By Henry Green
Two Nottinghamshire animal charities have said they’re concerned about rising costs this winter – with one forking out £6,000 a month just to keep their animals.
West Bridgford-based horse rescue charity Moo Haven is one of those voicing the concerns and says ‘immense’ rises in costs mean it faces paying thousands of pounds in bills this coming winter.
The other – Jerry Green Dog Rescue, near Mansfield – says costs spike during winter because more people ask for help with their dogs.
Their comments come as both organisations brace for a busy festive period and battle with high bills following recent cost of living pressures.
Moo Haven, on Adboulton Lane in West Bridgford, was set up after founder Linda Hughes’ horse Monty, nicknamed ‘Moo’, died from a tumour.
The charity rescues and rehabilitates horses with health or behavioural problems, offering support to the animals lasting weeks to years.
Linda, who’s owned horses since she was eight, urged people to “not have” one of the animals if they’re not going to treat them well.
Her costs have gone up over the years with insurance for volunteers rising from £186 a month when they first started taking them on in 2016, to more than £400 now.
The costs limit the amount of volunteers the charity can have, but she says the volunteers “help a lot” with the upkeep of the horses.
Linda said: “If you do it cheaply, you could keep a horse for about £75 a week up to anywhere from £300 a week.
“The charity’s outgoings are around £6,000 a month to cover everything, insurance and rent being the biggest outlay.”
This year, the charity has seen around a £1,000 increase each month to run the charity over winter.
Linda puts on numerous fundraising events such as car boot sales and pony sessions to help with the maintenance costs.
The charity relies on donations for horse food and materials and sponsors for their animals and materials.
Financial supports also helps with the grooming of horses and costs of saddles and horse coats.
Linda said that the costs are “a lot more” in the winter, rising “by a good 50 per cent”.
Katie Miles bought her six-year-old horse ‘Little Legs’ from the charity.
Katie, who has volunteered at the charity for three years, said: “We’re getting more and more horses in particularly over winter.
“People think owning a horse is all rosy and it’s not, you’ve got to do it for the love of the horse otherwise horses come through our doors because people can’t afford it.”
Last year, the charity suffered from flooding during Storm Babet.
Donations from the flood recovery helped the charity rebuild, adding six more stables, fence posts and hay.
Meanwhile, another animal rescue centre voicing concerns about winter pressures is Mansfield-based Jerry Green Dog Rescue.
The organisation, on Warsop Lane, has dogs both on-site and in foster homes.
But it says it’s got “a lot going on” and is constantly being asked to keep pets at its shelter over winter months.
Amanda Shaw, the centre manager of Jerry Green, said: “There’s always costs involved especially over the winter period because of the heating bills.
“We are dependant on donations for bedding and the dogs are well cared for, nice and cosy in their kennels and probably warmer than we are at home,” she added.
The charity is funded by public donations and Amanda says the shelter is “lucky” to have a supportive community – “relying on everybody” around it.
Jerry Green also relies on volunteers to help with cleaning and giving the dogs extra exercise.
The charity also has a ‘Nottingham Santa Paws’ event in which people are invited to come along to help the charity raise funds as the dogs meet Santa.
