Help Hugs Rescue Horses Get Through Winter

Aim

We urgently need to raise £20,000 to get us through the winter and ensure our charity’s survival.

Welcome to The Hugs Foundation – we need to raise £20,000 to get us through the winter and ensure our charity’s survival. Here’s why……..

What we need

Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and now the current financial climate, funding for charities has declined drastically. We need to raise at least £20,000 to help us get through this winter and ensure our charity’s survival. It is going to be the most difficult winter we have ever seen. It’s our busiest and most expensive period and the impact of the current economic climate means our running costs are higher than ever. We are seeing more and more animals in desperate need of help but we cannot do this without you.   

Here are two stories of rescues we have had that are now in their forever homes:

Gatsby’s Story

Gatsby arrived at Hugs in May 2017 with two other ponies as part of a rescue from outside of the South West. He was in awful condition, incredibly malnourished and underweight (apart from a bloated stomach due to a worm infestation). His coat was matted and full of lice and mites. The little herd were in such poor condition that our vet came out within two hours of their arrival to assess them and help plan their rehabilitation.

Despite being told that the ponies were impossible to handle, we found with kindness and patience they soon grew to trust our team and were able to be caught and handled to begin their rehabilitation.

We are saddened that these gentle and sensitive creatures are often so terribly neglected. It is something we see far too much but that’s why Hugs is here, to rescue, rehabilitate and find a forever home and more positive future. Just look at Gatsby now!

See him at a show in his forever home here Gatsby Now

Annie’s Story

Annie was rescued in early 2019 after a multi charity rescue operation involving 80 horses and ponies in awful conditions including no food and water in Doncaster. She was skin and bones and infested with worms and lice. Many animals sadly lost their lives but Annie was once of the lucky ones. Watch her story here Annie's Story

This is the difference our work makes to the young people we support:

“My daughter, Penny is non-verbal, visually impaired and unable to stand independently, but at her adapted sessions, she was laughing, dancing and even making animal sounds to express her enjoyment.” Feedback from parent 

“My Son attended Hugs and it was amazing. I saw my son grow and become more confident with each session. Hazel the Youth Services Manager is such a wonderful person she was so good with my son and knew exactly how communicate with him and encourage him. I thoroughly recommend The Hugs Foundation, they are doing a fantastic job for well-being for children.” Feedback from parent

“It was obvious to myself and mum that after my young person’s first sessions at Hugs he gained significant benefit, presenting calmer and more regulated.” Feedback from NHS CAMHS Professional

Ben’s story (name changed to protect service user)

Ben tragically lost his brother to cancer. He started to struggle with school, stopped all hobbies and told his parents he wanted to end his life. He was referred to Hugs with the aims of improving his mental well-being, finding some hope and happiness in life again and decreasing negative thoughts. Ben started to build more positive relationships with his family and friends through his interactions with animals. After his course of six sessions, he started to learn to acknowledge and cope with his emotions, reported feeling more confident and wanted to go to school. He is now engaged in full time education, has gone back to his hobbies and is even entering his first skateboarding competition since his sibling’s death.

You can see the difference we are making here Interview with Service User & Parent

October Orphan Foals

Every October the Dartmoor drifts take place. This is where all the Dartmoor ponies are rounded up off the moor and separated into the different farmers stock so that they can be checked and either returned to the moor or sold at the sales. Sadly, because of the commotion of herd of ponies coming in, some babies get separated from their mums and it is impossible to find who belongs to who again. This means there are orphan foals that are far too young to go back onto the moor on their own, as they simply would not survive, or be sold at the sales. They need their mother’s milk and protection.

If rescues can’t help them sadly these foals are killed. This is where Hugs comes in. With the help of our supporters and raising this money, we will be able to take these babies in and give them the specialist diet and care they need to grow into healthy ponies and find their forever home.

How much it costs

It costs £270,000 to run Hugs every year, that’s over £5,000 a week. Our costs currently sit at £3,474 per horse rescue, over a 6 month period and that is for a pony without any medical conditions or injuries. If a horse/pony is in poor health this cost can rise to thousands more.

Annual costs include:

• Vets bill £20,000 minimum. This year could be double that due to having several rescues in need of additional medical needs.
• Feed and bedding bill £10,000 minimum
• Farrier bill £8,000 minimum

Here are some examples of the recent rise in costs:

• A large round bale of hay was £25 and is now a minimum of £35 (that’s a 40% increase!) This winter we will go through approximately 80 large bales of hay and nearly 2,000 small bales!
• On top of the rising costs of feeding the rescues, we have increases in utility bills and additional costs being passed on making our vets bills higher. For example the cost of maintaining fencing has increased dramatically as the cost of wood has nearly tripled.      

What can your donation do?

• £5 could buy a small bale of hay or a bag of bedding for a rescue pony
• £20 could buy 2 bags of feed
• £30 could pay for the farrier to trim a pony's hooves
• £35 could pay for a large bale of hay for a herd of ponies
• £50 could pay for the dentist or chiropractor 
• £77 could pay for a course of vaccinations
• £100 could pay for an initial vet visit to include passport and microchip
• £250 could pay for a castration 
• £370 could pay for essential veterinary investigations and tests on rescue arrival
• £1932 could pay for training time for a rescue pony for 6 months, ready for rehoming
• £3,474 could pay for the total cost of a pony from rescue to rehoming

With overwhelming pressure on animal rescues (many of which are full) and mental health services (many of which are just don’t have capacity to meet demand), our charity is helping fill a vital gap to support both equines and people in need.

If you can help by donating and sharing our appeal our ponies can look forward to a comfortable winter. Thank you from the team at Hugs. 

This project successfully funded on 1st December 2022