October 30, 2014 4.20 pm This story is over 113 months old

Rehoming stable completes Lincoln horse charity’s £50k refurb

Ready for rehoming Thanks to years of support and donations, the first phase of Bransby Horses’ £50,000 site redevelopment is complete.
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Bransby Horses is one of the UK’s largest equine welfare charities, based near Lincoln, and thanks to years of support and donations the first phase of their £50,000 site redevelopment is complete.

After improvements to the grounds and visitors centre, the charity’s rehoming team were next in line for some TLC, with a much needed new rehoming barn.

Some of the team at Bransby Horses near Lincoln. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Some of the team at Bransby Horses near Lincoln. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The new facility, which houses 17 stables with the capacity for around 30 horses, was officially opened on Thursday, October 30 at the site in Bransby.

To celebrate, supporters and visitors of the charity were welcomed to meet the resident horses and enjoy a timeline of photographs and stories.

Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The charity now consists of around 100 members of staff and currently homes 202 horses and donkeys at its Lincolnshire site.

Team Leader of the Rehoming Barn, Sarah Hackney, said: “We have done so much here in just a year. The barn we had originally had nine stables in it and now we have 17 stables, which enables us to do more with the horses and get them new homes.

“Altogether with the other areas of improvement we have doubled our numbers. Horses are coming in all the time. We had four brought in just this morning. They have to go through a lot of testing and assessments as well as education before they are ready for rehoming.

“We have had to turn horses away in the past and a lot of the cases are RSPCA cases and abandonment cases. It’s not just about ridden and driven horses it’s also about companionship for people and we have a lot of support.

“I want to say a massive thank you to the trustees for making it happen and for seeing a big future for the charity. I also want to thank the people who have re-homed the horses and given them a fresh start in life.

Estates Manager, James Scott, said: “The redevelopment has been an ongoing project for about four or five years, we’ve always wanted it to happen and it’s taken us until now to get the funding together.

“It’s going to have amounted to around £50,000 and that’s not just the stables, we’ve developed the indoor school, we’ve got a new rehoming pad and new fencing and there’s a lot of work gone in.

“Rehoming is the vision of the future for us and we are getting a lot of horses out now. The barn wasn’t fit for purpose any more and we’ve gained a lot more rehoming potential and it’s a lot more visitor friendly too.

“We are looking at extending further in the future, but we need to get some horses moving first before we start to think about phase two.”