Horse rehoming on the rise, says charity
Last year, the charity took in 76 per cent more horses than in the previous year.
A leading equine rescue and rehoming charity says it has seen a 56 per cent rise in the number of horses it has been able to rehome this year.
To date, World Horse Welfare (WHW) has rehomed 250 horses - more than twice the number it had rehomed last year.
"It’s extremely encouraging to see so many of our horses going to new homes and confirms that we are getting through to people – that they really do see rehoming a horse as a safe and viable option," said Tony Tyler, the charity's deputy chief executive.
However, Mr Tyler added there are still thousands more horses than available homes.
"While we are incredibly grateful to our dedicated supporters who are helping horses by rehoming more, the sad news is that the number of horses needing urgent rescue and rehabilitation far outweighs the number that we are rehoming."
Last year, the charity experienced what it terms a "freak year" where it took in 76 per cent more horses than in the previous year. In 2014, WHW has continued to take in a large number of horses. In particular, there has been a consistent rise in the number of group cases needing rescue.
"Recently, we had to take special measures at each of our four Rescue and Rehoming Centres developing multiple case admission facilities to ensure that we can take in the increasing number of large groups of horses that need urgent care, including taking in a recent case of 63 horses into one farm," Mr Tyler added.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
