RESCUE IS NOT THE WHOLE ANSWER

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE STATE OF EQUINE WELFARE IN THE WESTERN CAPE.

There is something we need to talk about.

What is actually happening to horse welfare in the Western Cape?

We are very good at talking about rescue.

The horse that has been found emaciated.

The wound that has been left untreated.

The overgrown hooves.

The neglected foal.

The horse that has finally been removed from a situation it could no longer survive in.

And we should talk about those horses.

We should rescue them.

We should rehabilitate them.

We should give them safety.

But there is a question we need to start asking before the rescue story begins.

Why are horses reaching crisis point in the first place?

What happens to the horse whose owner genuinely wants to care for it - but doesn't know what to do?

What happens when there is no veterinarian nearby?

What happens when a farrier is unaffordable?

What happens when preventative treatment costs more than the family can manage?

What happens when there is an unexpected injury and there is simply nowhere to turn?

And what happens when a manageable problem becomes a crisis because help wasn't available early enough?

This is where the conversation needs to become bigger than rescue.

Because rescue is often the final chapter of a much longer story.

THE WELFARE GAP IS REAL

Access to veterinary care in South Africa is not equal.

This isn't an opinion.

South Africa's own national veterinary strategy acknowledged that the accessibility, availability and affordability of veterinary services are skewed towards urban communities and commercial farmers, despite approximately 40% of South Africa's livestock being in the hands of rural communities.

The same strategy highlighted an uneven distribution of veterinarians across geographic areas and noted that veterinary service provision does not adequately reach some township and informal-settlement communities.

So let's stop pretending that access to veterinary care is simply a matter of “responsible ownership.”

Sometimes it is.

But sometimes the problem is much more complicated.

Sometimes the owner is trying.

Sometimes the owner doesn't know what they don't know.

Sometimes the money isn't there.

Sometimes the nearest professional help is simply too far away.

And sometimes there is no equine-specific welfare support available at all.

The Western Cape is not exempt from the problem.

The Western Cape Government itself recognises that smallholder and subsistence livestock owners in rural communities may have no or limited access to private veterinary clinics and services.

Its Animal Health programme provides free primary animal healthcare services and veterinary support precisely because these communities cannot necessarily afford private services. The province has also expanded access to professional veterinary services in areas including Worcester, Oudtshoorn, George and Beaufort West.

That work matters.

But it tells us something important:

The need exists. Especially in areas closer to & in the Cape Metro Municipality.

And if the need exists for livestock generally, we need to ask a very simple question: Where do horses fit into this picture?

THE NUMBERS SHOULD MAKE US UNCOMFORTABLE

A 2026 South African study examining equid welfare in an under-resourced community in Limpopo found that only 3.6% of participants reported having received veterinary services.

79.3% treated sick animals themselves.

And 83.8% reported that there were no organisations or institutions dedicated to equid welfare in their area.

The researchers identified financial challenges and a lack of local resources, including veterinary clinics and veterinary services, as important barriers.

This was a study in Limpopo.

It is not a Western Cape statistic.

But it is a South African warning.

And it raises a question we believe the Western Cape needs to start asking:

What do we actually know about equine welfare in our own rural and under-resourced communities?

Where are the gaps?

Who is collecting the data?

Who is providing preventative care?

Who is educating owners?

Who is helping before the horse reaches crisis point?

And perhaps most importantly: Who can an owner call when something starts to go wrong?

BECAUSE WELFARE PROBLEMS RARELY START AS CRISES

A wound doesn't become serious overnight.

A hoof doesn't become severely overgrown overnight.

A horse doesn't become dangerously underweight overnight.

Parasites don't suddenly appear the day before an emergency.

An unwanted foal doesn't arrive without a pregnancy first.

A chronic condition doesn't suddenly become chronic.

There is usually a point where something could have been done, should have been done.

A point where education could have helped.

A point where a veterinary visit could have changed the outcome.

A point where deworming could have prevented deterioration.

A point where a farrier could have prevented lameness.

A point where sterilisation could have prevented another vulnerable horse from being born.

A point where someone simply needed to know: “This isn't normal. You need help.”

The earlier that intervention happens, the better the chance of a different outcome.

AND THEN THERE IS EUTHANASIA

This is an uncomfortable part of the conversation.

And it needs to be handled honestly.

Euthanasia is sometimes the kindest and most humane decision we can make for an animal. When a horse is suffering and cannot be saved, allowing that suffering to continue is not welfare.

But we also need to ask ourselves: How many situations could have been different if intervention had happened earlier?

Not every horse can be saved.

Not every injury is preventable.

Not every disease can be cured.

But what if some suffering could have been avoided?

What if a wound had been treated earlier?

What if a horse had received preventative veterinary care?

What if an owner had known what the warning signs meant?

What if there had been access to a farrier?

What if sterilisation had been available?

What if someone had been there to say: “Call us. Let's work out what we can do.” That is where this conversation becomes bigger than rescue.

WE CANNOT RESCUE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS

This is the part we really need to talk about.

Because there will always be another horse.

Another emergency.

Another desperate phone call.

Another horse needing somewhere safe.

And sanctuaries can only take so many.

Welfare organisations can only respond to so many emergencies.

Donors can only fund so much rescue.

Volunteers can only do so much.

If we keep waiting until horses are in crisis, we will always be responding to crisis.

So perhaps we need to change the question.

Not only: “How do we rescue this horse?”

But: “How do we stop this horse from needing to be rescued?”

THIS IS WHERE TOM RO HAS TO GO

Tom Ro Haven will always rescue horses that need us.

That will never change.

But our vision cannot end at the haven gates.

Our outreach work is about going upstream.

Into communities.

Into rural and outlying areas.

Towards horse owners who may have very little money but genuinely want to do better.

Towards people who may never have been taught the basics of equine care.

Towards communities where professional help is difficult to access.

And towards a model where prevention becomes as important as rescue.

That means education.

Practical education.

Not telling people everything they are doing wrong.

Showing people what they can do differently & only intervening in instances of deliberate abuse.

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

It means teaching owners how to recognise problems early.

How to identify wounds that need veterinary attention.

How to manage parasites.

Why clean water is important.

What adequate nutrition looks like.

Why hoof care matters.

How to recognise pain & illness.

When to call a veterinarian.

How to handle horses safely.

Why sterilisation matters.

And, perhaps most importantly: Who to call when something goes wrong, and making mobile services available to communities where there is no or limited veterinary care.

Because sometimes the most powerful welfare intervention isn't taking a horse away. Sometimes it is helping the person who owns that horse to care for it better.

WE NEED A DIFFERENT KIND OF WELFARE MODEL

Imagine a Western Cape where horse welfare isn't only reactive.

Where communities have access to practical education.

Where preventative veterinary programmes reach the places that need them.

Where owners can access basic welfare supplies.

Where sterilisation and responsible breeding are part of the conversation.

Where veterinarians, farriers, welfare organisations, government and communities work together.

Where information is available before the emergency.

Where someone can ask for help before they are desperate.

Where the measure of success isn't only the number of horses rescued.

But the number of horses that never needed rescuing.

That is the direction we believe equine welfare needs to move towards.

BUT WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE

And this is where we want to start a bigger conversation.

We need veterinarians at the table.

Farriers.

Horse owners.

Welfare organisations.

Government.

Community leaders.

Funders.

Businesses.

Riders.

Trainers.

Breeders.

And people who simply care about horses.

We need better information.

We need better collaboration.

We need more preventative thinking.

We need to understand where the gaps actually are.

And we need to be prepared to ask difficult questions.

Are we doing enough?

Are we reaching the right communities?

Are we intervening early enough?

Are we collecting enough data?

Are we educating enough?

Are we making veterinary care accessible enough?

And perhaps the most uncomfortable question: Are we spending too much energy responding to suffering - and not enough preventing it?

THIS IS NOT ABOUT BLAME

It is very easy to point fingers.

But blame doesn't build better welfare.

Support does.

Education does.

Access does.

Partnership does.

Early intervention does.

And listening does.

There are people who love their horses deeply but simply do not have the resources that many of us take for granted.

There are people who have never been taught what good equine care looks like.

There are communities where professional services are simply not readily available.

If we want better outcomes, we need to meet those realities honestly.

SO LET'S START TALKING

We don't pretend Tom Ro has all the answers but we have a clear view from our ongoing outreach & emergency interactions of where the "gaps" are.

We believe we have a responsibility to ask the questions.

To listen.

To learn.

To gather the information.

To build partnerships.

To take practical support where it is needed.

And to start thinking about equine welfare before the emergency.

Because the horse standing in front of us today matters.

But so does the horse we haven't met yet.

The horse that could be healthy.

The horse that could be cared for.

The horse that could be protected.

The horse that could never need rescuing.

That, to us, is what better welfare looks like.

Not just rescue.

Prevention.

Not just rehabilitation.

Education.

Not just sanctuary.

Community.

Not just responding to suffering.

Changing the conditions that allow suffering to happen.

RESCUE IS NOT THE WHOLE ANSWER.

And perhaps it is time we started asking what the whole answer should look like.

We want to hear from you.

What do you believe are the biggest gaps in equine welfare in the Western Cape?

Where are horses falling through the cracks?

What needs to change?

Let's talk.

Sources and further reading: South African Veterinary Strategy 2016–2026; Western Cape Government Department of Agriculture veterinary and annual-report information; Molapo et al., 2026, “Management practices and welfare of working equids in Mogalakwena Local Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa.”