Equine charity sees big rise in multi-horse welfare incidents
“We have lost count of the number of people we have helped when they have nowhere else to turn and are often at their lowest ebb” – Claire Gordon.
World Horse Welfare has revealed a significant increase this year in the number of welfare incidents it has seen involving large groups of horses.
As of November 2024, the charity has responded to 157 situations involving more than 10 horses deemed to be at risk. This is a 44 per cent rise from last year, which saw a total of 109 cases. The number of situations involving over 50 horses deemed to be at risk has almost doubled.
The charity, which has 16 field officers across Great Britain, has had to invest in equipment such as trailers and large horse-safe panels to help it safely round up and transport large groups of unhandled horses.
World Horse Welfare believes that changing climate conditions and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis are affecting people’s ability to look after large groups of horses.
Claire Gordon, World Horse Welfare chief field officer, explained: “I believe we are seeing more horse owners unable to cope through not being able to adapt quickly enough to the climatic challenges such as warmer, wetter winters.
“These are having a huge impact on their land, which puts strain on their own management practices and on top of this everything has become so much more expensive.
“High stocking density can lead to quagmires with no dry resting areas to escape the mud which leads to foot and skin problems.”
The charity has found that in many cases, the horse owners are also struggling to look after themselves. In response, it has launched its Help for Horse Owners service to provide support in such situations.
Ms Gordon added: “We have lost count of the number of people we have helped when they have nowhere else to turn and are often at their lowest ebb. They usually are so grateful and report back that they wished they had known sooner that we existed and that they would have asked for help earlier if only they had known.
“We hope that by highlighting this rising trend, we can reach more of the people who are struggling now, so they know a channel exists to seek help from, without judgement.”
More about the Help for Horse Owners service can be found here.
Image © World Horse Welfare
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