Second Strasser Trimmer Found Guilty of Cruelty in England

(text provided by ILPH.org)

The International League for Protection of Horses is “pleased” that Mrs Jo Kowalski of Baylham, Ipswich in Suffolk, England was found guilty of causing suffering to her pony Brambles at Ipswich Magistrates Court recently. She will be sentenced on Wednesday, 30th August.
This is the second time in recent months that someone using the Strasser technique has been successfully prosecuted.
Mrs Kowalski caused this pony to suffer by allowing many months to go past when the pony was in severe and obvious pain.
Mrs. Kowalski, who was a qualified Strasser Hoof Care Technician, failed to accept that the Strasser technique was unable to treat the pony’s laminitis problem.
Following up on a call to the ILPH welfare hotline, Field Officer Jacko Jackson found the pony, Brambles, at Mrs. Kowalski’s fields. He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I watched the pony trying to walk with the crossed-legged stance. It needed a vet there and then.”
Tony Tyler Head of UK Operations commented: “This was the most ‘in pain’ horse to have entered our centre and a guilty verdict is to be commended. We hope that this will send out the message to the equine world that this particular method used by Mrs. Kowalski is not to be recommended.”
ILPH Farrier John Blake who treated Brambles on arrival said: “Brambles was possibly the lamest animal I have seen in 26 years as a farrier. Mutilated is the best way to describe her." You can view an interview with John Blake which includes footage of Brambles arriving at the ILPH in the ILPH Media Centre.
This is the second time the Strasser technique has been shown to cause suffering in a British court of law. Both the ILPH and the RSPCA hope that people will treat this method with caution.

News item provided by International League for the Protection of Horses (www.ilph.org). "Hoofblog" is a news service provided by Hoofcare & Lameness, Journal of Equine Foot Science. Visit http://www.hoofcare.com for lots more in-depth articles and information about the care/prevention of lameness in horses. Reference books, videos, and dvds are sold at that site. Please subscribe to our award-winning journal at our "summer special" price: 4 issues $59, 8 issues $99. For more information, write to Hoofcare, PO Box 6600, Gloucester MA 01930; tel 978 281 3222; email news@hoofcare.com. All posts and photos protected by copyright 2006 Hoofcare Publishing--Fran Jurga, Publisher

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