock is Norfolk line which operates out of Dover. It is a freight line, but has passenger facilities and is used by all the lorry firms and is used to dealing with livestock. P and O etc refused to carry them with a landrover and livestock trailer full of sheep so may be worth a call...cheaper too!
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Gillian
Date : 29.06.02 7:27:00 PM
Hello, if you would like to do a worm count on Merlin please send a little sample and we will gladly test it for free.
Good luck with the rescue!
www.westgatelabs.com
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Lynette Luck
Date : 29.06.02 7:47:00 PM
We are International Horse Transporters and would be glad to help you organise your journey for Merlin. I can supply you with a telephone number or arrange stabling at Bordeaux for both horse and human. Is Merlin registered or unregistered as that dictates the number or hours you are allowed to travel with him. You will be able to use Brittany Ferries on the Caen-Portsmouth route which will cut your driving time down considerably and saves having to drive through Paris. Although it is a longer Ferry crossing we have always found Brittany Ferries to be extremely helpful. Please look at our website at www.equinefreight.co.uk and contact us if we can be of any assistance.
Good luck
Lynette
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Pauhla
Date : 29.06.02 9:30:00 PM
Gillian... thank you! Heaven knows about the state of his alimentary canal and so your offer will be taken up I am very certain as soon as he is home. It is really kind of you to support us and with someithg so practical!
Lynette thank you so much for your message. At present, Sandra O'Halloran who has offered to drive the IH lorry to Spain and back is at the mercy of all of us sending messages back and forth and so I am sure that some advice from a professional outfit who do this all the time would be gratefully recieved and probably with a bit of relief!
If you don't mind, either I or Sandra Bodeus who is "on the ground" on Spain will contact you at the begining of next week in order to pick your brains about routes, ferries etc.As Sandra has no pc at home it is difficult to contact her out of office hours and she needs to be very much included in any plans.
I really am so grateful to everyone who has contributed to this hair brained scheme of ours. If Sandra could have known back then what would come of an innocent thread on the DG letting off steam about the conditions of horses in Spain, I think she would have fallen off her horse! It really is a team effort!
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Nicky
Date : 30.06.02 1:42:00 AM
I am truly gobsmacked about what is happening here, I cannot believe that such wonderful people exist on this planet. All we ever seem to hear is bad news and upset from war torn countries to buildings being hit by planes. I log on here and truly believe that humanity exists. Well Done to everyone, your spirit, tenacity and determination is incredible. Especially good luck to "kelly's sister!" who has to face the long journey, you really are a remarkable woman.
Oh! not forgetting everyone else of course! You are all stars too!!
Nicky
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : B.J
Date : 30.06.02 2:27:00 PM
Do the terms 'cat' and 'pigeons' ring bells?
Everyone involved with this is obviously doing it for the best possible reasons and I think that's wonderful, BUT -
in the cold light of day there's a horse in good physical condition who happens to be lame, being kept in a smelly stable and made to work. Yes it's horrible, but the same thing is probably happening on a yard near all of us. For this case to be of publicity value Merlin would need to look pathetic and ill and by all accounts he doesn't. It's now been suggested that a hold is put on publicity (Sat - Merlin Update) and while I fully understand the reasoning behind the suggestion, surely after the event he will be 'old news' and the media just wont be interested.
So, emotions aside, people are paying for a horse that is in no worse condition than than lots of horses in the UK., the publicity may well be a wash-out, and Kelly's sister is going to have a long traumatic journey to bring back a lame horse who probably shouldn't be travelling anyway. If Kelly's sister is bringing him (or them) back then she is responsible for him/them and I'd hate to think her reward for her kindness was getting flak from the port vets for moving a lame horse.
Since I'm already at risk of being drummed off the DG for the above I might as well go all the way and say that by paying livery to the man that owns these horses Sandra is financially helping to keep him in business. I know that nothing is black and white and that if I'd seen Merlin I'd probably want to do exactly the same thing but it does sound as though perhaps emotions are overtaking common sense. Good luck whatever happens, Brenda
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Donnaburger
Date : 30.06.02 3:21:00 PM
Dear Brenda,
you are not at any risk!
Except maybe at being mis-informed a tad.
Merlin is not in good physical condition overall, but he would need to be a hat rack for the Spanish authorities to become involved.
His mental state is far more serious however, and should he flip, his life will not be worth living.
As for the media coverage, the fact that so many people have rallied for the cause is big news, today or the day he gets here.
Kellys sister Sandra will not be collecting him until he has been passed fit to travel, he will be wrapped in cotton wool with regular stopovers all the way home. The port vets don`t want to see him off the lorry and being trotted up.
Sandra in Madrid does not pay the owner of Merlin anything. The complex holding over 300 horses, is divided up between several different owners and types of equine pursuits.
But l do know how dangerous a situation she is putting herself and her horse in, for this cause.
Please see some of the other Merlin threads for our justifications.
Donna x
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Olga
Date : 30.06.02 3:47:00 PM
You've said it all really Donna - thanks!
Just want to add one thing: it may well be true that there are horses in the UK in a similarly bad situation as Merlin. So does that mean that these horses are somehow more deserving of rescue than Merlin, because they live in the UK and he in Spain? Others have used the same line of reasoning and I must confess I just cannot understand it. Must be because I'm a continental ...
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Esme
Date : 30.06.02 4:24:00 PM
Okay, I've not gone anon here, the only thing that worries me a bit is that the money being paid to this man in Spain will be used to buy more horses and the same thing will just start happening again. I understand the need to protect Sandra and her horses too, but surely we need to do something with publicity or whatever to stop this happening over and over again? Are the ILPH or any other such agencies being consulted? They must know what can be done internationally to help stop the situation. I'm not saying don't rescue Merlin, or his stable mates, but the thought of paying the man so he can carry on with his cruelty seems wrong.
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Lorraine L
Date : 30.06.02 4:49:00 PM
OK My turn !!!
I am sorry if I was misunderstood on the Sat night Merlin update but I was saying that there is NO reason for anyone to go to all the trouble of getting publicity when you have all raised the funds yourselves.
All of the 'agencies' were informed of this establishment long before Merlin came to light, when Sandra rescued the other poor horse (skin & Bone ) called Laura.
We were in a suitation where Sandra's safety and that of her own horse Merlin had to come first, so as she is due to be leaving there herself fairly soon, it was agreed by all that the pressure would continue when she was away from there permanately.
Please believe me when i say that Sandra is one very brave lady and I for one do not wish to see her caused any problems from the Laura project or Merlins project.
We did not 'go public' with the information which we sent to the charities or MP's etc... as it was not necessary.
I hope this clears things a little more ??
xxx
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : whisperer
Date : 30.06.02 6:31:00 PM
come on girls admit that its a lot more exciting 'rescuing' horses from exotic locations on the continent than the local 'hotspots'. I suggest you all look hard at your motives, there are lots of things you can do thats more productive to the welfare of the horse than this harebrained scheme
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Ted
Date : 30.06.02 7:12:00 PM
Whisperer - with all due respect , that is a load of claptrap .
Ted .
From : kelly@montyroberts.co.uk
Date : 28.06.02 7:32:00 PM
Hi, Could someone take a deep breath and tell the Merlin story from start to finish? There are so many threads that it's very confusing. I think it will be great to save Merlin (especially as he's sniffed Pauhla's face
but really he's more a symbol (I think that's the word I mean I'm not sure) about what people can do together when they really care and also it could be a chance to bring more awareness to other horses like Merlin and really make a difference for them too. If someone could write it out in the form of a press release we could send it out to all the different publications but at the moment I don't think anyone could make much sense of it as there are so many different threads. The first I heard of it all was this morning when my sister asked if she could borrow the horsebox - I thought she meant to go to a local show ! She's only 5 feet tall is she going to be OK driving round Spain on her own? Can anyone help with licences to get Merlin out etc.? I can lend her my camera for photos though I'm not sure she's very good at taking photo's.Anyway if a couple of you could have a go at writing an expanation of this whole adventure I think it could be really helpful. I'm on 7 days of courses now but I'll check in each evening.
Well done everyone.
Love and Best Wishes
Kelly
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Lorraine L
Date : 28.06.02 7:35:00 PM
Thanks Kelly ................. Over to you then PAUHLA !!!!!!!
hehe
xxx
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Pauhla
Date : 28.06.02 8:31:00 PM
Oh thanks Lorraine!!!! Ok well as officially sniffed and passed as fairly Ok by Merlin, here we go.
Merlin first came to the notice of the DG about 4 months ago when Sandra Boddeus, a Dutch woman living and working in Spain posted a message about the condtions that horses were being kept and worked under in Spainish riding schools. Her own horse was at livery at a yard which housed a riding school and she saw horses who were lame and or in poor physical or psychological condition being used to give lessons day in day out. One in particular stood out, a small chestnut Tb mare with an unpronouncable name who Sandra re-christened Laura. She had bucked off her rider in a lesson due to a badly fitting saddle and as a result was being starved to keep her lethargic and rideable. The pictures Sandra sent to us were up there with any RSPCA cruelty case in this country as Laura was emaciated and had open saddle sores all over her back. With support from the DG, Sandra eventually persuaded the yard owner to giver her Laura in exchange for paying the transport costs to deliver another horse he had already bought to replace her and so Laura went to another yard about 30km away for a couple of months rehab before being transported to Belgium to Sandras friend Josepha who had already been involved with a previous rescue case. Laura was acompanied by Paddy, a Spanish greyhound that Sandra had also persuaded Josepha to take on!
We thought that was the end of the story but then along came the photos of Merlin, a 7 years old,15hh liver chestnut Spanish x Tb gelding. Although in good bodily condition, he was lame in one foreleg and so as he was an exceptional jumper, the yard owner used him as a teaching horse and put him in tight draw reins as the clients complained about his excessive head movement being "irritating". Whether they realised this was because he was lame and in pain is anyones guess.
Merlin was an extremly nervous horse and although he would co-operate once out of the stabel and tacked up, he would only allow his particular stable boy to do anything with him when inside. He was kept in a stable approximatly 16 feet by 12 feet with two other horses, Junior, a very quiet and aged gelding used for giving lessons and Sporting (who Sandra named Polo as she did not know his name). Polo had an undiagnosed and untreated lameness in the near fore and could not put his foot flat on the ground and yet he was used regularly to give lunge lessons. Both horses had been taken as part exchanges for "sport horses" sold by the yard owner as they had suitable riding horse temperaments.
In June, Pauhla, a member of the DG went out to Spain to visit Sandra to teach a workshop on Reiki energy therapy as she and several friends had been involved with Laura and then Merlin and had got friendly with Sandra as a result. Another Dutch DG-er, Olga also went out for the workshop and together, Sandra was able to show them the conditions at the yard. Although the facilities were wonderful, most of the horses were stabled at least 23 hours a day in soaring temperatures and all the stables (except Sandras) had full grills over the doors so the horses couldn't even look out. There were even two ponies in cages made of weld mesh at the back of the stable blocks, one accompanied by a sheep and neither cage was bigger than 6 feet by 8 feet.
However, the most upsetting thing was the conditions in the particular stable block which housed Merlin, Polo and Junior. All 3 were tethered to the wall by a 4 foot long piece of chain, the temperature in the stable was 40 degrees, it was dark, badly ventilated and the ammonia literally made your eyes run. Pauhla managed to get into the stable and after about 15 minutes, Merlin gradually edged towards her and touched her hand. She was able to to stroke his nose and chin but although he because curious and began to sniff her face, he wouldn't allow her to touch any other part of him and there was not time to work with him any further.As they left the yard, Polo was giving a small child a lunge lesson in the outdoor school. It was about 38 degrees, the hottest part of the day and the horse was visably and upsettingly lame and yet he just went round and round and round with no objection, no hesitation and no hope of a respite.
Sandra, Pauhla and Olga all decided that it was time to reactivate the interest that had generated on the DG as a result of Sandras original story and so when Pauhla got home she posted a message telling about her meeting with Merlin and the "Merlin Fund" came into being.
With Sandra acting as a very biased "honest broker" the yard owner agreed to sell Merlin to "The English girl as a pet" !! for 1200 Euros, which is just over £800 but although everyone agreed that the ideal would be to get all 3 horses out of there the associated cost of transporting just one horse would mean that they needed to raise at least £1500. Although Donna Burger, another DG member had offered Merlin a permenant home when he finally got to England it wasn't until Kelly Marks sister Sandra came forward and offered to drive the Intelligent Horsemanship lorry to Spain and back that getting all 3 out became a possibility. The co-oncidences began to stack up but the most startling was when Sandra asked where she had to take him to and was told that Donna lived in Henley on Thames which is exactly where Sandra lived!
Sadly, although Sandra Bodeus tried to get the yard owner to sell the other two and Dawn in Lancashire offered Junior a home and Donna Penfold who was about 12 miles from Henley offered to take Polo and to have Junior there for as long as he needed to recouperate after the journey, the owner said he wouldn't sell although he did say he might consider it later in the year.
For the moment then, the story ends with plans being made for Merlin to come to England at the begining of July 2002 and Polo and Junior still back in Spain, but knowing the determination of Sandra Bodeus and the other members of the Intelligent horsemanship Discussion Group, I doubt very much if this is the end of the story!
There.....I think Sandra may be able to fill in any gaps and Olga may have something to add of her feelings when we first got there, but I think that's about the bare bones of it in roughly the order it happened.
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Gemxx
Date : 28.06.02 9:36:00 PM
I have been away for ages and missed the progress of this story, can I help at all?
where I we sending things to?? Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Kelly' sister Sandra
Date : 29.06.02 8:29:00 AM
My plan is to set off next Sunday morning 7th July. I am told I can get a ferry to Spain although I am not sure how cost effective this is yet. I will have to drive back through France as the ferry journey is too long and will probably have two 'pitstops'. I could just about fit three horses in the horsebox but it would not give them much room but I will leave that to the committee to decide. As Kelly has said I need to know that when I get to Madrid I can take Merlin out of the country without any problems so his paperwork needs to be in order. I assume someone knows about this sort of thing? The real issue here as I personally see it, is to make people aware of the plight of horses in Spain and to improve the conditions. Spain is a member of Europe and should be held accountable. I would make as much of this rescue as possible to force the authorities to rethink international protection of animals. Also if it is tourists who are riding these lame horses as part of a holiday package, then the tour operators should be taken to task as well? There is little hope of anything being done if as soon as these horses are taken away, three more are put in to replace them.
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Dawn
Date : 29.06.02 9:15:00 AM
Hi Sandra
I contacted DEFRA yesterday and am hoping to have all instructions back from them by Monday 1st at the latest. If you leave me your e mail address, I'll send them onto you. As far as the international transportation side of things go, I cannot see any problems as the countries you're travelling through are EU derived, so its free trade therefore no customs problems as its basically like moving something from Darwen to Manchester! Anyway I'll help as much as I can and if you need any further help just let me know
Very very best of luck - you're a star!!
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Esme
Date : 29.06.02 12:30:00 AM
Has anyone contacted the ILPH? Surely they would be happy to help - if only to offer advise on the legalities?
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Kelly's Sandra's daughter.
Date : 29.06.02 2:46:00 PM
DAWN:
Mum isn't very good with the internet yet but my e-mail address is daisy_me20@hotmail.com so if you would like to send us any information that would help please please do! Thank you.
Love Daisy
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Pauhla
Date : 29.06.02 3:14:00 PM
Sandra, you wodnerful person you!! I have e-mailed you just in case you don't see this but I have already contacted DEFRA and there are no problems at the UK end of the journey. All that needs to happen is for the DEFRA vet to inspect him/them at the UK port for any infectious diseases and then you can go to your final destination and drop the horse/s off. If it turns out to be more than one, they do not have to go to the same destination and there are no quarantine regulatins in the UK.
Sandra Bodeus will be handling the vet inspection and certificate at the Spanish end as she has exported her own horse from Holland to Spain and another horse from Spain to Belgium so is well versed with the official paperwork that has to be obtained from the Spanish authorities. She will be in touch with you on Monday to confirm dates etc so she can get the vet inspection arranged as she has no pc at home so is out of contact at the weekend.
I believe that it is a requirement that there are stops each 8 hours for rest, feed and water, although I suspect you won't want to leave it that long...my bladder couldn't last 8 hours for a start...and it is VERY hot so you will all need frequent water stops. LOL
Hope this puts you in the picture a little but Sandra is an old pro at "international rescue" so hopefully it should all be fairly straightforward.
Pauhla xx
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : pauhla
Date : 29.06.02 3:32:00 PM
SANDRA....the other thing you may find useful is that friends of ours have recently brought some sheep back from France that had been stranded since the foot and mouth. They found that the only ferry that was interested in taking livestock is Norfolk line which operates out of Dover. It is a freight line, but has passenger facilities and is used by all the lorry firms and is used to dealing with livestock. P and O etc refused to carry them with a landrover and livestock trailer full of sheep so may be worth a call...cheaper too!
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Gillian
Date : 29.06.02 7:27:00 PM
Hello, if you would like to do a worm count on Merlin please send a little sample and we will gladly test it for free.
Good luck with the rescue!
www.westgatelabs.com
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Lynette Luck
Date : 29.06.02 7:47:00 PM
We are International Horse Transporters and would be glad to help you organise your journey for Merlin. I can supply you with a telephone number or arrange stabling at Bordeaux for both horse and human. Is Merlin registered or unregistered as that dictates the number or hours you are allowed to travel with him. You will be able to use Brittany Ferries on the Caen-Portsmouth route which will cut your driving time down considerably and saves having to drive through Paris. Although it is a longer Ferry crossing we have always found Brittany Ferries to be extremely helpful. Please look at our website at www.equinefreight.co.uk and contact us if we can be of any assistance.
Good luck
Lynette
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Pauhla
Date : 29.06.02 9:30:00 PM
Gillian... thank you! Heaven knows about the state of his alimentary canal and so your offer will be taken up I am very certain as soon as he is home. It is really kind of you to support us and with someithg so practical!
Lynette thank you so much for your message. At present, Sandra O'Halloran who has offered to drive the IH lorry to Spain and back is at the mercy of all of us sending messages back and forth and so I am sure that some advice from a professional outfit who do this all the time would be gratefully recieved and probably with a bit of relief!
If you don't mind, either I or Sandra Bodeus who is "on the ground" on Spain will contact you at the begining of next week in order to pick your brains about routes, ferries etc.As Sandra has no pc at home it is difficult to contact her out of office hours and she needs to be very much included in any plans.
I really am so grateful to everyone who has contributed to this hair brained scheme of ours. If Sandra could have known back then what would come of an innocent thread on the DG letting off steam about the conditions of horses in Spain, I think she would have fallen off her horse! It really is a team effort!
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Nicky
Date : 30.06.02 1:42:00 AM
I am truly gobsmacked about what is happening here, I cannot believe that such wonderful people exist on this planet. All we ever seem to hear is bad news and upset from war torn countries to buildings being hit by planes. I log on here and truly believe that humanity exists. Well Done to everyone, your spirit, tenacity and determination is incredible. Especially good luck to "kelly's sister!" who has to face the long journey, you really are a remarkable woman.
Oh! not forgetting everyone else of course! You are all stars too!!
Nicky
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : B.J
Date : 30.06.02 2:27:00 PM
Do the terms 'cat' and 'pigeons' ring bells?
Everyone involved with this is obviously doing it for the best possible reasons and I think that's wonderful, BUT -
in the cold light of day there's a horse in good physical condition who happens to be lame, being kept in a smelly stable and made to work. Yes it's horrible, but the same thing is probably happening on a yard near all of us. For this case to be of publicity value Merlin would need to look pathetic and ill and by all accounts he doesn't. It's now been suggested that a hold is put on publicity (Sat - Merlin Update) and while I fully understand the reasoning behind the suggestion, surely after the event he will be 'old news' and the media just wont be interested.
So, emotions aside, people are paying for a horse that is in no worse condition than than lots of horses in the UK., the publicity may well be a wash-out, and Kelly's sister is going to have a long traumatic journey to bring back a lame horse who probably shouldn't be travelling anyway. If Kelly's sister is bringing him (or them) back then she is responsible for him/them and I'd hate to think her reward for her kindness was getting flak from the port vets for moving a lame horse.
Since I'm already at risk of being drummed off the DG for the above I might as well go all the way and say that by paying livery to the man that owns these horses Sandra is financially helping to keep him in business. I know that nothing is black and white and that if I'd seen Merlin I'd probably want to do exactly the same thing but it does sound as though perhaps emotions are overtaking common sense. Good luck whatever happens, Brenda
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Donnaburger
Date : 30.06.02 3:21:00 PM
Dear Brenda,
you are not at any risk!
Except maybe at being mis-informed a tad.
Merlin is not in good physical condition overall, but he would need to be a hat rack for the Spanish authorities to become involved.
His mental state is far more serious however, and should he flip, his life will not be worth living.
As for the media coverage, the fact that so many people have rallied for the cause is big news, today or the day he gets here.
Kellys sister Sandra will not be collecting him until he has been passed fit to travel, he will be wrapped in cotton wool with regular stopovers all the way home. The port vets don`t want to see him off the lorry and being trotted up.
Sandra in Madrid does not pay the owner of Merlin anything. The complex holding over 300 horses, is divided up between several different owners and types of equine pursuits.
But l do know how dangerous a situation she is putting herself and her horse in, for this cause.
Please see some of the other Merlin threads for our justifications.
Donna x
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Olga
Date : 30.06.02 3:47:00 PM
You've said it all really Donna - thanks!
Just want to add one thing: it may well be true that there are horses in the UK in a similarly bad situation as Merlin. So does that mean that these horses are somehow more deserving of rescue than Merlin, because they live in the UK and he in Spain? Others have used the same line of reasoning and I must confess I just cannot understand it. Must be because I'm a continental ...
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Esme
Date : 30.06.02 4:24:00 PM
Okay, I've not gone anon here, the only thing that worries me a bit is that the money being paid to this man in Spain will be used to buy more horses and the same thing will just start happening again. I understand the need to protect Sandra and her horses too, but surely we need to do something with publicity or whatever to stop this happening over and over again? Are the ILPH or any other such agencies being consulted? They must know what can be done internationally to help stop the situation. I'm not saying don't rescue Merlin, or his stable mates, but the thought of paying the man so he can carry on with his cruelty seems wrong.
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Lorraine L
Date : 30.06.02 4:49:00 PM
OK My turn !!!
I am sorry if I was misunderstood on the Sat night Merlin update but I was saying that there is NO reason for anyone to go to all the trouble of getting publicity when you have all raised the funds yourselves.
All of the 'agencies' were informed of this establishment long before Merlin came to light, when Sandra rescued the other poor horse (skin & Bone ) called Laura.
We were in a suitation where Sandra's safety and that of her own horse Merlin had to come first, so as she is due to be leaving there herself fairly soon, it was agreed by all that the pressure would continue when she was away from there permanately.
Please believe me when i say that Sandra is one very brave lady and I for one do not wish to see her caused any problems from the Laura project or Merlins project.
We did not 'go public' with the information which we sent to the charities or MP's etc... as it was not necessary.
I hope this clears things a little more ??
xxx
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : whisperer
Date : 30.06.02 6:31:00 PM
come on girls admit that its a lot more exciting 'rescuing' horses from exotic locations on the continent than the local 'hotspots'. I suggest you all look hard at your motives, there are lots of things you can do thats more productive to the welfare of the horse than this harebrained scheme
Subject : re:- IH Kelly The Full Merlin Story
From : Ted
Date : 30.06.02 7:12:00 PM
Whisperer - with all due respect , that is a load of claptrap .
Ted .
) 