Horses and ponies in need of new homes as Norfolk centre full

A horse charity has warned it may have to begin turning away animals as it nears capacity.

The World Horse Welfare site at Hall Farm, Snetterton, is already full and while other sites across the country do have some space, the charity is struggling to meet demand.

One of the reasons is believed to be owners struggling in the current economic climate and rising prices of food. The charity is now urgently seeking potential borrowers who believe they could offer a home to a rescue horse or pony.

Deputy chief executive and head of UK Welfare, Tony Tyler, said the organisation was 'desperately' looking for people to adopt an animal, one of which was 14-year-old Toby, a 14.3hh bay gelding who arrived at Hall Farm in 2007. The horse was overweight and his feet were neglected.

Mr Tyler added: 'Due to the increase in the number of welfare cases we are dealing with, and many at short notice, we are hoping members of the public will consider helping.

'Horses are very sociable animals and enjoy interaction with other equines. This is why having a companion horse or pony is a great way to keep your other horse company.

'We need to re-home some of our current residents as soon as possible as we are getting dangerously near to full capacity. This could mean we will have to become more selective about the cases we take into our farms. This would be a shame as there are so many horses who need our help but we are coming to a position where we would have to turn them away.'

All of the horses and ponies available for re-homing can be viewed on the World Horse Welfare website at www.worldhorsewelfare.org.