ILPH Mission Statement

To protect horses from abuse and alleviate their suffering by rehabilitating, campaigning and educating worldwide.

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The most significant event so far this year has been the “Fit for the Future” Brainstorm on the 16th and 17th January. The Trustees were briefed in detail, and then spent a morning debating and deciding on the core values, beliefs and activities of the ILPH in the future. Space does not allow a full report but in brief they confirmed that our vision “A world where the horse is used but never abused” exactly described what the ILPH was trying to achieve. From this we drew out our values and beliefs:-

• All horses are important in our eyes. In spite of differences in use, breeding, size and shape, every equine has a value to the ILPH.
• The horse is dependent on human beings for its welfare. 5000 years of acquaintance and over 3000 years of selective breeding have turned the horse from an animal evolving naturally to one that has been bred by mankind for specific purposes. There are some feral horses but few, if any, genuinely wild ones. The overwhelming majority are bred to fulfill a human purpose, and their various sizes, shapes and temperaments are the product of human planning and desires. The horse has provided a source of energy, food and transport to much of humanity for many centuries and been adapted for many purposes. These have not included an ability to thrive as an independent species. This awesome, god-like achievement brings with it a matching responsibility for the welfare of the horse. This enormous responsibility is frequently neglected, and often not even acknowledged. The ILPH are in the business of correcting this.
• We promote the partnership between horse and man. This follows on from the last belief. While horses do not have planning ability or free will, they are not our tools, and not our slaves. They are partners, albeit junior partners, and we have a deal with them. ILPH promotes this belief, spreads it world wide, and gives humans the training and means to make the partnership a reality.
• Education achieves horse welfare solutions. Patching up abused horses, or rescuing them, are palliative measures. We do this, but we believe our most effective work is teaching people how to treat their animals properly, and (new concept) changing their mental attitude to believing that such treatment is good for its own sake as well as giving an economic advantage.
• Welfare standards differ worldwide. What is acceptable on, say, the rubbish dumps of Mexico, where humans live in extreme poverty, would be an offence in Europe!
• Our solutions are pragmatic. We judge by results, both short and long term, we are not doctrinaire, we accept that different situations need different approaches, and we adapt to circumstances.
• We have a love and profound knowledge of the horse. Masses of people love the horse, but the ILPH collectively knows more about horses than any other charity, perhaps more than any other organization. Among our Trustees and Executive I do not believe that there is any use of equines on which someone cannot talk with authority. It is from this love and knowledge that our passion springs, and which make us leaders in this field. To achieve our vision, four core activities were identified. UK Operations, International Training and Campaigning as we do now remain the same and we plan to put more resources towards the last two. We have added Education, as ignorance and a lack of understanding are significant causes of abuse, and we feel we should attack the root of the problem. I am most grateful to those of you who gave me your views. All were considered in a very lively debate. We are now sitting down to turn the policy into a strategy for the future.

John Smales, Chief Executive