Brexit, implications of the Indecon Report and the curse of ‘white books’ were all informatively aired at the Irish Horse Board (IHB) AGM in Abbeyleix last Wednesday.

Chairing the meeting, Jack Murphy noted in relation to Brexit that his study on the travel of horses from Cavan and Goresbridge Sales indicated that between 50% and 70% of horses sold went either to or through the UK on their way to their new homes, “so Brexit can present a challenge”.

Former world eventing silver medallist, John Watson harked back to the bad old days when travelling with Cambridge Blue could mean delays of three to four hours at customs.

“Then it all changed and it was such a relief – like taking an aspirin for a headache.” He hoped it would not go back to the old way again.

International rider Ger O’Neill proposed that there be a conference of all concerned bodies on both sides of the Irish Sea.

BREXIT BOOKLET OUT IN JANUARY

Responding to the issues raised, Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) CEO Ronan Murphy said that an equine industry body composed of representatives from both the racing and sport horse sectors has been looking at the issue.

They have already met four times and will meet again before Christmas.

HSI has produced an information booklet on Brexit and this will be distributed in January.

The chairman called on everyone to read the Indecon Report and familiarise themselves with it. There was particular mention in its recommendation which suggested a restructuring of the IHB and its relationship to the stud book.

Later, Ronan Murphy announced that the Indecon implementation body will meet for the first time this week and will be giving regular progress reports.

‘WHITE BOOKS’

The issue of the ‘white books’ for equines not registered in a stud book was discussed at length. Jack Murphy reported that the number of white books issued by HSI had dropped from 6,600 in 2013 to some 3,000 for 2017. While he welcomed this decrease he still indicated that the high numbers still out there was a “train crash waiting to happen”.

There was a suggestion that the Department of Agriculture should mandate that all equines should be DNA tested and that some €400,000 of its annual €2.5m animal welfare fund should be used in this regard.

The issue also raised comments from the floor about the high cost of registering foals.

Ronan Murphy alluded to the fact that in British racing all foals must now have a book with both identification and pedigree within 30 days. White books were seen as an ongoing problem here.