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Horse Sense Wirral, the much-loved animal rescue charity based at Lodge Farm in Thornton Hough near Heswall, is leaving Merseyside for a new home in the Welsh countryside. The charity needs to raise £15,000 to fund the move, which is due to begin in early July.
The decision comes a year after a devastating e-coli outbreak claimed the lives of at least three horses in just three days. A leaky water pipe near the site was believed to have contaminated the main supply, leaving several elderly horses seriously ill and costing the charity around £14,500 in a single month for emergency veterinary care, testing and fresh supplies.
Volunteer Wendy Parker-Radley said: "Around April, horses were dying which we put down to old age. We didn't think an awful lot of it until it became more animals than we would normally have on average." She praised locals who rallied round, bringing gallons of fresh water to the site for horses too old to be moved.
The charity has been a fixture in the Thornton Hough area for more than ten and a half years, taking in hundreds of elderly and abandoned horses alongside sheep, goats, pigs and rabbits. At any one time it has cared for around 100 animals. With its tenancy at Lodge Farm coming to an end, the team decided a fresh start was the best way forward, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Their new home is around 30 minutes into the Welsh countryside. In a Facebook post, the charity described the site as having "incredible views" and called on supporters to help with the mammoth task of preparing both locations. They have asked for plastic lidded storage boxes and donations towards the £15,000 target.
Wendy added: "It will be sad to leave because we've had a good support network for the past 10 and a half years - our vets, our farriers, hay suppliers and all our volunteers. But as daunting as it is, we're looking forward to a new start."
