Devon horse charity launches urgent winter appeal to support rescued ponies

A Devon-based equine charity has launched an urgent winter fundraising campaign to help speed up the rehabilitation of vulnerable horses and ponies in its care.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary, headquartered in Newton Abbot, is appealing for donations towards a £20,000 project to install 700m² of mud control mats at its Beech Trees Veterinary and Welfare Assessment Centre. The mats will create dry, stable ground across training arenas and field entrances, allowing staff to continue working safely through the wet winter months.

The appeal follows national attention surrounding the Sanctuary’s recent high-profile partnership rescue, which brought a 13-strong herd of Icelandic horses into lifelong care.

Amy Dearlove, Sanctuary Manager at Beech Trees, said:

“Installing mud control mats in the fields is a vital step to support our winter training programme, improve equine welfare, and ensure health and safety for staff working in challenging conditions.
These mats will allow us to safely and consistently work with feral ponies over winter which is crucial for progressing their training and enabling them to move out of quarantine. During winter, muddy and uneven ground makes this work difficult.”

The Beech Trees site has been operating at full capacity this year, with 17 new rescues, one foal born on site, and 20 ponies returned from rehoming placements - a total of 38 equines cared for in just ten months. As rescues continue through winter, maintaining safe, usable outdoor spaces has become critical to sustaining the charity’s operations.

The Sanctuary said that training previously unhandled or semi-feral ponies is vital to preparing them for rehoming or long-term placement. Stable, drier surfaces allow handlers to work more consistently, speeding up rehabilitation and freeing space for new rescues.

The charity highlighted the case of a four-month-old Icelandic colt currently in care at Beech Trees. He arrived unhandled and nervous alongside his dam, Mavis, but after patient daily training, he now enjoys grooming and has begun headcollar work, progress that the team says would be much harder in muddy winter conditions.

Emma Platt, Digital Fundraising and Activities Manager, said:

“We’re hugely grateful to all our supporters because without their help we simply couldn’t rescue and improve the lives of hundreds of equines. Mud control mats have already made an incredible difference to the ponies and team members at our Yelverton Moorland Rescue Facility, so we know the huge benefits they bring.
We hope this Crowdfunder builds on the recent public interest in the Icelandic welfare operation and helps create safer, more productive surfaces at Beech Trees to speed recovery and move vulnerable horses on to their next stage of care.”

The charity is seeking at least £10,000 through crowdfunding to begin work immediately. Any additional funds raised above the £20,000 target will support the charity’s ongoing operations across its four sanctuary sites in Devon.

For more information or to donate, visit www.mareandfoalsanctuary.co.uk