Almost one quarter of the 8,000 call-outs made to the animal protection society last year concerned neglected horses and ponies, the organisation says in today’s Telegraaf.

‘Too many naïve people take on a horse, without having a clue how much work is involved in looking after it,’ spokesman Niels Dorland said. ‘A horse is not the same as a cat or a guinea pig.’ The Netherlands has some 400,000 horses and ponies, the paper says.
Socalist Party MPs want to raise the issue of horse neglect on Monday when farm minister Gerda Verburg’s animal welfare bill comes up for discussion.