The RSPCA is warning that a financial recession could plunge the country into a second wave of the equine crisis which has already led to thousands of dumped and dying horses and crippled welfare charities.
In 2019, the charity received reports of more than 4,370 incidents involving horses in the south east of England, 234 in West Sussex, and by the end of the year it had nearly 900 in its care nationally, leaving its rescue centres full and funding hundreds more in private boarding.
Now the charity fears much worse is to come if, as expected, the Covid crisis sparks a UK and global recession.
Equine welfare charities are already under immense strain, following the horse crisis which was sparked off by the 2008 financial crash and the sector is extremely concerned about the welfare repercussions for horses in the months ahead with an estimated 7,000 horses at risk of suffering nationally.
The RSPCA is appealing for vital donations to help it prepare for an influx of horses and ponies desperately in need of help.
Christine McNeil, the charity’s National Equine Inspectors Co-Ordinator said: “This is a truly worrying time for equine charities – we still haven’t got a handle on the repercussions of the current horse crisis, and it now looks like the worst is yet to come.
“In April 2011, before the effects of the financial recession had hit, the RSPCA had 290 horses in its care, already more than our official stables could house. The following year, the impact of the crisis really began to hit and our officers were called out every day up and down the country to neglected and abandoned horses. By May 2012, the number of horses in our care had leapt to 600. Fast-forward to today, and we’re caring for 927 horses – that’s three times the amount since the crisis hit, and we strongly fear that the impact will be even worse this time round.
“With such a huge number of horses in our care, and so many in private boarding, at great cost, we have already had to adapt how we try to help as many horses as we can. For example, several ‘herds’ of horses in need are being cared for in situ with our officers visiting regularly to feed and care for them, until we can find spaces in one of our centres for them, or funds to transport them to private boarding. Our Sussex-based animal collection officer (ACO) Julie Parsons was a great example of this when she was traveling each day to check on a group of neglected Shetland ponies. Thankfully now the herd is being cared for at one of our animal centres.”
The current horse crisis is thought to have been sparked by continued overbreeding, coupled with falling demand for some types of horses, which left a surplus of unwanted animals which have been left dumped like rubbish, sometimes extremely sick or dying, leaving equine charities bursting at the seams with these abandoned animals.
Threats of a financial recession this year has led to fears that irresponsible horse breeders will continue to breed their animals in a bid to turn a quick profit and that existing horse owners will struggle financially to keep their animals and cover vet bills. This may lead to animals suffering, and some may even resort to abandoning their animals out of desperation.
Between March-May 2020 including during the lockdown period, the charity has received reports of 472 incidents relating to horses in the south-east alone, with high numbers of calls coming from regional ‘hotspots’ including Kent, Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire.
Poor Babs (pictured top) was signed over to the RSPCA in April this year, after her owner had failed to take proper care of her, causing her to lose an astonishing amount of weight and body condition.
RSPCA equine officer Becky Carter, who is based in Sussex said: “We received calls about Babs, who was being kept in a field north of Brighton. Local people were extremely concerned about Babs as she was incredibly thin, and so hungry she had even been seen eating her own faeces.
“We arranged for a vet to examine Babs and shockingly, they gave her a body score of zero, out of five, which meant Babs was totally emaciated. It was amazing she was even still standing, she was that unwell. Babs was kept in a field with other horses, who were a different, hardier breed, and were not in poor condition. However, a Thoroughbred horse like Babs needs very specific care to stay in good condition, particularly through winter, but this clearly hadn’t been provided, and as a result Babs really suffered.
“Babs was signed over to us, and she has been cared for during the last couple of months at a private boarding yard, where slowly, she is starting to put on weight (pictured above.) She will be moving soon to another organisation that specialises in Thoroughbred horses, where she will be found a new home. As an equine officer and horse owner myself, it was incredibly upsetting to see such a thin, unwell horse suffering like that. I’m so relieved we were able to help Babs in time, but sadly, not all horses are so lucky.
The RSPCA has taken in 82 horses during lockdown already*, bringing the total number of horses in the charity’s care to 927. This figure is much more than the charity can care for at its own centres, forcing the charity to pay for three quarters of horses to be housed at private boarding stables.
The charity spends approximately £5200 per year for the care of each horse taken in – that’s over £4.8 million each year.
The RSPCA has been working alongside the Blue Cross, Bransby Horses, British Horse Society, Redwings, The Donkey Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare, in a bid to tackle this national crisis. Many of these charities have seen their income plummet while still continuing to look after the horses in their care.
Equine organisations have also been hit by the difficulty of rehoming under the present restrictions. Rehoming only restarted in mid April but horses represent one of the biggest challenges of all rescued animals to rehome, because of the difficulty of doing so whilst respecting social distancing, and while equine centres remain closed to the public. Despite these difficulties, the RSPCA has managed to rehome 21 horses in the ten weeks since lockdown – this compares to 56 in January and February.
Christine added: “The public’s help is absolutely vital to keep the RSPCA afloat during this extremely difficult time. We can’t stress how much we need loving homes for our horses and ponies, and we are urging those with experience of horses to please consider rehoming one of our wonderful rescue horses. Last year (2019), we rehomed 242 horses and ponies to loving new homes, with many going on to become superb children’s riding ponies, happy hacking horses, fantastic project youngsters, and wonderful retired companions.”
To help the RSPCA keep rescuing horses, providing them with essential veterinary care, rehabilitation, and finding them new homes through these unprecedented times, please donate whatever you can spare at www.rspca.org.uk/covid