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Archive for ex-racehorses

Winter Appeal 2023: Sponsor a Horse

Posted by Alison on

November 2, 2023

As winter approaches, the cost of feed, hay, bedding, and veterinary bills puts a significant strain on our resources. We understand that this is a challenge faced by horse owners across the country. That’s why we are incredibly grateful for any donations we receive, especially during the winter season.

If you are able to support us in any way, especially this winter, there are several ways you can make a donation. Donations can be made easily through our website, by phone, text, or mail. Simply visit our website for more information.

However, if you are looking to make a long-term commitment and contribute to the care of our resident horses, sponsoring a horse may be the perfect option for you.

Sponsor a Horse this winter

Your sponsorship goes towards the care of all our horses at the Centre. The Sanctuary Sponsorship Scheme allows you to become a part of our family of Sanctuary Supporters, with a commitment that truly makes a difference.

At the Centre, some horses cannot be rehomed due to various reasons or require regular specialised attention. These horses become permanent residents and find their forever home with us.

We currently have seven horses available for sponsorship as they will remain with us for the rest of their lives. Their names are Snowdrop, Mr. Vitality, Pete The Feat, Dudley Allen, Zellensky, Sir Cozzie, and Jardines Lookout. More information about each horse can be found on the residents page of our website.

Sponsoring a horse involves an annual payment of £250 for one year. As a sponsor, you will receive a large photo of the horse you choose, regular newsletters, and invitations to various events. You will also have the opportunity to visit the Centre in Mulsey, where you can meet your sponsored horse, receive updates from our team, and enjoy a cup of coffee and cake.

Your commitment as a sponsor is vital in securing a future for these horses. Sponsorship can be done individually or as a group, such as with friends, family, or fellow horse enthusiasts at your livery or racing yard. Or a Christmas present to a family member.

What you need to do

Simply download and complete the sponsorship form from our website, and return it to: The Racehorse Sanctuary, 2 Crouch Farm Cottages, Barlavington, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0LQ. Payment options are available on the form. If you are a UK taxpayer, don’t forget to fill in the Gift Aid section.

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for all your support and donations. No matter the amount you can afford to give, it means the world to our entire team, and especially to the horses!

Tags : equine charities, ex-racehorse charities, ex-racehorses, Racehorse sanctuary & rehoming centre, sponsor a horse, thoroughbred charities, winter appeal

Racehorse Sanctuary Raceday – Monday 20th November 2023

Posted by Alison on

October 2, 2023

Our Raceday is at Plumpton Racecourse, Lewes. It is the hidden gem in the world of horse racing. With a stunning rural backdrop, you can enjoy delicious food and drink whilst having a memorable sporting experience. And it’s for everyone, from novice to racing expert. This fixture combines seven brilliant races with key fundraising for the Racehorse Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre.

Alongside a charity lunch in the Final Fence Restaurant, there will be a silent auction that any racegoer can visit and bid on, as well as a raffle. There are still tables available so please secure your place by booking our final fence package.

Gates Open – 10:30 AM
First Race – 12:30 PM
Last Race – 3:55 PM

ENCLOSURES

There is one enclosure available at this fixture, the Grandstand & Paddock, where you are grandstand side and have access to the parade ring and all bars (unfortunately no dogs except assistance dogs are allowed).

FOOD & DRINK

Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure

There is a lovely selection of local and national drinks available from our three racecourse bars on the Grandstand side of the course and bean to cup coffee from the Southdown Stand, which also serves deli-style food. There are catering concessions serving a wide range of food options behind the grandstands for you to enjoy, while pies and light refreshments can be purchased from the Paddock Bar and Chasers Bar. No food or drink in any form will be allowed to be brought into the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure (everything must be bought on site).

For more information on the hospitality packages click here>

Events News

Tags : equine charities, ex-racehorse charities, ex-racehorses, Raceday Plumpton, Racehorse sanctuary & rehoming centre, thoroughbred charities

Summer Challenge 2023

Posted by Alison on

June 15, 2023

Introducing our summer challenge 2023!

Make the most of the lovely summer weather and raise funds at the same time!

Our summer challenge encourages you to put your best foot forward, get outside and get active in a way that feels fun for you.

The aim is to cover 10 miles within a 3 month window, starting from 16th June 2023. You can clock up the miles in any way that feels great for you, whether that be on horseback, or by running, swimming, walking, cycling or even in a wheelchair. Just don’t forget to have fun doing it! Or if you’re feeling creative, set your own 10mile challenge.

The distance can either be covered in one stint or as a mini challenge, really making this accessible to more people. It’s your challenge, so do it your way.

Challenges are a fantastic way to push yourself, celebrate a milestone, commit to a fitness goal or to just raise money for a charity you love. So whether you’re celebrating a special birthday, just fancy the adventure, want to prove to others that you can do it, or you just want to fundraise for us, this is the best challenge for you to start with.

Every little really does help and the money you raise goes a really long way to helping us with our mission. We want to continue to both re-home suitable ex-racehorses with loving new owners and also continue to provide a secure lifetime home for our long term residents and those who, through no fault of their own, cannot be re-homed.

We also think your hard work, commitment and determination needs celebrating, so all registered entrants who raise over £50 for us will receive a winners rosette and be invited to attend our open day to be presented with their prize and shown our true appreciation. Plus you can then meet the horses you’ve directly helped through your fundraising efforts.

We always want to put the FUN into fundraising and hope our summer challenge has got you thinking about how you can get involved. As ever, if you have any questions, please do get in touch. We’d love to celebrate you on our social media, so if you have any social accounts or business pages you’d love us to celebrate, please do share those with us too and we can support and share your journey.

The Challenge must be completed between Friday 16th June and Saturday 16th September (our open day at our Pulborough yard). To Register please email ‘Summer Challenge’ and your contact details to info@theracehorsesanctuary.org

Please donate now whatever you can.

DONATE ONLINE

To donate any amount, please visit our Summer Challenge 2023 Just Giving Page.

DONATE BY TEXT

You can TEXT donations to The Racehorse Sanctuary’s Summer Challenge 2023.

To donate £1, text HORS001 to 70201
To donate £3, text HORS001 to 70331
To donate £5, text HORS001 to 70970
To donate £10, text HORS001 to 70191

Please follow the message instructions to register for Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer.

DONATE BY POST

You can send a cheque payable to The Racehorse Sanctuary to us at:

The Racehorse Sanctuary
Admin Office: 2 Crouch Farm Cottages,
Barlavington
Petworth
West Sussex GU28 0LQ

DONATE BY BANK TRANSFER

Please state Summer Challenge 2023 in the payment reference and transfer to:

Account name:             The Racehorse Sanctuary
Account number:             03592497
Sort code:                         30-94-41

Fundraising, payments, and donations will be processed and administered by the National Funding Scheme (Charity No: 1149800), operating as DONATE. Texts will be charged at your standard network rate. For Terms & Conditions, see easydonate.org.

Appeals Events News

Tags : equine charities, ex-racehorse charities, ex-racehorses, Just Giving, Racehorse sanctuary & rehoming centre, Summer challenge 2023, thoroughbred charities

Spring News

Posted by Alison on

April 27, 2023

With spring well and truly here, despite the rather damp and cold weather, we are looking forward to getting our horses out for longer on the new spring grass. There has been plenty going on at the Centre, so here is a round up ….

NEW TRUSTEES

We would like to welcome Emily, Louise and Phil as new Trustees to The Racehorse Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre. They all have a passion for horses and are very much looking forward to joining us. We now have a strong board of Trustees, all of whom are dedicated to continuing the security of all the horses in our care.

THE NATIONAL EQUINE WELFARE COUNCIL

Another piece of fantastic news, The National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) has granted us membership. As an organisation, it is a nationally recognised and respected member body working tirelessly to ensure high standards of equine welfare, and we are very proud to have been accepted by them.

It is the NEWC’s mission to protect the welfare of the horse, pony, donkey and mule by ensuring that everyone who has an interest or association with these equines makes its health and welfare the overriding factor in all decision-making.

NEW SPONSOR

The Centre would like to welcome and thank a new sponsor who has joined us in the last month, local company Vetlab Supplies based in Pulborough, West Sussex. Vetlabs owners, Michael Fleming & his wife Rita, have had their own racehorses in the past and having visited the Racehorse Sanctuary recently, they were so impressed, Mike even called it an Equine Paradise, they are keen to support in any way they can to help continue our work with ex-racehorses.

And big thank you to Mike and Victoria who very kindly did our worm count tests for all our horses at the Centre. They were all in the range, well done Nigel for excellent stable management.

FIGHTING TEMARAIRE

Our latest ex-racehorse arrived last week from Dean Ivory, a trainer in Hertfordshire. Fighting Temaraire, stable name Tem (a huge relief as we are all struggling to pronounce his name!), is a 10 year old bay gelding. His racing career includes 55 races, with 8 wins, 6 2nds and 4 3rds, before retiring recently. Tem will now have a much-deserved holiday before he begins his retraining with Nigel and his team in becoming a riding horse and hopefully finding his forever home.

SAVE THE DATE!

Our annual open day at the Race Horse Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre is the 16th of September 2023. This is a day when anyone can come and see the resident horses and chat to the team on the work that we do. There are lots of stalls with plenty of ‘horsey stuff’ on sale and food and drink including burgers and hotdogs. So please put the date in your diary. If you are interested in having a stall on the day please email Catherine Mcilwriath for more information on pitch availability and prices.

Events News

Tags : equine charities, ex-racehorse charities, ex-racehorses, Racehorse sanctuary & rehoming centre, thoroughbred charities

National Spirit Hurdle Charity Raceday at Fontwell – Pete The Feat was a star!

Posted by Alison on

March 24, 2023

Our lovely Pete the Feat enjoyed a very exciting day at Fontwell on the 26^th of February 2023, the day of our charity lunch and the very prestigious Spirit Hurdle Race.

He paraded in the pre-parade ring for an hour and was very well-behaved for Clare, his handler.

Pete was surrounded by many racegoers who had supported him during his successful career in which he had 47 runs with 11 wins and 12 placings. Some of his followers were happy to share their memories of Pete, one mentioned he was able to purchase a car with his winnings from one of Pete’s successful races, and another was able to recall every single race and where he was placed.

Nigel was very emotional seeing Pete parading and looking every inch ‘the star’ of the ring. And this was a very special day, especially for Peter and Graham who were Pete’s previous owners prior to him coming to us at The Racehorse Sanctuary for his much deserved retirement.

All the horses at the Centre have wintered well and very much looking forward to the sunshine, spring grass and the removal of their rugs.

If you would like to donate, sponsor a horse or get involved with The Racehorse Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre then please do get in touch, either call 07810 453277 or email info@theracehorsesanctuary.org

Events News

Tags : equine charities, ex-racehorse charities, ex-racehorses, Fontwell, Racehorse sanctuary & rehoming centre, Spirit hurdle race, thoroughbred charities

Our Winter Feed Appeal 2023

Posted by Alison on

January 27, 2023

Please help us to feed our Sanctuary residents this winter

– your donation will make all the difference.

To donate £5, text HORS001 to 70970
To donate £10, text HORS001 to 70191

Please support our Winter Feed Appeal to keep all our ex-racehorses in good health during these cold winter months.

Winter has really hit the Racehorse Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre hard with the extended freezing conditions on top of the usual cold, very wet and windy weather. This has led to the horses needing extra feed, supplements, and in some cases, medication which is essential in keeping them healthy and happy during these long winter months.

The increase in costs comes in the form of extra good quality hay, plenty of fibre rich feed and bedding such as straw and shavings, all of which have dramatically increased in price since the summer due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the cost of energy crisis.

In parallel to this, the horse’s wellbeing relies on them being able to have a degree of turnout every day so that they can move freely and have the all important grazing time which helps keep their gut and mental health at its best. This daily turnout helps avoid stress and joint stiffness as well as gut issues such as colic and excess acid, which some ex-racehorses suffer from, a legacy from their time in racing. So to keep the paddocks in a fair and safe condition regular maintenance of the fields such as repairing fencing is essential. And with the cost of post and rail also increasing dramatically we really need your help.

Please donate now whatever you can

Every donation, whether £5, £10 or any amount of your choice will quickly add up and mean so much to us and the horses. We don’t have a crystal ball to see if the weather will continue to be as bad as it has been so far this winter so, if you can, please help us with a donation today. Thank you.