I DO not believe that the welfare of landau horses on Blackpool Promenade is adequately safeguarded by current measures.

To my knowledge there are only a few council officers assigned the task of overseeing the animals' everyday working conditions, and this is not even their sole concern. They are also charged with overseeing nightclubs, taxis and even with the inspection of antique shops! Surely this diversity and volume of work does not lend itself to an adequate provision for monitoring the horses' hours and conditions of work. Additionally, I would argue that their lack of veterinary expertise makes their assessment of the horses' fitness for duty impossible. These officers are not available at weekends nor outside office hours so I don't see how we can for a minute feel confident that the working conditions for these horses are adequately policed.

I would ask why landau owners resist all attempts to accurately identify their individual horses? If an inspector is to ensure that a horse has been changed over at the correct time then they need to establish without question the identity of that horse and its replacement. At the moment the only form of identification is a photograph of the horse or even a drawing. Microchipping is just one of a number of humane and safe alternatives, but this idea has been resisted for many years by owners when discussed at council.

I'm sure that I am not alone in noticing the similarities in colour and markings of the horses on the prom. If someone wanted to abuse the system it would be a very easy to do so.

Finally, please can someone tell me which sanctuaries take the landau horses and at what age are they retired? I thought that another reason for the opposition from landau horse owners to proper identification was to enable a quick and anonymous sale at an auction!

Louise McGettigan, South St, Lytham