From rescue to rehoming
World Horse Welfare is the UK’s biggest equine rehoming charity with hundreds of horses seeking new homes. Let’s take a look at the journey from rescue to rehoming and see if you could be the perfect destination
WITH MORE THAN 1,800 horses and ponies in homes, and around 300 at its four Rescue and Rehoming Centres, every horse has a story to tell. Many journeys start with a call to the charity’s Welfare Line (0300 333 6000) which anyone can use to report horses and ponies they’re worried about. With a network of experienced field officers, World Horse Welfare’s first approach is to advise and support owners who are struggling to look after their horses. In serious cases of neglect or abuse the charity also works with the police and other agencies to remove horses from sometimes desperate circumstances.
When horses arrive at World Horse Welfare they are quarantined to make sure they are not carrying infectious diseases. They are then assessed by vets, farriers, physiotherapists and the charity’s rehabilitation staff and each horse is given a bespoke rehabilitation plan. For some this can be as simple as restricted grazing to lose weight and remedial foot trimming. For others, though, this can involve months of complex veterinary treatment and hours of patient physiotherapy, exercise and handling. With every horse, World Horse Welfare’s aim is to rehabilitate them successfully and find them a home of their own when they’re ready. As each horse and pony goes through their rehabilitation they are assessed to get a clear picture of their capabilities and temperament, how they interact with people and other horses, and what sort of conditions will suit them best.
rehoming process
Once a horse is ready to be rehomed, the charity tells their story on its website and finds their perfect new home. It rehomes riding horses and children’s ponies, driving ponies, youngsters who need bringing on, and project horses and ponies who might have potential. It also rehomes companion animals who can’t be ridden but can still play a huge part in your horse family. So how does the rehoming process work? If you spot a horse or pony on the World
Horse Welfare website who looks right for you, you can apply online. The rehoming team will review your application and may also call you to discuss the horse and what you’re looking for. If you’re a good match, the next step is coming to the farm to meet the horse and get to know each other (which might take more than one trip).
Next, one of the field officers will visit you to make sure the essentials are in place for you to care for your horse. Once the home check is approved, the horse gets a thorough leaving check from a team of specialists — an MOT, if you will! Rehomers pay a small fee to help support the charity’s work and they are required to become World Horse Welfare ChampionPlus Members.
Providing help and support
Then the big day arrives and your new horse or pony is ready to collect, but that’s a long way from the end of the story. You’ll receive lots of ongoing support from your local rehoming officer or field officer and twice-yearly visits to make sure that both you and your horse are happy.
And, whatever happens, you can always return the horse or pony if circumstances change. World Horse Welfare horses are loaned to their rehomers — the charity retains ownership for the rest of their lives and will always take them back if need be. When you rehome a horse or pony from World Horse Welfare, you know that you’ll get an honest assessment of their capabilities and temperament, a thorough ‘horse MOT’, expert support available whenever you need it and the reassurance that, should anything change, the horse can come back into the charity’s care.