Welfare win for horses at Burnley's HAPPA

On Valentine’s Day HAPPA was alerted to the plight of eight abandoned horses, three geldings and five mares.All had been left in a field in Yorkshire, suffering from a severe lice infestation, a heavy worm burden and in desperate need of farrier attention.In collaboration with Retraining of Racehorses a rescue operation was put together to ensure the recovery of all eight horses.Equine welfare charity Bransby Horses also offered much needed assistance, including providing their specialist rescue pen system which allows for safely herding groups of feral horses.The charities worked together to herd the equines onto the rescue vehicles. Many having not been handled in a very long time, if not at all, the rescue mission took several hours to ensure the eight were loaded safely and as calmly as possible to be transported to HAPPA’s Isolation and Assessment Unit, Shores Hey Farm, in Briercliffe.Amanda Berry, HAPPA’s head of Equine Operations, said: “The skill and expertise of the staff involved was immeasurable, the horses were in flight and fight mode and didn’t understand what was expected.“The staff were incredible and I applaud their efforts, patience and determination which paid off in the end and the horses responded calmly.“We are extremely proud of our rescue work and have relished the opportunity to work alongside other welfare staff to come together and share knowledge.”The thoroughbreds will be offered the best possible rehabilitation at Shores Hey Farm for the foreseeable future and the HAPPA Equine Care Team will work hard to ensure they return to full health, all will then be placed in Forever Homes through the charity’s Loan Scheme.