HORSES will suffer when the ban on hunting comes into force next month, it has been claimed.

The British Horse Society is concerned that the welfare of animals bred for hunting will be affected.

Graham Cory, chief executive of the society, has written to the Government to express concerns.

He said that charitable status prevented the society, which has 60,000 members, from entering into debate about the rights and wrongs of hunting.

But Mr Cory said they had legitimate concerns about the welfare of horses.

"Horses bred mainly or solely for hunting are not pets, nor would anyone who understands horse breeding argue that these are in any sense general purpose horses who could move effortlessly into riding schools or be sold into the hacking market," he said.

"By temperament and conformation these are strong and vigorous animals. It is these genetic traits of strength, agility and stamina which make them so important to the development of our top sports horses.

"To expect these hunting horses to thrive in roles for which they are not suited by breeding would be as unrealistic as to expect trained sheepdogs to thrive as family pets."

He claimed that if thousands of redundant hunters came on the market animal welfare organisations would be overwhelmed.

Some would be slaughtered but others would be forced into unsuitable roles.

He said that to claim that foxhunters could readily take up drag hunting was like arguing that if fishing were banned, anglers could happily start ducking for apples.

It has asked the Government to explain how the welfare of horses bred for hunting can be safeguarded.