NEWC Guides: Cutting Costs not Care, and Responsible Rehoming

Member charities of NEWC have collaborated to produce two practical guides; one to help equine owners find ways to cut costs without compromising on care and another on making the difficult decision to rehome a horse, pony or donkey.

Equine charities are continuing to receive large numbers of calls from owners seeking alternative homes for their animals. There are over one million horses, ponies and donkeys in the UK and the charitable sector has limited space available and must prioritise welfare and rescue cases.

“Of course, we want to be able to help every horse,” said Nic De Brauwere, Chairman of NEWC. “But with limited funds and resources available we have to prioritise on those in greatest need. By showing how outgoings can be reduced without compromising the horse’s quality of life we aim to help owners in making the decision to keep their horse and help prevent inadvertent neglect or abandonment. Otherwise, we can help them safely navigate the rehoming route.”

NEWC has produced two detailed guides, both of which can be downloaded below. In situations where owners are considering rehoming their equines because they can no longer afford to keep them the ‘Cut cost not care’ guide suggests where sufficient savings may be made to help them keep their animal without making any compromise on health or welfare.

If care costs are still too great and rehoming remains the only option NEWC’s ‘Rehome responsibly’ guide helps equine owners consider the options whether selling, loaning or retiring. Euthanasia is also discussed in cases where quality of life is diminishing and rehoming solutions are not appropriate.

“We hope the guides will provide support for horse owners who are facing tough decisions this winter, to help to keep more horses and ponies well cared for and secure.” Said Nic.

The guides can be downloaded here:

Cut cost not care

Responsible rehoming

NEWC members World Horse Welfare and Mare and Foal Sanctuary recently hosted webinars to discuss ways in which equine owners can look to reduce costs whilst still maintaining high standards of care. You can watch the webinar recordings below.

World Horse Welfare Webinar
Cut costs, not care

Mare and Foal Sanctuary
How to beat rising costs without impacting welfare
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