AN ANIMAL shelter is desperately appealing for money to help it care for abandoned horses it has rescued from probable death.

Happy Endings Animal Rescue Sanctuary is helping more horses than ever before, as the number abandoned in Gravesham and Dartford rises because owners can no longer afford to care for them.

In the past two years the number of horses at the shelter near Sevenoaks has risen from 15 to 41, which includes seven rescued in one weekend last month.

With so many horses to care for, the sanctuary needs £10,000 to build field shelters to protect the animals from the elements in cold and wet weather.

Chris Johns, who co-founded the sanctuary three years ago, said: “Our finances are stretched to the limit, so we are asking anyone who cares about animals to dig deep and help us pay for new shelters."

Mr Johns, aged 23, says many of the horses he and co-founder 31-year-old Terry Kemp have taken on would have died if they had not rescued them.

He said: “They all have different stories, but most are very sad. Some of the horses have worked hard all their lives and we have rescued them at the 11th hour from being sold for horse meat."

Mr Johns described finding one emaciated horse who had been abandoned on a mud field in Gravesham with no food or water despite being six months pregnant.

He says the horse, who he christened Easy, was nursed back to health at the sanctuary and has now given birth to the foal, who was named Fenwick.

Horses have also been found tied to lampposts and left by the side of the road, and Mr Johns says he fears the number being abandoned will continue to rise.

Mr Johns, who worked at other animal shelters before founding Happy Endings, says he believes the recession is the reason many people decide to give up their horses.

He said: "Horses are very expensive to keep and when people are feeling the pinch or losing their jobs sadly it is often animals which bear the brunt."

Happy Endings has a total of around 63 acres of land, 43 of which Mr Johns and veterinary nurse Mr Kemp had to buy recently so they had enough space for all the horses.

The sanctuary microchips or freeze brands all of its horses, and makes sure as many as possible are vaccinated and have the correct documents.

As well as caring for horses, the shelter is also home to more than 100 other animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits and goats.

In July the sanctuary rescued 50 cats from one house in Dartford after neighbours complained that the animals were running wild in the neighbourhood.

For more information, or to adopt an animal or make a donation, go to happyendingsrescue.org or call Mr Johns on 07809 721309.