About us

HorseWorld was set up in 1952 as "The Friends of Bristol Horses Society" in a campaign to save the lives of working horses who were rapidly being replaced by motorised vehicles in industry. Under the banner of “Retirement Not Slaughter” - for many were destined for the abattoir - we offered a safe haven in Bristol for the big-hearted horses, ponies and donkeys that had worked all of their lives on the railways, in the dockyards, the coal mines, the armed forces and on the roads.

Tom who used to pull a dray at Wadworth Brewery, is the last working horse to be retired at HorseWorld

Although almost 60 years later working horses are largely a memory of the past, there is still a very real demand for our work and we can rescue, rehabilitate and re-home up to 100 abandoned, neglected and mistreated horses every year.

HorseWorld is now responsible for over 100 horses, ponies and donkeys at our Bristol site and over 300 who have been re-homed throughout the South-West.