AN “equine wellness centre” where vets could perform X-rays, ultrasounds, abdominal surgery and more on horses is “much-needed” in Jersey, according to Islanders who came out in droves to support an application to build one.
The planning application for the specialised facility at La Geonniere, on Rue des Platons in Trinity, proposes adding surgical facilities to stables already on the site.
Plans include an operating theatre, recovery boxes, controlled grazing areas and a water treadmill (which allows horses to train by walking in water).
Members of the Island’s equestrian community as well as the JSPCA and the British Show Jumping Association’s Jersey branch wrote letters and attached comments to the planning application for the “equine wellness centre”.
At the time of writing, there were 62 public comments.
A letter from a vet described having to operate on a horse to remove its caecum, the equivalent of its appendix, and raised concerns about a lack of surgical facilities in the Island.
And a letter from Debra D’Orleans, the JSCPA’s chief executive, added: “This is a much-needed facility, which would support horse owners in Jersey and Guernsey.
“The introduction of this facility would avoid the need to transport horses to the UK, often when they are suffering pain and in distress.”
