OUR STORY

The Covid-19 Pandemic hit all organisations, including charities hard. The Horse Trust was forced to cancel fundraising events and close its doors to visitors for over a year. Meanwhile our equine welfare hotline was inundated with enquiries, with an 800% increase in the number of calls with concerns about a horse’s welfare. As the pandemic put personal finances under pressure, more and more people were asking us to rehome their horses, a truly heartbreaking decision for owners to make.

On 10 May 2021, The Horse Trust celebrated its 135 year anniversary. As the oldest equine charity in the world, we’ve seen a lot of change since we welcomed our first exhausted cab horse from the London streets to our loving sanctuary all those years ago. However one thing remains the same: the care and compassion that horses deserve and love.

In 2021, we homed over 140 horses, ponies and donkeys from an array of backgrounds. These included rescue cases, ex-police and military horses, royal mews retirees and those who were previously working for charities such as Riding for the Disabled. We also played an instrumental role in funding research and training programmes in the equine sector.

We have been here for horses in need since 1886 and we will continue to be here, pandemic or no pandemic, for many more years to come.