A truck driver will spend his Christmas Day caring for 300 rescue horses and ponies as a “way of saying thank you” to the horse who taught him “the greatest lessons in life”.
Will Gee has been volunteering with Bransby Horses since 2017.
“There was a horse called Denzel in my village who had lived in a field near my house for about 10 years. There were a few problems with him and eventually I called the Bransby welfare hotline,” said Will.
“Another villager was feeding him and this caused Denzel to gain so much weight that he developed laminitis.”
A member of the Bransby team visited Denzel and he was taken into the care of the charity, where Will continued to visit him.
“I could see how much happier he was there and after a while I asked if I could help out. After a few weeks of training I was able to start volunteering on one of the yards,” said Will.
“I muck out the stables and help with the daily checks once a week. I’ll be there on Christmas Day and we will all have Christmas dinner together at Bransby’s cafe. It’s great really, I live on my own and my family don’t live nearby, so I really love being at Bransby at this time of the year.
“If it hadn’t been for Denzel I would never have found the charity or become involved in volunteering for them. Without saying a word, Denzel taught me everything about what is important in life.”
A Bransby spokesman said Denzel lived at Bransby for many years, but he has since died. The spokesman added that the impact Denzel had on Will “will last a lifetime”.
“The plight of horses is overlooked far too easily. I feel like people don’t always see their struggles in the same way they do for cats and dogs,” said Will.
“I hope more people visit or support Bransby Horses and see for themselves what amazing animals they are.”
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