Brownbread Horse Rescue

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the public who take the trouble to contact us with their welfare concerns. No call is treated as trivial and very few cases turn out to be "no action necessary".
So far this year we have dealt with approximately 75 cases which makes this our busiest summer that we can recall. We thought that with 'winter over'things would become quieter but no way! It is common to find horses with nothing to eat or drink in the winter months but we hadn't expected to find so many starving horses during the grass growing season.

Normally horses will not graze fouled areas in their fields which are easily distinguished by long rough patches of grass, however we are witnessing herds that are scratching around in their droppings for any blade of grass. How cruel is that? It is unimaginable that we are giving the same advice at this time of year as we do in the winter.

If you cannot move the horses to fresh grazing then you should ask a local farmer to deliver big bales of hay and leave them in the field; problem sorted; hay is still the cheapest feed. Water is always a bone contention as it may be difficult to transport or the owners are too lazy to bother. It is even more extraordinary that where the mains water is available some people still don't avail themselves of the facility which would save considerable aggravation and work.

Next time we get into conversation with these cruel people we shall endeavour to find out why they don't do this. Some of our 50 or so Field Officers country-wide have been very innovative by contacting the Fire & Rescue Service to bring water to thirsty horses. It is good to solve the short-term problem but it is wrong that the tax payer is baling out those folk that are either too lazy or too incompetent to provide this basic life-supporting liquid.

Another form of cruelty that is becoming common is the hiding of underweight animals under winter rugs. Yes, the owners don't want the public to see that they have starved their animal but, of course, what happens is that in these summer months the animal is more likely to die of heat exhaustion than malnutrition. Some of our cases have been difficult to resolve and we are still dealing with some that were logged way back in January. Very often it takes three different organisations to sort out these complex cases.

Call 01424 892381 if you have a concern; we are on call 24 hrs.

New volunteer Field Officers invited to give us a ring.