Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

12 Horse& Hound1 August 2019

Pictures by Penny Fillingham/Alamy and the BEF

NEWSInsider

OWNERScanhavea positive

impactonendangeredspeciesby

consideringfieldmanagement.

Haymeadowsprovidea home

andfoodsourcetorareground-

nestingbirds,andmanagement

canhelpboostsurvivalrates.

Muchworkis alreadydone

byfarmersandconservation

charities,butthereis a balance—

animalsneedfeeding,theBritish

weatheris notpredictableand

businesseshavetothinkabout

whatis viable,meaningit is not

possibleorreasonableinmany

casestocutcommercialfields

laterinthesummer,oncebirds

havefinishednesting.

StatisticsfromtheRoyal

SocietyfortheProtectionofBirds

(RSPB)showlapwingnumbers

havedroppedby80%sincethe

1960s.Theskylarkpopulation

halvedinthe1990sandtheUK’s

breedingcurlewpopulationhas

halvedinthepast 25 years.

TheGameandConservation

WildlifeTrust(GWCT)toldH&H

oftheimpactindividualscan

make,evenona smallscale—for

examplechoosingwhentohavea

paddocktopped.

“Manyspeciesofground-

nestingfarmlandbirds

havesufferedlargedeclines

acrosstheUK,”saidGWCT’s

LizzieGrayshon,ecologistat

collaborativeprojectWadersfor

Realwhichworkstoreversethe

declineofbreedingwaders.

“Bymanaginghayfieldsina

low-intensivestyle,notcutting

untilmid-Julyandnotover-

stocking[withanimals],this

can give many of these species a

Cuttinglaterintheyearcanbenefitrarespeciesof

ground-nesting birds, as well as supporting other animals

chanceatbreedingsuccessfully.

“Alatecuttingdateallowsfor

speciessuchaslapwing,skylark

andreedbuntingtofledgechicks

beforehayis cut,andlower

stockingdensitiesreducethe

chanceofovergrazingandnests

beingtrampled.

“Evenona smallscale,these

measurescanhelpprotect

ground-nestingbirds.”

ElandLodge,anequestrian

andliverycentreinDerbyshire,

hasbeenworkingtofindthe

balancebetweenmaximising

itshaycropandprotectingthe

wildlifethatlivesinthe 58

acrescut.

“Thisisn’tapplicablefor

everybody,” said managing

directorJohnCoupland,

addingthatforbusinessesand

landownersthatneedtotake

threesilagecuts,forexample,this

is notpossible.

“Forpeoplelikemewhereit is

applicable,it candosucha lotof

goodbyjustdelayingthecuta bit.

Mostoftheground-nestingbirds

haveraiseda coupleofbroodsby

midtolateJuly.”

MrCouplandaddedcutting

lateris alsonotwithoutrisks,such

asweather,whichcanaffectthe

overallyield,butthepotentialcost

isoneheis “preparedtopay”.

Headdedit is notjustthe

birds,butit alsosupportsthe

invertebratesandsmallmammals

thatliveinmeadows.

“Somebodyoncetoldmethat

if youlookafterthem,thefood

chain looks after itself,” he said.

ByLUCYELDER

Managing hay crops and

fields can help our wildlife

▲ADVERTISING

Thewinningteaminthefirst

#10forTimrunatHickstead

camefromsupplement

manufacturersEquine

America.“FreeCortaflex

foreveryone!”roareda

merryrivalrunner.Aftera

shortpauseforthought,a

paladded:“Isthisproofof

howwelltheirsupplements

work?”Nicely done.

▲MUSIC

Amongthoseintherelay

wasUSriderJessica

Springsteen.Onewas

disappointeddadBruce

didn’tcomedownfromthe

standstojoininas,afterall,

hewasBorntoRun...

▲FASHION

A racegoerwhothoughther

whiteoutfit ruinedwhenred

winewasspiltonit refused

tobecowed,insteadliberally

splashingaroundmorevino

tocreateanalmost-pink,tie-

dyedeffect.Doesonethink

thiscouldworkwithwhite

breeches?(Whyareyou

drinking wine at a show? Ed)

POETRY

Readerswillnodoubtbe

familiarwiththederogatory

expression“allthegearbut

noidea”.Butonehasnow

heardanotherversionofthe

same:allthekit,rideslike...

(that’senoughpoetry, Ed).

QUESTIONS

Onprofferingherloyalty

cardatthetackshop,a rider

waschuffedtolearnshe

had1,200points,meaning

a £12discountonherfeed

bill.“HowmuchhaveI had

tospendtoearnthose?”

sheaskedidly,atwhichthe

ownerlookedaskance.“Well,

it’sa pointperpoundspent,”

hemurmured.Sometimes,

it’sbestnottoask.

GLASSES

A riderwasannoyedwhen

herridinghatdecidedno

longertofit. Aftermuch

swearingandjammingdown

ofsaidhat,shediscovered

herglasseswereonher

head.Shouldhavegoneto

SpecSavers?She’llhaveto

now,astheglasses, sadly,

did not survive.

GOODWEEK

BAD WEEK

Andfinally... troton!

STAFFattheBritishEquestrian

Federation(BEF)aretoattempt

a 5,920-mile“ride”—the

distancefromtheirofficesto

Tokyo—beforetheOlympics

therenextyear.

Henrythehorsesimulator

hasmovedintotheBEFoffices,

nearthephotocopier,and

staffwillattempttoridethe

distanceonhim,withhelpfrom

membersofthepublic.

During the “Trot to Tokyo”

event,Henrywilltraveltoevents

acrossthecountry,startingwith

theRoyalInternationalHorse

Showlastweek,wherevisitors

canpaya donationtohelpclock

upthetotalofmiles.

Moneyraisedwillgotowards

TeamGBRriderstohelptheir

Olympicbids.

UpdatesonHenry’sprogress

willbepostedontheBEF’s

socialmediasosupporterscan

“follow him on his journey”.EJ

Cutting hay later can benefit wildlife such as ground-nesting birds