Money pressures affecting owners and charities alike

Equine welfare organisations look back at a challenging year in the sector, as rising costs are still biting deep

- By BECKY MURRAY

FINANCIAL challenges continue for horse owners, as equine welfare charities come under pressure too.

As 2025 comes to a close, charities have reflected on the year, citing rising costs as an ongoing concern.

World Horse Welfare chief field officer Claire Gordon told H&H it had been a “challenging year”, exacerbated by the summer drought and its impact on forage yields.

“Charities are not immune from these challenges and the worrying impact we’re starting to feel is the resilience of the welfare sector shrinking – at a time when demand for our services is increasing,” she said.

“We’ve seen charities having to shut some centres, make redundancies, close to new intakes or decrease stocking to reduce running costs. Sadly, we’ve lost some charities who have closed, finding the ever-increasing costs unsustainable.”

FINANCIAL STRAIN