More than 30 emaciated horses rescued from Caerphilly

More than 30 emaciated horses have been rescued from Wales.

Redwings Horse Sanctuary said the suffering of the horses was “easily on a par” with the Amersham rescue in 2008, where more than a hundred horses were found in a dreadful condition at Spindles Farm.

“It was an horrific scene, with many extremely weak and malnourished ponies,” Redwings’ head of welfare and vet Nic de Brauwere said.

“There was virtually no grass so while the site appeared very scenic, there was little or nothing for them to eat. They are in varying stages of emaciation — we have given them a condition rating which matches the Amersham horses.

“Some of the horses are already dead, and others would almost certainly have died if we had not intervened when we did. I can only describe it by saying it was as if they were queuing to die. It was an utterly depressing and heart-breaking scene I hoped I would never have to witness again.”

The horses were taken from two sites in Caerphilly on Wednesday (20 February) and yesterday(Thursday 21 February).

Caerphilly Borough Council’s trading standards department led the rescue and Redwings sent three lorries, two vets and eight handling staff to the site to bring back 26 horses and ponies to the Norfolk sanctuary.

Four others have been taken to HorseWorld in Bristol, while four more, which the charities suspect belong to the same people, have already been removed to the SWHP charity in Monmouth.

For more information, or to donate, visit: www.redwings.co.uk

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