A stable fire must be one of every horse owners worst nightmares. The following is some advice on how you can limit the risk of fire breaking out at your premises:

Building Construction

• Construct your stables from materials that do not burn or ignite easily
• Suitable materials would include steel frames and block, brick or stone walls
• Timber should be kept to a minimum
• Cement floors are ideal
• Install electric safety switches

Fire Exits

• Stable doors should be at least 1.3 metres wide to allow a horse to easily removed in a hurry
• In indoor barns the aisles and exits should be a minimum of 2 metres wide
• Sliding doors are preferable to swinging doors on main exits
• Large equestrian complexes should have enough exits to allow large numbers of horses to be removed quickly

Fire Equipment

• Each 200m2 of stabling should have at least one 13A rated fire extinguisher. No part of the stable should be more than 25m from an extinguisher
• A hose should be on hand that can reach every stable and has a good water delivery.
• Hoses and fire extinguishers should be protected from frost
• Fire sprinkler systems should be considered for larger establishments

Bedding and Feed Storage

• Hay, straw and horse feeds should be stored separately from the stables
• The use of hay lofts above stables increases the risk of fire

Tack Rooms

• Fires often break out in tack rooms due to them containing electrical equipment such as kettles, heaters and cookers. They should be away from the main stable block.
• If cookers are provided a fire blanket is recommended

Smoke Detectors

• Smoke detectors should be installed in stables and storage areas to warn of a fire breaking out

Electrical Equipment

• All electrical installations should be in good condition and certified and tested regularly by a qualified electrician
• If heat lamps are used they should be purpose made and fitted out of reach of the animal. Circuit breakers should be installed.

Smoking

• The smoking of cigarettes should be banned from all stable and storage areas. Signs should be in place to ensure that all staff and visitors are aware that smoking is not permitted.

Fire Procedures

• Staff and liveries should be aware of the yard procedure in case a fire should break out.
• If useful the full address, telephone number and map of the premises should be kept near the yard phone of there is one.

Unfortunately there are hundreds if not thousands of horse riding accidents every year in the UK.  Often these involve a call out for an air ambulance so that the victim can be transferred to hospital as quickly as possible.

The following are all horse riding incidents that have happened during April this year and have involved a call out from an air ambulance:

28 April 2009 - Wiltshire Air Ambulance took a rider with a suspected pelvic injury to Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

25 April 2009 – Seventeen year old Faye Cree was flown to hospital after her horse threw her into a wall. She sustained fatal head injuries due to not wearing a helmet.

11 April 2009 – Midlands Air Ambulance flew a rider in her 20’s to University Hospital of North Staffordshire after she was crushed by her horse at a point to point.

9 April 2009 – A Police community support officer was taken to hospital by air ambulance after her horse fell at a cross country event.

Air ambulances are often charities that are funded soley by public donations. You can help by attending fund raising events organised by air ambulance organisations or why not host your own?

Hopefully you will never need to use the service yourself but you could help to save the lives of many other horse riders.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are this month going to present the queen with another horse. This will be the fourth horse that she has accepted during her reign as Queen.

The horse has been renamed George after the Queens Grandfather, King George.

George will be presented to the Queen on 16th May at the end of the Royal Tattoo which is held at Windsor Castle. The Tattoo includes military and equestrian displays and will also feature the RCMP Pipes and Drum band.

A mare called Burmese was the first horse given to the Queen by the Royal Canadian Mounties 40 years ago in 1969.