Take the opportunity to join the experts live on Wednesday 21 October at 7pm, when World Horse Welfare tackles a very emotive and important topic: Planning for equine end of life – and how to cope with it. The latest in the charity’s popular Welfare Wednesday Webinars welcomes Bronwen Williams, a Registered Mental Health Nurse, to share her experience on grief associated with the loss of an animal and what emotions are likely to be experienced before, during and after the event itself. Bronwen will be joined by World Horse Welfare’s Chief Field Officer Claire Gordon, who will talk about why it is important that equine end of life is a topic that every horse owner should be aware of, not just owners of old, injured or health compromised animals.
There is no doubt that this is a difficult topic for owners to talk about and the death of any animal can be a lonely place but the more the subject is discussed, the more support owners will discover exists. Bronwen will discuss how we can prepare ourselves as best as possible for when the time comes and explain some techniques that we can use to help us cope after the loss of our equine friend. Claire will share some of her experiences of helping owners who have struggled to be able to make a decision to euthanase their horse and illustrate the impact this can have on both horse and owner.
There will be plenty of time of set aside for Bronwen and Claire to answer any questions you may have at the end of the webinar. If you are keen to be part of the conversation, then please join.
The fortnightly webinars are free to attend and they can also be viewed live as a Facebook Live session, but by registering with Zoom you get to take part in the various polls, ask questions during the Q and A and overall have a much more interactive experience. All previous webinars are available to watch on the World Horse Welfare YouTube channel.
More about the two presenters
Bronwen Williams, RMN, PGCHE, MSc Independent Trainer and Educator is a Registered Mental Health Nurse who has worked for 38 years in the NHS. She also volunteered for over 30 years in equine welfare. She has an interest in how animal ownership impacts both positively and negatively on human mental health and in how we have difficult conversations and make decisions for the animals we have. She delivers training for animal welfare workers in supporting owners, and others, to change their behaviour to improve animal welfare, including in animal hoarding. Bronwen also writes about teaching, mental health practice and the impact of animals on human mental health.
Claire Gordon
graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Zoology from Glasgow University. She has worked as an international event groom both here in the UK and in Australia before returning to Scotland to work as an Equine Nurse at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. Claire has worked in welfare since 2007 when she joined the RSPCA as an Inspector in Hertfordshire before moving on to work for World Horse Welfare in 2010 as Field Officer in Suffolk, Essex and Kent. She became Chief Field Officer in 2016 and works investigating welfare concerns. Claire brings knowledge and experience in the practical application of welfare legislation and has a proactive, problem solving approach to equine welfare. Claire is also a Director and Vice-Chair of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC).
