World Horse Welfare

Turn your passion into action

www.worldhorsewelfare.org

World Horse Welfare is driven by the same potent combination of passion and practicality that inspired our founder, Ada Cole, to help horses nearly a century ago. We believe that there is no place in the world for neglect of, or cruelty to, horses. We stop the suffering of horses today - by rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming in the UK and providing veterinary care abroad - and we prevent the suffering of horses tomorrow, by campaigning, educating and training people.

Our work in the UK

As a nation, we see so many well-loved horses in the UK that it can be difficult to imagine that some aren't so lucky. Sadly, there are still a huge number of welfare problems here. Every day, British horses suffer through ignorance, neglect or cruelty. Through our UK welfare work, we aim to help hundreds of these horses every year.

We have a team of dedicated field officers, who respond to welfare concerns reported through our Freephone Welfare Hotline, on 08000 480180. Our four Rescue and Rehoming Centres take horses in from welfare situations. These horses are given all the treatment they need and undergo a thorough programme of rehabilitation.

Our aim is to rehome all rehabilitated horses through our Rehome a Horse Scheme, either as ridden or companion animals. By rehoming our horses to approved homes, rather than operating as a sanctuary, we are able to help many more horses every year.

In Britain, we are responsible for roughly 1,700 horses, nearly all of which have suffered abuse or neglect. Nearly 85% of these animals are now in caring loan homes.

Our work in some of the world’s poorest communities

Working horses and donkeys are an essential resource in rural and remote communities throughout the world. Commonly used as an affordable means of transport, for pulling carts, ploughing and cultivating land, these animals often endure long working hours in extremely challenging conditions.

There are an estimated 90 million equines (horses, donkeys and mules) in developing countries, and there are many factors that affect their health and welfare. Frequently, these include their owners' lack of knowledge and skills, affordability and accessibility of veterinary services and direct welfare implications arising from emergency situations. To address these issues and reduce unnecessary suffering, World Horse Welfare undertakes essential educational, veterinary and emergency relief programmes.

We provide:

• Training - for local people, in farriery, saddlery, nutrition and business skills
• Veterinary care - for working horses whose owners cannot afford veterinary care
• Emergency relief - for horses and donkeys living in countries facing disaster

At World Horse Welfare, we campaign to make a difference to the lives of all horses. The sad reality is that horses across the world suffer every day. We want to stop this by raising awareness of the causes of horse suffering, and encouraging people to take action.

Our aim is to help the greatest possible number of horses, both in the UK and across Europe. We seek to improve welfare conditions by changing attitudes, policy and practice; improving the laws that protect horses, making sure these laws are enforced, and educating horse owners.

Our campaigns

• Make A Noise - calling for an end to the long-distance transportation of horses to slaughter in Europe
• Spread the Word, Not the Disease - helping UK horse owners protect their horses from the threat of a number of infectious diseases (click here to request your free copy of our disease prevention pack Keep Your Horse Healthy)
• Project Romania - helping Romania's one million working horses by training veterinary professionals, horse owners and the general public
• UK horse welfare - making sure that laws in the UK meet the needs of horses

In total, we invest around £7.5million a year in our work and make it our business to know about horses, both as sport, leisure and working animals.

Our priorities are:

• to enhance the charity's reputation as the leading organisation for the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of horses in Britain;
• to campaign for an end to the long-distance transportation of horses to slaughter in Europe;
• to expand our worldwide training projects sustainably, which will have a positive impact on the welfare of both working horses and their owners;
• to define the major causes of horse welfare abuse in Britain - and establish education and policy-based solution to the problem.

Quite simply, our name reflects the work we do - making a lasting difference to the lives of thousands of horses every year.

No organisation in the world does more for horses than World Horse Welfare.

www.worldhorsewelfare.org

World Horse Welfare - Registered charity numbers 206658 & SC038384