A rescue horse found underweight and suffering from neglect is now eventing successfully with his new rehomer.
Emma Hopkinson from Grantham took on then six-year-old Elvis a year ago as a project horse.
The 15.2hh gelding had come into World Horse Welfare’s care in the summer of 2012 and underwent rehabilitation at the charity’s Hall Farm centre before being rehomed as a youngster.
After a change in the owner’s circumstances he was returned to another of the charity’s centres at Glenda Spooner Farm in Somerset where he came to the attention of the Hopkinsons.
“I’ve always had project horses and was looking for a new one but it was actually my other half who spotted Elvis on World Horse Welfare’s website and was instantly drawn to his kind eyes,” explains Emma.
“We made the trip down to Somerset to meet him and fell in love straight away.”
Elvis’s training was started slowly but his potential as an event horse was soon evident.
“We started slowly but it quickly became clear that Elvis had great potential and so we started doing some dressage competitions,” said Emma.
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Pippa Funnell: ‘I would advise anyone thinking of buying a horse to phone World Horse Welfare first’
Eventer and World Horse Welfare patron Pippa Funnell paid a visit to the charity’s Glenda Spooner Farm in Somerset to
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Rehomed rescue horses shine on the eventing circuit
The pair have put their tricky start in life behind them and are blossoming in their eventing careers
These are not Elvis’ forte, but “he still enjoyed himself.”
“We then moved on to some showjumping and going out on the cross-country course and this year we’ve been competing in BE80 affiliated eventing competitions and he absolutely loves it,” she said.
“Don’t just look at the horses as they are now,” urges Mrs Hopkinson. “Imagine what they could become in the future.”
World Horse Welfare’s head of UK support Sam Chubbock said 2018 has been “a challenging year for equine welfare”, with the extreme weather conditions severely affecting many vulnerable horses, ponies and donkeys.
“We are still seeing many large groups of horses needing help, whether as a result of overbreeding or owners simply becoming out of their depth with the sheer number of animals in their care,” he added.
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