World Horse Welfare Releases Public Appeal For Help To Keep Pace With The Number Of Horses Needing Urgent Rescue

After a record-breaking year for World Horse Welfare, in 2013, when the number of horses coming into the charity’s four Rescue and Rehoming Centres across the UK was higher than ever before, the signs are that just as many of Britain’s equines need help in 2014. From January to date, the charity has already taken in 199 new horses whilst still caring for some of last year’s extraordinary number of horses (428 in total). On a positive note, the number of horses rehomed by the charity this year is higher than throughout the whole of 2013. However, that figure is far outweighed by the number of horses at risk of illness and injury as a result of neglect across the UK. With winter drawing ever closer, the charity anticipates a further increase in the number of horses whose welfare is under threat. That’s why it is asking the public for help – in the form of an innovative fundraising appeal. The appeal uses a board game called ‘The Journey to Happiness’ to take supporters through the rescue and rehabilitation stages of one horse, Roxy, from arrival at a centre to rehoming - something which World Horse Welfare has provided for so many horses in the UK with life-changing results. The board game is designed to show supporters just how many steps it takes to nurse one horse back to full health after he or she has been neglected, but that this is a journey worth taking. Focus of the appeal, Roxy, was found with a large group of 120 horses, ponies, Poitou donkeys and mules who were all suffering from neglect due to the owner allowing her herd to grow to impractical numbers. Many in the group, including Roxy who was in foal, were underweight, suffering from overgrown feet and had ailments which had been left untreated for long periods of time. The living conditions were deemed unsuitable and potentially harmful to the animals’ welfare. World Horse Welfare had to undertake a huge operation to get more than 60 horses and ponies moved to safety. Due to the rising number of large group cases like this coming into the charity’s centres – World Horse Welfare needed to make some changes at its farms to ensure that it was able to take in large cases effectively. Two specially designed intake systems have since been installed at the charity’s Hall Farm in Norfolk and Penny Farm in Blackpool. The intake systems help World Horse Welfare to cope with the rising number of largely unhandled horses that need to be rescued in groups of 20+. The charity will also be installing these systems as part of wider development at its Somerset centre, Glenda Spooner Farm and in the process of setting up a system at its centre in Scotland, Belwade Farm to ensure that it is able to rescue large groups in all corners of the UK more effectively. Take a moment to give what you can to ‘The Journey to Happiness’ appeal and play the board game so that you too can understand the difficulties that arose during Roxy’s rehabilitation and the time it took to bring her back to health. And remember, this is just one horse: World Horse Welfare completes this process for hundreds of horses every year – and the demand is increasing. Please give what you can to ensure that World Horse Welfare can help many more horses through ‘The Journey to Happiness’. Find out more about ‘The Journey to Happiness’ appeal: www.worldhorsewelfare.org/Appeal/donatejourney

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