Horse Sanctuary Express Equine Welfare Crisis to Countess of Wessex
On Thursday 29 June, Sue Burton, the Founder of Remus Horse Sanctuary, along with the Mayor and Mayoress of Chelmsford and the Mayor of Brentwood, welcomed Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex to highlight the equine welfare crisis in this country.
The Countess, who joined the charity as a Patron in 2013, visited the Sanctuary for a tour of the facilities, and to learn more about issues such as: tethering, cruelty and neglect, indiscriminate breeding and abandonment, and elderly horses – all of which continue to escalate around the UK.
The Countess met staff, volunteers and guests and many animals including those that have been victims of all of the above types of cruelty including Dante, two blind mares Hollie and Grace, and Blax – the charity’s most recent rescue.
The Countess was also shown before and after videos of Blax’ recovery and the amazing difference in her wellbeing since arriving at the Sanctuary four months ago.
Hundreds of horses are suffering every day and many are suffering despite the Authorities being aware of them. In one week alone at the end of June, the Sanctuary heard of three young colts abandoned in different areas nearby, and that’s without the many they don’t get to hear about.
Sue Burton said, “It was a delight to have The Countess here and to show her first hand some of the issues that we are facing amidst the country’s largest ever equine welfare crisis and what we are doing to help the many horses caught up in this crisis.
“Without question action needs to be taken to help these animals, it seems so wrong that we can send a rocket to the moon but we still allow horses to be chained to the ground by the neck for their entire life with many being covered by the stallion, giving birth and dying on that same chain.
“There has to come a time when we say enough is enough and surely now is that time. Remus aims to take an active role in helping to make that happen.”
For further information, visit www.remussanctuary.org or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.
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.