Rehabilitating horses

Horses come into our Rescue and Rehoming Centres for a variety of reasons - but they all require some form of rehabilitation. Some will simply need appropriate feeding and TLC to bring them back to health, while others will need months of specialist treatment.

 

When a horse first arrives at one of our centres, it will undergo a thorough assessment by a team of specialists, including a vet and farrier. Some will require emergency veterinary treatment to give them the best possible chance of a full recovery.

 

Emaciated horses will need to be tested to establish whether there is an underlying medical reason for their condition or whether it has come about simply through lack of nutrition. Whatever the reason, our centre staff must go about any weight gain very carefully - if a starving horse is suddenly given lots of rich food, it can trigger serious health problems.

 

Some horses come to us because of problems with their feet, such as overgrown hooves. If horses have been walking on severely overgrown hooves for some time, they can develop joint and limb problems. Our vets and farriers work closely together to treat these horses because the process can take a long time.

 

It is our hope that every horse and pony can be rehomed as a ridden animal. However, if for various reasons they can't be ridden - we would hope to rehome them as companions.

 

For more information about rehoming, please visit the Rehome a Horse Scheme page.