Urgent winter campaign launched for vulnerable horses
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The Mare and Foal Sanctuary has launched an ‘urgent’ winter campaign, as it works rehabilitate 13 Icelandic horses.
The charity is fundraising to buy mud control mats for its Veterinary and Welfare Assessment Centre in Devon.
It is hoping to raise at least £10,000 towards its £20,000 project, which will see it install 700m2 of specialist matting. This matting would be laid across field entrances and training areas to provide dry, stable footing throughout winter.
The mats have been selected as a practical, yet low-cost solution for both animals and handlers, with installation managed in-house to cut costs.
The Veterinary and Welfare Assessment Centre, which is located at the charity’s Beech Trees centre in Newton Abbot, is home to a herd of 13 Icelandic horses rescued by the charity.
To prepare horses for rehoming and longer-term placement, unhandled and semi feral ponies require careful training. This is also essential to keep horses progressing through the centre, allowing the charity to take in more rescued ponies.
By creating solid, drier surfaces, staff are able to work consistently with the horses for their rehabilitation. It will also benefit the horses’ welfare, providing more comfort and better hoof health.
The project could mean that routine veterinary and farrier work is kept on schedule, preventing training delays which could slow a horse’s progress.
The centre has had a particularly high intake this year, including 17 rescue intakes, 20 ponies returned from rehoming and a foal born on site. This is a total of 38 horses and ponies in the space of just ten months.
Amy Dearlove, sanctuary manager at Beech Trees Veterinary and Welfare Centre, said: “Installing mud control mats in the fields is a vital step to support our winter training programme, improve equine welfare, and ensure health and safety for staff working in challenging conditions.
“These mats will allow us to safely and consistently work with feral ponies over winter which is crucial for progressing their training and enabling them to move out of quarantine. During winter, muddy and uneven ground makes this work difficult.”
For more information or to make a donation, visit The Mare and Foal Sanctuary website.
Image © The Mare and Foal Sanctuary
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