Abandoned horses focus for charity

Holly’s Horse Haven - a Loughbrickland charity that has rescued some 220 horses in the past two years - is inviting people to a coffee morning this Saturday, October 27, to raise funds helping the group to continue its equine care.

Holly’s is a cross-border charity that taken in abused and abandoned horses, caring for and rehabilitating them.

Joe and Elaine Duffy founded Holly’s Horse Haven in 2009, with Holly, their first rescue horse and victim of the recession.

This inspired them to rescue, rehabilitate and find caring homes for countless horses and ponies to date with numbers steadily increasing.

Many of the rescued horses require intensive critical care, resulting from their abandonment or neglect and restoring them to full health is an ongoing financial struggle, according to a spokeswoman for the charity.

She said, “Holly’s is a strictly voluntary-based project which means no-one within the charity receives a wage. This in turn ensures 100 per cent of all support goes into the care and rehabilitation of all their rescues.

“They therefore rely on donations to cover rent for land, the cost of medical supplies and vet bills, and to buy supplies for the stables (the typical horse goes through about four bales of hay a week and two bags of feed). The volunteers come from both sides of the border and from both communities, and they have one thing in common – they care about the welfare of horses that have been mistreated and abandoned and want to do something positive to help them.”

The coffee morning will be held between 10am and 12noon at Whyte’s Estate Gate Lodge in Loughbrickland.

For more information visit www.hollyshorsehaven.com.