Bristol horse rescue charity 'at capacity' as it battles increase in demand

A Bristol-based horse rescue charity, home to more than 100 horses and donkeys, says it is "at capacity" as it struggles to cope with increased demand.

HorseWorld says the cost of living crisis has left many owners fighting to keep on top of care and food bills.

In a statement, HorseWorld's head of equine welfare, Sarah Hollister, said: "Our HorseWorld herd is currently at capacity and the calls keep coming in asking for our help.

“The economic climate has left many horse owners struggling to pay general care and feed bills and HorseWorld have seen an increase in abandoned and neglected animals.

"Many of the cases we are asked to help with are large numbers of animals are abandoned at the same time.”

The charity plans to renovate its existing hospital isolation unit to include a holding pen for feral horses to be treated in a safe environment.

Sarah added: "Biosecurity is crucial at this time and the charity need to keep new arrivals in an isolated holding unit until they have received the necessary tests and treatment they need before they can mix with the rest of the animals on the farm.

“We prefer our new arrivals to become accustomed to being handled before they need veterinary examination, but on occasions we need to urgently intervene to provide emergency treatment soon after arrival.”

“We need the equipment to be both effective and efficient in our treatment of these bewildered animals.

“The system we are planning to install will mean they can receive the necessary treatment quickly and calmly allowing them to move to another area of the farm to continue their rehabilitation once their quarantine period is over.

"This will prevent the whole system from becoming ‘bed blocked’ which reduces our intake capacity.”

You can find out more about the project on HorseWorld's website.