Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre

Our mission is to rescue and rehabilitate abused, neglected and abandoned horses, ponies and donkeys, while campaigning for the better treatment of animals across Spain. We are a no-kill foundation and provide each rescued animal with a safe and loving sanctuary – either here at our centre or via rehoming – for the rest of their lives.

The Rescue of Lucerio

 

The Rescue of Luceiro - Costa Blanca News Column

The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre (EHCRC) was formed in 2008 by myself (Sue) and my husband Rod Weeding; we now have 51 horses, ponies and donkeys plus Dexter the Mule, 7 dogs, 5 cats, 3 parrots, chickens, geese, peacocks a turkey called Ernie and Isidora the pig; who have all become animal celebrities at the centre. Plus an assortment of volunteers from all nationalities from all over Europe; living and working with us at our home which is also the rescue centre.
Rod was brought up on a farm in England, where he spent his childhood around horses. There was no "pony club" for Rod and HIS horses, as they were Suffolk's and Shires. What Rod grew up appreciating though, is that the horse is something to be respected and treated with dignity and that the relationship between you and your horse is something very special.
I had horses all my adult life and when I met Rod, the horses came too! Through our love of horses, and having the adequate premises, we decided to set up a livery yard where we lived in Hadley, Suffolk. We went on to have 15 horses on full livery, doing all of the work themselves. I felt privileged to be part of a horse's life.
When we decided to come to Spain for a better life around 7 years ago, we brought our two rescue dogs Henry and Pepe, two very handsome Bearded Collies with us. We bought a Spanish Finca with land, opened a little equestrian shop and settled in to our new life, leaving the 24 hour horse care, mud and horse muck behind us, or so we thought!
Within three months, we acquired Linda and Luna, two horses who had been left in a finca, where the previous owner had died, and the new owners had got more than they bargained for. At this point there was no Easy Horse Care Rescue as such only two people and their love of horses.
We rehabilitated both the horses and found Luna and Linda a new home to go to. However, Linda didn't settle, so we couldn't bear to see Linda unhappy and so we brought her home again, which then meant that we needed a companion for her.
And so came Cordabesa. Sadly not long after that Linda, who was very old, passed away. So here it comes, they we acquired Musico as a companion for Cordabesa. So as you can see, setting up the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre, was always on the cards.

Many people ask me "Why is it called the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre and what made you do it?"
It certainly hasn't been easy running a rescue centre! The two questions are linked; before the rescue centre I had a shop selling horse products called Easy Horse Care. Over a period of time I was becoming more aware and alarmed of the stories my customers were telling me of horrendous abuse, neglect, beatings and cases were horses were just left to die of starvation; which they had witnessed in various places. All of these horrors were rattling around in my head.
One day Rod went to deliver some heavy materials to a client at a livery yard and I decided to keep him company. This is where we found Luceiro hidden away in a filthy dark stable with no windows, just a metal door with bars looking out onto a wall.

We looked at this young horses rearing up and down at his door, desperately trying to get away from all the flies that were driving him crazy due to an eye injury that hadn't been treated; the eye had turned rotten. We were informed to he was due to be sold for horse meat as his owner had abandoned him and he was to wild to do anything with, food was just thrown through the bars as nobody even wanted to go in with him. He was just three and a half years old and had been through so much. Can you imagine being shut in a semi dark place for most of your life with only one eye and no care? We both knew as we stood there looking at him that we would take him and our lives would never be the same again; this was the moment when we both decided to start the rescue centre.
You cannot go out and buy a DIY book on how to start a horse rescue centre in Spain so we just had to make it up as we went along, evolving into where we are today.
Each week we would like to share with you are stories about our centre and of some of our rescued animals, the challenges we face and the interesting facts and information we have picked up along the way. Not just about horses, but all the other animals that have ended up for one reason or another residing with us here at centre. We are amazed at how much we have learnt over the years through trial and error about our amazing animal family and hope you find our articles both informative and amusing over the next couple of weeks. We would love to hear from you if you have any questions about equine care or indeed any general question. We have a fabulous team that can hopefully answer any of your questions or at least guide you in the right direction.
We are delight that EHCRC are now officially "Fundación Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre"
This means that by being a Spanish national foundation we will no longer be limited to the Comunidad Valenciana and will be able to campaign even more for the improvement of animal welfare in Spain, collaborate and work together with the Spanish local and national governments!
With over 80 volunteers that help run our five charity shops, assist with the fundraising, educational school visits and public open days there is never a dull day at the centre. We hope you enjoy sharing our adventures.
Please contact Sue at the centre if you have questions and we will hopefully answer them in next week's column.
All of us at Easy Horse Rescue Care Centre wish you a very Merry Christmas and want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped us during the year with their time, contributions and fantastic support.
Maybe we can't change the world by saving one horse
but WE HAVE change the world for all the beautiful horses that you have helped us to save
Thank You, we could not do it without out
For more details of the Rescue Centre call Sue on 652021980
or email rescue@easyhorsecare.net

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