Abandonment cases continue to rise

By Rebecca Gibson

General news

07 January 2011 15:38

Redwings, the largest horse sanctuary in the UK, has revealed that 2010 was a black year for the equestrian community. More than four times as many horses were abandoned in December 2010 than in the same month in 2009. 

In December 2009 16 horses were reported to Redwings as being abandoned but December 2010 saw a shocking 67 abandoned horses and ponies reported to the sanctuary’s welfare team. The charity reports seeing a rise in not only the number of calls from members of the public but also from councils and the police who are finding horses straying on the roads, or dumped on council or private land.

Redwings believe there are two reasons for the sharp increase in abandonment cases. Firstly, the charity has been made aware of cases where large quantities of horses and ponies are being abandoned, such as 28 abandoned in Wales at the beginning of December. “This is likely to be because of the low value of horses at the moment,” Senior Welfare Officer Rachel Angell explains. “It’s possible at the moment to buy a pony for less than £5. We’ve heard of some people buying ‘job lots’ and then abandoning the ones they don’t want, particularly the colts who cost the most to deal with as they need to be gelded and can be harder to handle. Anyone currently breeding horses in this economic climate needs to seriously think about where those horses and ponies may end up.”

Secondly – and what will shock some – is that Redwings is aware of private owners of just one or two horses abandoning their animals in rented fields or on livery yards. “The owners are clearly desperate and feel they have no choice but to walk away from their horse,” continues Rachel. “New owners are perhaps not thinking it through; then once they find out how expensive horses are to care for, they are walking away and leaving their horse behind, which is very sad as you can tell the horse has been loved and handled in the past.”

Redwings has also heard of examples of people joining a livery yard or renting a field with the sole intention of abandoning their horse. In a bid to prevent this from happening Redwings advises anyone who runs a yard to ensure they get some form of bond, such as two months’ fees in advance, from any new client which should hopefully dissuade anyone thinking of simply walking away. It also means that a yard owner will at least have some funds available to help deal with the situation if the worst does happen.