Hungry Horse Outside is an entirely voluntary organisation, we run almost solely on the kindness of the public. From December 2012-2013 the organisation has helped 312 equines.
It has 120+ in it’s care.
We have has rehomed 65, This number would be much higher if we did not have to microchip and mark everything that comes through the door, finances just don’t allow us to do them as soon as we get them, it is illegal for horses not to be micro chipped and we will not rehome horses/ponies or donkeys without it.
Sadly in the year we have had to put to sleep 12 horses, ponies or donkeys all of whom had very serious health issues which they would have died a slow and painful death. We will not put a healthy horse to sleep.
We break and ride as many as possible in the year Dec 12 -Dec 13 we had 36 horses, ponies in training, many of whom have been rehomed.
On average the phone rings 100 times a week, each phone call is answered or returned. On average we get 25 emails a week looking for help, each one of these emails are answered.
From Jan 2013 to Dec 2013 the charity spent over €35,000 on the care of the horses, some of this money came from donations and the balance came out of the directors own pockets. Our biggest expense is hay and feed, we spend huge amounts, circa €15,000 a year on hay alone
Thank you so much for all your support it would not have been possible without all your help.
Today Hungryhorse Outside were alerted to 5 horses stuck in the river Shannon. What do you do? Do you let them die a cold, horrific death or do you get off your rear end, pull yourself away from the business of the yard and rush off to try and help. Luckily for these horses Hilary and Mick decided the former wasn’t an option.
It was freezing, Hilary and Mick are still cold to their very bones. The stormy weather wasn’t helping these horses and we feared they would just die on the Shannon, a death so terrible it does not bear thinking about.
After loads of toing and froing, we managed to get Leitrim Civil Defense to help us get these horses to safety. What a team of volunteers they are too. THESE HORSES WOULD NOT BE ALIVE TONIGHT IF IT WERE NOT FOR THEM. We had the vet on standby if it came to the point the horses needed to be put to sleep.
Civil Defense Spring into action
Glad to be on dry land
Safe at last
With the help of Joseph Delaney his daughter Tara and the Leitrim Civil Defense all of the horses were taken out of the Shannon just before dark. This would not have happened had we all not worked together.
I can report that all the horses are now safe and well and cannot thank you all enough for sharing our plea and trying to help us help them.
Please, please remember without these VOLUNTEERS our world would be a dark place. Leitrim Civil Defense give up their own time to help in emergencies as we do. You guys have our utmost respect and we will be forever grateful to you for risking the dangerous conditions to help these horses in need.
Thank you to all involved including Joseph and Tara who just happened to see our plea on facebook earlier today.
Today we learnt that land we had rented for eight of our rescues has been sold. In total the charity has lost 10 acres a huge blow to us and the horses.
Although we were aware that the land was coming up for sale we did not think it would sell so rapidly. The horses need to be moved off it by the first week of January, which means that the will have to be separated into the two yards we operate from. It is devastating and really is stretching our facilities, leaving it even more difficult to take in new rescues.
It is almost a year ago since Charlie whirlwinded into the lives of the volunteers of Hungry Horse Outside. It is almost a year since that fateful Sunday morning that a call came in to collect four stray and abandoned horses roaming the streets of Longford. Little did we know when the horsebox was hooked up what lay in store, a controversy that left the nation reeling, one which is heavily debated to this day.
Upon finding the location of the horses we were met with four in total, 3 mares and 1 brazen stallion. After loading them all up and bringing them home, we found the stallion had a microchip, rang the relevant authorities to trace his owner, only to be told that stallion was slaughtered 11 months before and was officially recorded as dead. News spread quickly, camera crews from all over the world flocked to meet the “Horse that damns Ireland”. Anyway today is not a day for dwelling on his background too much.
A long time ago a natural horsemanship expert from Belgium got in touch with us, wondering if it would be possible for him to rehome two Irish cobs. After many months of to ing and fro ing we decided Charlie and his friend Duchess would be the ones to send. A decision we did not take likely. Charlie and Duchess left the yard at 2pm, they are expected to start their travels this morning and arrive in Belgium on Sunday. They will be met by Dirk just outside Brussels who will bring them to his “prairie” to settle for a few days.
We have sent a “fostering agreement” with them both, the agreement states that HHO Charlie and Sai Duchess will remain the property of HHO for the duration of their lives, we are happy for their new foster carer to keep them for the remainder of their life, HOWEVER if it happens for one reason or another that he needs to rehome them (which is hopefully never), but in the event that does happen HHO will pay for their return to Ireland.
Charlie and Duchess Living it up!
The whole experience was bittersweet, we joked earlier on the day of their departure that there would be tears when they leave, a crazy thought we’ve seen so many horses come through the doors, we were so happy for the life they have ahead of them, when it came down to loading time, we felt ourselves not wanting to leave the lorry after they had been loaded, too busy chatting to them, telling them all about their new life and they were to be a good boy and girl. (Sounds crazy we know but welcome to the world of a horse lover)
So after we eventually let the driver close up the lorry we stood and watched Charlie and Duchess drive away in a state of the art 132 lorry, symbolic of their new lives.
Charlie’s story is one of twists and turns, we feel he had no luck in Ireland. Unwanted, Abandoned, Starving and not forgetting “Slaughtered”, in other ways Charlie’s story brings us hope, how lucky he was that Sunday it was Hungry Horse who went out to rescue him, he’s off to a new life with a very experienced horse man, who will install a camera in his stable so we can check in on him. Charlie has been given a chance of a bright future, a special home, where children will fuss over him, a fantastic future for a fantastic cob.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
