A reinvigorated Horse Watch scheme is aiming to prevent and reduce equine-related and rural crime, as well as improve road safety and build stronger relationships with the equestrian community.
Nottinghamshire Police is actively putting together a team of officers who will be involved in the revitalised initiative, which will boost crime prevention and awareness around equine-related issues and improve the force’s collaborative work.
As part of the re-launch, a group of officers from across three neighbourhood policing teams recently completed horse handling training at Bransby Horses, where they learned about horse welfare, reading body language, and approaching horses.
They also undertook a practical and realistic on-yard session handling and herding the animals.
These sessions were organised thanks to partnership work between the force’s new rural and wildlife crime partnerships manager, Juliet Webber, and Rachel Dixon at Bransby Horses.
Further training is planned over the next month and should result in over 45 officers across the force completing the session.
Juliet said: “Our reinvigorated Horse Watch scheme will help us to better understand concerns by working together with equine communities and businesses to increase crime prevention and detection and offer crime prevention advice.
“It will also encourage greater communication between the force and partner organisations to better combat offences that often have a huge and far-reaching impact on victims, not forgetting the animals themselves, who deserve to be kept free from harm and suffering.”
She added: “I’ve taken it upon myself, in my police staff role, to lead this scheme, supported by officers on the ground.
“As a horse owner myself, I want to give this initiative a new lease of life and progress it with a fresh pair of eyes.
“My particular role is very much about working effectively with partners like Bransby Horses and the wider community and keeping people up to date.
“I’m really passionate about working with others to help in the fight against equine and rural crime. This is just one of the reasons why our ongoing partnership with Bransby Horses, which covers the whole of Nottinghamshire, is so beneficial to our force.
“Through our Horse Watch scheme, we will do everything we can to listen to the community, hear about the issues that matter most to them, and work proactively to prevent these types of crimes from happening.
“That way, we can gain a better understanding of the needs of our rural communities and ensure policing services are available to meet their needs.”
Rachel Jenkinson, equine welfare manager at Bransby Horses, said: “Bransby Horses is dedicated to creating positive impacts on the lives of horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules.
“Through our work of ‘Sharing Knowledge and Influencing Change’, we were very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Nottinghamshire Police on this project.
“To date, 15 officers have spent the morning with us and have learnt how to understand equine behaviour, work safely around unknown horses, and approach and apply a head collar.
“We look forward to hosting two further groups on-site and supporting any future equine-related incidents.”
