Actress Sienna Miller Is Supporting Charity Christmas Gift Appeal To Help The Thousands Of Horses That Will Be Left Out In The Cold This Year

Macy with Field Officer. Photo credit: World Horse Welfare Spare a Christmas gift for horses this year by donating what you can to support the largest rescue and rehoming horse charity, World Horse Welfare in its special Christmas appeal. As the winter takes hold, the prospect of warmth and basic care looks out of reach for the thousands of abandoned and neglected horses that will be left out in the cold across Britain’s fields this year. “Horses are wonderful animals who are enjoyed and relied upon all over the world, so it’s devastating that they suffer so much cruelty and neglect. I am proud to support World Horse Welfare who help relieve horse suffering through rescue and care, while also tackling the root causes of their pain through education and campaigns,” says English actress and horse lover Sienna Miller. Britain is facing a horse crisis and many charities have been warning for over a year of the desperate situation that our horses are in, with an estimated 7,000 equines reported at risk of neglect or abandonment by World Horse Welfare and other welfare organisations. Charities are full to bursting with welfare cases but have so many more waiting to come in and thousands more that may need to be rescued this coming winter – destined to be another unforgiving season. World Horse Welfare can help and knows it needs to be prepared for the worst this Christmas. One particular story concerning a mare called Macy who was found collapsed with her foal last year will always stay firmly imprinted in their mind. It was a cold mid-January day when 15 year-old bay mare Macy was first found in her unstable condition. She was weak, cold, underweight and deteriorating quickly. Soon after World Horse Welfare had arrived, Macy collapsed. After an inspection by the vet it seemed that the only way to stop Macy suffering any longer would be to put her to sleep. She was not alone; Macy was found with a small group of horses in Radcliffe on Trent, Notts who were all underweight and without any water. World Horse Welfare Chief Field Officer, David Boyd held Macy in his arms that day. “It was as if somehow Macy knew these could be her final moments. Then she started to perk up all of a sudden and looked as if she might make it. At that point she needed everything we could give her for a fighting chance of survival, so we raced her to the vet along with her 10-month-old filly foal Loca who was still suckling.” A grey mare named India was also removed with her 10 month-old colt Lucas, also still suckling from his mother. Thankfully Macy responded to immediate professional care and made good enough progress to be able to travel to World Horse Welfare’s Rescue and Rehoming Centre Hall Farm in Norfolk with Loca, India and Lucas. Abandonment notices were put up at the horses’ original location by the RSPCA but these went unheeded enabling the RSPCA to assume ownership and sign the four horses over to World Horse Welfare. If anyone had come forward they would have been subject to a prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act. The charity is asking all horse lovers to give what they can this Christmas so that World Horse Welfare can react as quickly as they did with Macy last year. Without public kindness the charity would not be able to save the lives of so many horses and their foals. With numbers increasing through overbreeding, the economic downturn and the decreasing value of horses, it has been left to charities to pick up the pieces. World Horse Welfare’s message this year is for everyone to spare a thought for the horses they love this Christmas because horses deserve happiness, too. Please donate to World Horse Welfare’s 2013 Christmas Appeal and help the horses that are struggling to survive this winter. Wrap a gift for horses here: http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/Appeal/Christmas-Gift-Appeal

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