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This project successfully funded on 27th February 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Horse Abandonment Crisis Fund
Burnley, Lancashire, United Kingdom
£3,030
raised so far
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Aim
They Were Left Behind. Together, We Can Give Them a Second Chance. Help us raise £100,000 to cover equine care costs this winter.
Horses and Ponies Protection Association (HAPPA) urgently appeals for funds this winter to assist with a growing crisis, the abandonment of horses across Lancashire and the UK.
HAPPA is reaching crisis point, as demand for services and associated costs soar the charity urges those that care to contribute so they are able to continue to respond to reports of horses, ponies and donkeys in distress.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit hard, the charity has seen a change in the type of help needed by horse owners. Reports of cruelty and neglect are still received, however cries for help from horse owners and landowners trying to do the right thing are becoming more prevalent.
Where HAPPA receives a report of horses or ponies abandoned on private land, advice is given to land and property owners by the charity so action can be taken via the implementation of the Control of Horses Act 2015.
Financial Impact
HAPPA has taken in twenty-four abandoned and unwanted equines in the last six months. Unfortunately the majority of these have arrived at HAPPA's, Shores Hey Farm, Burnley, Lancashire needing immediate veterinary intervention and incurred associated rehabilitation costs. This and the increases in wages, utilities and supplier costs are becoming a heavy burden on the charity and its long-term financial stability.
Overall equine welfare costs are soaring, not including equine care team wage costs, £2,000.00 per week is desperately needed to maintain the exemplary standards of care offered to the 45 equines that are currently under rehabilitation with the charity.
The team continues to fight to source the best prices and supplier costs, however increases in costs associated with the abandonment epidemic compared to the previous year are painstakingly obvious.
Feed and bedding costs have risen from £27,428.06 in 2024 to a staggering £36,846.13 in 2025 an increase of 34.34%
Veterinary costs have risen from £29,913.24 in 2024 to £33,367.66 in 2025 an increase of 11.5%
Wotsit and Cheetos's Story
An abandoned pony, named Wotsit, was found feral and alone on common ground with no one claiming ownership. At just three years old, this sweet chestnut mare, was desperate for help. Veterinary assessments revealed that Wotsit was three months into pregnancy.
Wotsit needed time and patience as she had not been handled by humans regularly in her short time on earth. She was extremely nervous of human touch, even more so with the veterinarian and farrier. She needed a soft, calm and caring handler. It was very important to gain Wotsit’s trust prior to the arrival of her newborn foal, their safety and health depended on it.
In the months leading to the foal’s arrival the team gave Wotsit the care and attention she needed, spending time with her every day, gently introducing new experiences and working through triggering situations such as farrier visits and veterinary appointments, to ensure when Wotsit needed them the most she trusted that their touch was a positive and safe experience.
Wotsit welcomed a beautiful filly foal in the early hours of Friday 9th May, however, during that afternoon on-duty Equine Care Supervisor, Nicole Simpson, noticed that something didn’t seem right.
Nicole explains, “I knew that we needed to act fast to save Wotsit’s new-born foal. I called the vet and unfortunately after a blood test it was found that Wotsit had not expressed enough milk after giving birth, therefore not providing her foal with the much-needed nutrients found in colostrum (nature’s first milk).
This was an emergency, if the little foal did not receive the nutrients needed in the next couple of hours, then things would deteriorate very quickly, possibly resulting in the foal’s death. The attending veterinarian managed to source colostrum from a very kind donor, Ess Jay Arabians. This subsequently had to be fed to the foal through a tube directly into the stomach, to ensure, with every certainty, that the vital nutrients were absorbed into the little foal’s frail body and blood stream. Then the real work began!”
Throughout the night the team worked relentlessly to give the chestnut filly foal, named Cheeto by the team, the best chance of survival. A second blood test showed that quick thinking and veterinary intervention had saved the foals’ life, nutrients in the blood stream had improved, now only time would tell if little Cheeto would make a full recovery.
Over the weekend Wotsit was put on medication to bring on her milk and every two hours the Equine Care Team held Wotsit and gently guided the foal to her teats, a bucket of horse formula milk was offered to Cheeto to top up the milk that Wotsit was unable to offer. The trust and respect the team had gained with this mare is what allowed this to happen, although protective of her new-born foal Wotsit knew that her little one was safe in the HAPPA team’s arms.
Cheeto continues to recover in the Charity’s care and HAPPA will continue to be a safety net for horses like Wotsit and Cheeto, but to do so the Charity needs your support.
Spider's Story
The recent rescue and heart-breaking euthanasia of an elderly pony known as “Spider” underscores the severity of the problem, and the agonising decisions that equine charities are being forced to make in the face of suffering.
Spider came into HAPPA’s care after being found abandoned on private land. Under the Control of Horses Act 2015, landowners notified authorities and when no owner emerged, HAPPA legally accepted stewardship of the pony. When Inspectors attended the scene, they scanned Spider for a microchip in the hope of tracing his owner, but heartbreakingly, none was found. At that moment, there was no medical history and only initial signs that he had been handled in the past. He was transported to HAPPA’s Shores Hey Farm for a full veterinary evaluation.
But what was discovered could not be ignored. Spider was elderly and burdened by a cascade of severe health issues, advanced Cushing’s disease, laminitis, extreme lameness, COPD and asthma, and a thickening in his right eye that threatened total vision loss. The cumulative effect of these conditions meant that Spider was in unrelenting pain and respiratory distress. Each new diagnosis revealed more clearly why he may have been rejected by whoever had cared for him before.
Spider’s abandonment is a symptom, not an isolated case.
When Spider arrived at Shores Hey, HAPPA’s equine team and veterinary partners initiated a stepwise care protocol, stabilisation, pain management, diagnostics and assessment of his quality of life. But it soon became tragically evident that Spider was beyond recovery.
Over time, his laboured breathing worsened, his mobility declined further and his pain was unrelenting. No treatment could reverse or halt the combined progression of his diseases in a way that would restore comfort or dignity. The decision to euthanise was not taken lightly, but in the interest of preventing further suffering, it was ultimately the kindest, most responsible choice.
Spider’s story is one of thousands that remind us why HAPPA continue their vital work, standing up for the horses that others have forgotten. His life, though short in HAPPA’s care, was filled with compassion, warmth and the dignity he deserved all along.
More abandonment stories can be found on the HAPPA website.
The Wider Crisis
Across the UK, equine welfare charities are sounding the alarm:
- HAPPA itself has seen a 33% increase in equines seized from owners unable to cope, with around 40% of those cases involving abandonment.
- World Horse Welfare notes that more than 6,000 horses in England and Wales are currently assessed to be at risk of neglect or suffering.
- As early as 2012, Redwings documented a jump from 160 abandonment reports in 2009 to 768 in 2012.
- The joint report Britain’s Horse Problem, published by a coalition of leading equine charities, warns that despite changes to legislation (such as fly-grazing laws and equine ID), the system remains broken. Rescue charities are still operating in crisis mode and demand is outstripping capacity.
These organisations stress common themes: overbreeding, insufficient regulation, weak enforcement and owners overwhelmed by escalating costs (from feed and veterinary care to general upkeep). Without intervention, they warn the crisis will deepen, stretching the limited capacity of rescue and rehabilitation charities.
What will happen if the target is not reached
Your funds are our charity's lifeline this winter. If the target is not reached then the stable doors may need to be closed to abandoned, neglected and abused horses that need the charity the most. A donation towards covering the 2k per week equine welfare cost this winter really is a lifeline to continue this work. Without it we will simply not survive the winter months and horses will suffer in silence. Let's give them a voice together!
If we don't reach our target, every penny raised will go directly back into the associated costs of equine welfare, the rescuing, rehabilitation of abandoned and unwanted equines and their hybrids.
Please help HAPPA to continue and be there for horses in need this winter, without your support we simply cannot survive. Thank you.
If you would like to learn more about the work of the Charity please watch Bertie's Journey from Rescue to Recovery. HAPPA - Horses and Ponies Protection Association.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made