The “heart-wrenching” story of a neglected pony – who saved the lives of 36 others by raising the alarm – has been turned into a television advert to highlight the plight of horses in need.
The World Horse Welfare advert tells the story of Barney, who was found by the charity’s field officers trapped in a horsebox, “covered in sores and his own faeces”. The television advert is a first for the charity and will run as a trial for two weeks this month on channels including More4, ITV2, ITVBE, and Sky channels including Alibi, SkyNews and Sky History.
“Even in his state, emaciated and living in appalling conditions, Barney didn’t give up,” said a World Horse Welfare spokesman.
“My colleagues remember his bravery. He was desperately calling out trying to attract the attention of anyone who could help him. The truth is Barney’s story isn’t unique. The horses that we rescue are often hungry and in need of life-saving medical attention.”
The spokesman said the charity “didn’t get the chance” to find Barney a new home.
“Despite his perseverance and bravery he was just too ill. His condition deteriorated and even after days of nursing and care, sadly he didn’t make it,” he said.
“Barney’s actions in raising the alarm helped save the lives of 36 horses taken from the same farm. There are thousands of horses just like Barney who we can save if we act quickly.”
The advert has been launched to reach an “audience of animal lovers who may never before have realised the scale of the problem or how desperately” horses need help” from equine charities.
“When we go out to investigate after someone has reported a welfare concern to us, we never know quite what we’re going to find when we get there,” said the spokesman.
“Sadly, we discover horses in harrowing situations all too often like poor Barney. As this was such a big case, we worked alongside a number of other welfare organisations to get all the horses removed to safety, with the chance of a much brighter future ahead of them. None of this work would be possible without the generosity of the public.”
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