More than 250 acres of the land owned by equine welfare charity Bransby Horses remains flooded following heavy rainfall caused by Storm Babet.
Despite the brighter weather over the weekend the flood waters have continued to rise and the charity estimates over 40 per cent is now under water, which amounts to over 300 football fields.
Victoria Elliot, Head of Estates said: “Despite moving 100 horses to safety, many have had to be moved again following rising water levels. Looking at this week’s forecast we may see the current situation get worse and the impact will continue long after the water subsides and will almost certainly impact our winter grazing.”
On Friday morning the charity, which has 300 horses on site, received a two hour warning from the Environment Agency to say they may deliberately flood the Till Washlands, which includes some of their grazing, to prevent further flooding in Lincoln.
Over 70 horses were immediately removed from affected fields and another 30 were moved to safety over the weekend after the floodgates were opened.
It is possible the charity’s ability to take in new rescues will be affected in the coming weeks but at this point the full impact on their ability to operate is under review.
Further updates will be made on their website and through their social media channels.
Bransby Horses work very closely with the Environment Agency to reduce flooding in Lincoln by using their grazing land as flood plains, but sadly they receive no funding or compensation for this.
The impact of the flooding will be an additional cost coming at an already difficult economic time.
Sally Banton Executive Director of Engagement and Income Generation said: “At the moment weather permitting we are open to visitors.
“It was less than two weeks ago that we won the Best Small Visitor Attraction Award at the Destination Lincolnshire awards and we don’t want to disappoint our supporters, especially during the half term school holidays. Now more than ever we need to continue raising funds for the charity to help pay for the cost of the latest flooding.
“Our Café is open and our half term activities, including Pecan’s Pumpkin Patch, are in full swing. By visiting us you are helping to support us through this crisis and we’d like to say thank you to everyone who visits and supports us.”
It will only be over the coming weeks that the charity will know the full extent and cost of this crisis.
A web page has been set up for anyone who would like to support Bransby Horses through this challenging period: BransbyHorses.co.uk/emergency-flood-crisis-2023
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.