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When you join the Harry Hall One Club, take out insurance, go shopping, either online or on the Harry Hall Riding App, we donate to our charity fund . In 2021 , with your help, we raised over £13,000 for our charity partners ! And in December 2021 we asked you to choose the next three Harry Hall charity partners. A fter 7,000 votes , the chosen charities for 2022 are:
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| World Horse Welfare |
The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust |
Hope Pastures |
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World Horse Welfare helps improve the lives of horses in the UK and worldwide. |
Helping reduce poverty in Gambia by improving the welfare of it's animals. |
Rescue, rehabilitate and re-home horses, ponies and donkeys in need. |
The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust
The GHDT was founded in 2002 by the late Stella Marsden OBE and her sister Heather Armstrong. With no tradition of horsemanship in The Gambia and a combination of poor management, high disease risk and poverty, farmers were investing comparatively large amounts of money for a working animal only for it to die, too often within six months. Not only was this causing further hardship for the farmers, but it was also creating a serious animal welfare problem and the veterinary services did not have the infrastructure or finances to be able to help the farmers.
A healthy working animal can increase a farming family's income by up to 500% and buying an animal is a big investment for a family. If the animal becomes sick or dies not only the animal suffers, but its owners suffer too. The Gambia is one of the poorest countries in Africa and is unable to provide all the veterinary support that the farmers require, so when the animals become ill, sometimes the owners are simply unable to find help for it.
Keeping horses and donkeys healthy in The Gambia is a real challenge; insect borne diseases such as Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosomiasis), African Horse Sickness, and tick fever are all too common and when these problems are combined with poor nutrition and management caused by lack of knowledge and poverty, the results can be disastrous for the farmers.
The aim of the GHDT is to reduce rural poverty in The Gambia through improving the health, welfare and productivity of all animals, but working animals in particular.
The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust has now been running for eighteen years and over those years its remit has broadened. It became clear that they could not simply promote equine welfare, they needed to promote good welfare to all animals.
The GHDT rely heavily upon dedicated volunteers who offer their time and services to help, and they employ a team of local Gambian staff. They are a small charity that has had many great achievements, but to continue this work our support is urgently sought.
Their aims are achieved through a variety of projects including:
Educational Programmes
Community Development
Veterinary Treatments
Annual Show to raise awareness and much-needed fund
Case Study – Residential Equine Workshop creates a legacy
In 2015 we held a residential workshop for students of the University of The Gambia in conjunction with a German animal welfare charity. It was remarkable how at the end of the week, after learning with the animals, how relaxed the students were with them and how much empathy had built up as a result of our evening discussions. These students were so enthusiastic that they went on to form The Animal Welfare Advocates. They are a group in their own right and carry out their own fundraising. Many of those students are now graduated and are stationed throughout the country. The ripples of animal welfare are spreading, to find out more about The GHDT through their website , or on Facebook.
Hope Pastures Rescue horses
Hope Pastures is an equine rescue centre in north Leeds, West Yorkshire whose aim is to rescue, rehabilitate, re-home or offer residency to horses, ponies and donkeys who may otherwise end up neglected, or are already suffering from neglect - and have been since 1974. Often, animals who are taken in by Hope Pastures are heading on a downward spiral in their lives and desperately need intervention before things get worse for them.
The centre is run by a small team of staff and supported by a valued number of volunteers. The qualified and experienced welfare staff are trained to assess animals in the community who are ‘at risk’. This can be horses with untreated health issues, ones living in unsuitable environments, those whose owners lack the finances and experience to provide proper care for their animals, and those who are likely to end up ultimately being passed around from dealer to dealer, from home to home, their lives becoming worse by the week.
Rehabilitation of horses
Hope Pastures have set up their site in Leeds to benefit any equines who stay with them by enriching their environment with edible medicinal hedgerows, setting up a grazing system which allows the grass to grow naturally and stay in good condition, and setting up hard standing areas to prevent mud and the related health and welfare conditions it can bring.
All the horses, ponies and donkeys are kept in as natural conditions as possible, always allowing them the important ‘3 F’s. Friends, Forage and Freedom.
Animals with behavioural problems come to Hope Pastures to receive kind, ethical, science-based training and various therapies. In order to meet the needs of the animals in the care of Hope Pastures, and to get them back to good health and happiness, they use the skills of physiotherapists, massage and bodyworkers, equine dentists, farriers and nutritionists.
Rehoming horses
In an ideal world, Hope Pastures, will aim to place animals in their care in a forever ‘loan’ home, where they will receive the one-to-one attention and interaction which is so beneficial from a private home. One rehomed, the team regularly check in on them, receive updates and offer help and advice when needed. If for any reason a loan fails, they will be on hand to accept the animal back, ensuring their future is safeguarded.
If for any reason, usually physical, behavioural or health reasons, the animal cannot be rehomed then they will live with on site at Hope Pastures for the rest of their days and receive all the care and attention they need.
Visit Hope Pastures
Meet the horse, ponies and donkeys! They are open every day (365 days a year) between 10am and 3pm. They offer activities throughout the year, with Pony Days and Pony Pampering sessions in the school holidays, as well as hosting visiting groups and Birthday Parties. You can find out more about upcoming events here.
It’s free to visit but Hope Pastures rely completely on donations to support their rescue work, so these are gratefully received when you visit, no matter how small. They are based on Weetwood Lane, Leeds LS16 5PH
World Horse Welfare
World Horse Welfare are an international charity that strives to support and improve the horse-human partnership in all of its guises. Their mission is to work with horses, horse owners, communities, organisations and governments to help improve welfare standards and stamp out suffering in the UK and worldwide. And their vision is a world where every horse is treated with respect, compassion and understanding.
Founded in 1927, their approach to helping horses was based on four core principles, which they still hold today.
Relevance - They believe that horses and humans have evolved a unique partnership and that horses have an important role in society which is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. Whether working animals, family pets, equine athletes, conservation grazers or companions, horses contribute to our lives, cultures and economies. This partnership is right so long as people take full responsibility for their welfare.
Sustainability - In all of their work they strive for lasting change, aiming to treat the source of a problem as well as the symptoms.
Practicality – World Horse Welfare believes in taking a practical approach to solving problems. They focus efforts on what is achievable, and part of their practicality is that they recognise the importance of working in partnership with others to create change.
Evidence and experience – The charity’s work is based on scientific evidence and their 90 years of horse care experience. World Horse Welfare also actively supports research to improve horse welfare. They have four farms in every corner of Britain all working hard to improve the lives of horses and ponies.
So where are World Horse Welfare’s farms?:
Belwade Farm in Aberdeenshire
Glenda Spooner Farm in Somerset
Hall Farm in Norfolk Penny Farm in Blackpool
All four World Horse Welfare farms hold regular fundraising events and are open to the public so you can go and meet the horses and ponies in their care.
For more information on the farms and the events, they have planned head this way . The charity relies almost entirely on public donations to help ease the suffering of horses worldwide, 365 days a year. For more information on how World Horse Welfare is helping horses and ponies in need, visit their website or Facebook page.
Until the end of January 2022 - we will be running a charity raffle with all proceeds being donated to our 2022 charity partners - not only can you win £1,000 of Protechmasta goodies, you'll be supporting three great causes as you do it.