“I think the answer to what motivates us is that we are all animal lovers and enjoy caring for them, everyone has their own reason for getting into it, some of us have owned horses most of our lives, other’s started later and just got hooked.” - Vicky.
Lisa, the Yard Manager. “Lisa has been here since 2000 and is the 2nd longest running staff member”.
Morgan
Chestnut Shetland
Stallion
D.O.B 5/6/99
Morgan is our smallest pony and only stallion. He is very sweet and very confident, though he doesn't realize how small he is. Morgan came to us in May 2022 with his friend Henley, unfortunately due to health issues their owner was no longer able to care for them.
Alison owns her own horses, 11 in total, who she has rescued herself and lets run wild. She works here to care for these horses but also to pay for her own.
Bobby
Brown Donkey
Gelding 11'2hh D.O.B 2013
Bobby is a confident donkey who leads his cohort, Merlin. Although quiet in the company of Merlin he has an impressive bray. Due to a condition called white line disease he requires special treatment from our farrier and boots to protect his feet when out in the field.
David, the Farrier. He “is paid but he gives the charity a discount of a few pounds per horse which really adds up when he’s doing over 50 of them.” They “have been working with him since 2017.”
Star 2
Chestnut Welsh x
Gelding
15+ Years old
Star is a lovely affectionate pony who loves being groomed and going for walks. He is best friends with Treacle and Hartley. When he was younger he had to have colic surgery after eating something he shouldn't have, he has recovered very well but we have to monitor his diet carefully and keep his gut free and moving to avoid any further problems.
Mark [left] “has always had an interest in volunteer work and has fundraised for a number of charity’s. When he retired he wanted to do more, he’s had past experience with horses and being at the sanctuary allows him to stay active and enjoy being around horses again while helping a local charity” and Alison [right].
Jane
Dark Bay Dartmoor
Mare 12'2hh
20+ Years old
Jane is retired here. She is a lovely quiet mare who enjoys lots of attention, a good groom and going for walks down the lane to see what everyone else is up to. She loves her food so her diet and weight needs to be watched closely, She also requires close attention in summer as she has a sweet itch which is caused by an allergic reaction to insect bites.
Becky, the Vet. “The vet is also paid and they have been with” them since 2013.
The Story:
The animal sanctuary is situated outside the town of Oswaldtwistle and the stables were originally built in memory of the original families lost daughter with the public's donations. It is mostly for horses but they also have a rescue cat, goats and donkeys and it is established early on from photographing the animals to talking with staff that they each have their own personality. The charity rely on the public donating equipment or buying products such as keychains either from their stables or their charity shop whilst also allowing the public to ‘adopt’ a horse yearly. If the equipment is not needed then it is sold and the money is put back into the shelter.
There are both staff and volunteers working here with the staff on minimum wage. It is open to to the public on the weekends for viewing and grooming the horses. In winter it is harder to let the horses out but they try their best- it’s the summer everyone waits for.
The animals dentist appointments are 1-2 times a year and the farrier comes once a month to file down hooves. Whilst I was there I witnessed the equine vet visiting to look at two horses hooves (their bones) and provide an x-ray. All of this is expensive but it is worth it for every individual here and often tough decisions have to be made on whether it is ‘worth’ keeping the horse alive if a proper life can’t be provided for them (going out in the field for “freedom”) due to their health mostly caused by old age.
It seems more horses used to come from abusive places but now it is usually more from people not realising how much time and money a horse takes and not being able to take care of them. The sanctuary used to re-house horses but now many of them are too old or need health care so they are "retired" here, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as many re-housed horses used to go back and forth between owners anyway.
Alison rescued her own horses from places where they were not kept in good conditions eg: starving, pregnant, in a skip of dead horses or ready to be sold for meat ect. She spends around £200 a week to keep them, but it is “worth every bit”, calling them her “boys” and “babies”. She works here 3 days a week and owns a cleaning business, using the money to give the best life she can for her animals. People like this work in the sanctuary, people with care, knowledge and compassion.
With Alison and Vicky we talked of the mistreatment of horses as a trade where they are sold for meat. They are transported in bad conditions to Europe after being bought at an auction and sometimes arrive dead due to mistreatment; activist's are trying to stop this. This has not necessarily happened to the horses here but it does to many and with the safest space they can be offered this can try to be avoided.
All of the quotes in the portraits are written by Vicky and the context for the animals are written by the Sanctuary ‘Only Foals & Horses’.
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