By Jessica Moran

Copyright abc

A Tasmanian horse breeder has been told to reduce the number of horses on her property and rehome them, after concerns were raised by members of the racing community.

The breeding stud in the state’s southern midlands has been the focus of a multi-organisational investigation this week, spearheaded by the Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner, Sean Carroll.

The ABC understands there are more than 200 horses being kept over a number of properties, with many in foal.

Officers from Biosecurity Tasmania, TasRacing and the RSPCA attended the Weona Park Stud at Antill Ponds on Monday.

The commissioner told the ABC that inspectors found a number of horses on the property had poor “body scores”.

He said all of the horses were individually inspected and none were found to be at immediate welfare risk.

Mr Carroll said the remaining properties accommodating Weona Park Stud horses “will be inspected over the coming week to determine the immediate welfare of the horses” and to “coordinate an appropriate response to the community, policy and legislative concerns raised”.

Weona Park Stud’s website describes a “family-run boutique thoroughbred performance horse stud located in Tasmania’s Southern Midlands”.

Stud manager says she is ‘stressed, violated, harassed’

Photos of some of the horses from the stud were circulated online over the weekend.

Weona Park Stud manager Fiona Methorst told the ABC she was “extremely stressed” after seeing the posts.

Ms Methorst agreed the property was overstocked and said she was now working to rehome around 100 horses, which she thought would take between three and six months.

“We have been in discussions for the last couple of months about the youngsters and getting them the training and education they need to find suitable homes,” she said.

“We have also reached out to a number of people this week to get homes for some of the others, including some pregnant mares.”

Ms Methorst said it was likely that her breeding stud would close after the rehoming process was finished.

“Given the reaction from the general public … it seems impossible for the business to continue as we will be hard pressed to sell anything in the future,” she said.

‘You can’t even put washing on the line’

Bindie and Brian Chatters have lived opposite one of the stud’s properties in Parattah.

“It’s been horrendous, the smell … and the dust that comes from the horses onto our roof, then blows into our water tanks, and we’ve got to drink that water,” Mr Chatters said.

“You can’t even put washing on the line sometimes, just with the smell from it … it’s just terrible, you can’t go outside.

Brian Chatters said they “can’t have the grandkids here, yeah, it’s not good”.

“We’ve lived here for 30 years and haven’t had this to deal with this before,” he said.

“And when it rains, they’re just standing in mud.”

Ms Methorst has denied any animal mistreatment and said the horses have adequate feed and were regularly checked by a vet.

Racing rules don’t stipulate number of horses in each paddock

According to TasRacing’s Code of Practice for Racehorse Welfare, released in October last year, the standards required for each horse include “sufficient pasture for racehorses to meet their daily nutritional, social and behavioural requirements, including engaging in grazing activity for a significant part of the day”.

“Pregnant and sick racehorses, or those in advanced age, may require segregation from other groups of horses, to reduce the risk of injury and disease,” the guidelines state.

There is nothing specifically in the guidelines about how much space each horse requires or how many horses can be kept in a paddock together.

“When racehorses are kept in paddocks, appropriate stocking density will vary depending on factors including land type and productivity, pasture improvements, time of year, pasture and food availability, stabling and yarding facilities and fencing,” the guidelines note.

“Overstocking risks soil erosion, parasitic worm infestation, weed infestation, loss of pasture and native vegetation, and land degradation.”

A spokesperson for TasRacing said it’s working with the RSPCA and Biosecurity Tasmania, coordinated by the Tasmanian Racing Industry Commissioner, to determine if any policies or legislation have been breached.

RSPCA Tasmania chief executive officer Andrea Dawkins said, as it’s an active case, she could not comment.

Mr Carroll said he encouraged anyone with concerns to come forward and report them to his office.