Horse Watch on the Internet was conceived by a Derbyshire horse owner in June 1996. This followed a spate of stable break-ins and physical attacks on horses in the East Midlands.

The idea gained the support of Community Safety Officers from both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Constabulary- without whose help, the idea would never have gone ahead. Meetings have since taken place with senior police officers in the area, local members of parliament, and the Home Office to gain their support. Inevitably, things move quite slowly, but we firmly believe that a credible project- with the full support of Police from across the UK- is achievable.

At first, people were skeptical about the idea of putting Horse Watch on the internet. How could it possibly work? they claimed. However, this project has successfully managed to gain widespread media interest, and has opened a lot of people's eyes to the problem of equestrian crime. At this stage, the internet works as a catalyst- it gets people talking about the problem- which surely has to be a step forward.

Initially, this idea has been supported by Horse owners and Police Officers in the East Midlands. We welcome input and ideas from Horse Watch Coordinators from across the UK. If you have any material, thoughts or opinions on how we might best utilise the power of the internet, please get in touch. This project needs your support.

There has been much talk in the media of how internet projects like this one will be used to circulate information about stolen horses and property. Clearly, this is a massive logistical undertaking. Right now, talks are continuing.

The internet should not distract from the hard work of Horse Watch coordinators in the East Midlands, and across the UK. That is where the REAL work goes on. We hope however, that initiatives like this will add another weapon to our arsenal, and help to crack down on equestrian crime. Owning a horse is the best pastime in the world- lets keep it that way.