A reinvigorated Horse Watch scheme is aiming to prevent and reduce equine-related and rural crime - as well as improving road safety and building stronger relationships with the equestrian community.

We are actively putting together a team of officers who will be involved in the revitalised initiative which will boost crime prevention and awareness around equine-related issues and improve our collaborative work.

As part the re-launch, a group of officers from across three neighbourhood policing teams recently completed horse handling training at Bransby Horses where they learned about horse welfare, reading body language and approaching.

They also undertook a practical and realistic on-yard session handling and herding the animals.

These sessions were organised thanks to partnership work between our new rural and wildlife crime partnerships manager Juliet Webber and Rachel Dixon at Bransby Horses.

Further training is planned over the next month and should result in over 45 officers across the force having completed the session.

Juliet said: “Our reinvigorated Horse Watch scheme will help us to better understand concerns by working together with equine communities and businesses to increase crime prevention and detection, and offer crime prevention advice.

“It will also encourage greater communication between the force and partner organisations to better combat the offences which often have huge and far-reaching impact on victims. Not forgetting the animals themselves who deserve to be kept free from harm and suffering.”

She added: “I’ve taken it upon myself, in my police staff role, to lead on this scheme supported by officers on the ground.

"As a horse owner myself, I want to give this initiative a new lease of life and progress it with a fresh pair of eyes.

“My particular role is very much about working effectively with partners like Bransby Horses and the wider community and keeping people up to date.

“I’m really passionate about working with others to help in the fight against equine and rural crime. This is just one of the reasons why our ongoing partnership with Bransby Horses, who cover the whole of Nottinghamshire, is so beneficial to our force.

“Through our Horse Watch scheme we will do everything we can to listen to the community, hear about what issues matter most to them and work proactively to prevent these types of crimes from happening.

"That way we can get a better understanding of the needs of our rural communities and ensure policing services are available to meet their needs.”

Rachel Jenkinson, equine welfare manager at Bransby Horses - Rescue and Welfare said: "Bransby Horses is dedicated to creating positive impacts on the lives of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.

"Through our work of "Sharing Knowledge and Influencing Change” we were very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Nottinghamshire Police on this project.

"To date 15 officers have spent the morning with us and have learnt about how to understand equine behaviour, work safely around unknown horses, and approach, and apply a head collar.

"We look forward to hosting two further groups onsite and supporting with any future equine related incidents."

To ensure you are kept up to date with everything equine in Nottinghamshire you can sign-up to Notts Alerts here: https://orlo.uk/Pep1i

After selecting the ‘Interests and About You’ category, tick the 'Horse Watch' box in the alternative watch schemes section. Once you're registered with Notts Alerts you have full access to log in to the website and can control your account settings at any time.

Anyone enquiring via the Horse Watch section of our website will be contacted by someone from their local area to get them signed up: https://orlo.uk/fVzKS

Our Nottinghamshire Police Horse Watch page on Facebook remains a valuable tool for communicating with our communities, with more than 5,000 followers and this will also be updated with activities and news articles.

There is also a dedicated email address for partnership enquiries, events and general information at horsewatch@notts.police.uk

This email is not monitored 24/7 and should not be used for reporting crime.

Anyone wishing to report an incident is urged to do so by calling us on 101 or via the force website: https://orlo.uk/1Ug9h

In an emergency, always call 999.