Urgent Appeal: Significant damage caused by Storm Henk

Help us recover from Storm Henk

Due to Storm Henk, there was significant damage caused to our site yesterday evening. Thankfully, no horses (or people) were harmed, but we are now facing very costly and labour-heavy repairs.

The hardest hit areas were unfortunately in fields with horses in them. Our Shetland paddock where a tree blew over causing the fencing to collapse, and a field shelter (pictured) which was ripped from its base and blew across two fields, damaging more fences.

Despite the stress this caused to our herd, they were very brave and we are pleased to report that none of them were harmed. Our fast-acting Equine Care Team pulled together to temporarily relocate the horses to a safe space, where they will stay until we pull together the resources for permanent repairs.

One of our main concerns was that the fields affected contained our rescues; Clifford and George in the Shetland paddock, and Ernie in another. Due to their past, we were unsure how they would respond to the stress of a storm like this. As Clifford and George are still going through leading training with our Knowledge and Skills team and had only recently moved to the Shetland paddock, this was a big challenge for them. They were reportedly very nervous of the wind, but thanks to their training and to the help of their best buddy, Bob, the pair were safely moved.

Without this training, Clifford and George would not have been emotionally equipped to deal with the situation which could have been very dangerous, not only for the grooms and the other Shetlands in the paddock, but for Clifford and George themselves, too.

Across the site, more damage was unfortunately caused when a field shelter was ripped from its base by the strong gusts and tore through another fence. This field was occupied by Ernie, his friend Scabby and their herd. Thankfully they had sheltered under the trees away from the loose shelter when it blew away.

The challenge we now face is with repairing the damage. Recouping the losses for field shelters takes more time than we have, as they are already much in need during the winter months. The labour and costs that go into repairing the fences across our site will cause significant setbacks in other essential work throughout the winter. As a charity that relies solely on public support, we are urgently appealing to you for help, no matter how big or small, towards the repair and replacement of vital equipment across our sanctuary.

You can support us by heading to the link below.

Help us recover from Storm Henk