HORSES on farms infected with foot-and-mouth do not have to be slaughtered along with other livestock.

The BHS has been inundated with calls from worried owners because the MAFF helpline said horses would have to be culled.

"This is not true," said a spokesman. "Horses would not have to be slaughtered.

"They do not get the disease and they cannot carry the disease in the medical sense, though they can transmit it via their hooves, just as humans can on their boots or cars on their tyres.

"This has been confirmed by animal health officers at the Ministry of Agriculture.

"However, they would probably have to be confined for several months."

The BHS is advising horse owners not to transport them anywhere and is asking those holding events to postpone them until the situation is more stable.

Riders should not hack out on bridleways, common land or moorland and should stay away from roads in rural areas.