In an emergency the majority of horse owners know the number of their vet but how many of them know the number of their local purveyor of fallen stock? Outside of the industry little is known, by the public at large, as to how this service actually works, so let me introduce you to our company.

Holts is a family run business, based in the village of Stanstead Abbotts in Hertfordshire. The company was founded in 1908 and has been at its present location since 1980. It is run by partners Alan and Jackie Waller and their two sons Matthew and Daniel.                                                    

The job goes hand-in-glove alongside agricultural and veterinary industries. Most farmers and horse owners call us direct to administer pistol euthanasia to their animals. We also liaise very closely with many veterinary practices. We run a 24-hour, 7-day week emergency service and are often called out day or night by the police, to attend Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs), or the RSPCA for an emergency case and many councils and charities. On average we have to deal with over 600 horses and ponies a year plus many more cattle, sheep, pigs, etc.                                                          

In the past the majority of our work involved farm animals, mostly cattle, but with the advent of BSE and the outbreak of foot & mouth disease the cattle industry has been in decline. This gave us, at Holts, the opportunity to expand our operation and several years ago we set up a cremation service giving horse owners a much wider choice when the time comes to part company with a much loved pet. This service has proved to be very popular with many of our customers.