World Horse Welfare’s work with horses in Lesotho, Southern Africa, is to be highlighted in a two-part special on ITV’s This Morning.
Actress Claire King, a long-time supporter of World Horse Welfare, travelled to Lesotho in August and will present the film that airs on Monday 3 November and Tuesday 4 November.
Viewers will know Claire from Emmerdale, where she played Kim Tate, Bad Girls, where she was governor Karen Betts and from Strictly Come Dancing, where she partnered Brendan Cole.
In Lesotho she met farriers and saddlery students being trained by the charity and the problems faced by horses there.
“The terrain is so harsh and mountainous [in Lesotho] that they have no choice but to use the horse as their main mode of transport,” said Claire.
“What was especially noticeable was the tack. The bits were worn too low and were clanking against their teeth. The old military saddles were falling apart and the harnesses just didn’t fit at all. I saw horses with incredible sores on their backs,” she added.
As well as Lesotho, World Horse Welfare’s international training programmes are also underway in Mexico, Romania.
Students are chosen from the local community to spend a year training in farriery or saddlery. The best students go on to be the trainers of tomorrow, passing the skills on.
