The History of HorseWorld
For centuries, horses played a vital role in everyday life across Britain. Just over a hundred years ago they were essential on our streets, farms, railways and canals. Strong, reliable and central to transport and industry, no one could imagine life without working horses. It is difficult today to picture a city such as Bristol before the constant roar of motor vehicles. Before cars dominated the roads, the streets echoed with the rhythmic clatter of horses’ hooves and the tolling of church bells.
The Decline of the Working Horse
After the First World War, the use of horses began to decline as mechanised transport became increasingly common. The Second World War briefly extended their working lives, as several million horses were used in battle and to supply troops on the Western Front. By the 1950s, the end of the working horse era was in sight. In Bristol, horses were still used by the Western Region of the newly nationalised British Rail and by the Bristol Corporation. Local coal merchants, milkmen and greengrocers also relied on their horses for delivery rounds, and many customers knew these horses by name. The railways were among the largest users of working horses. At its peak in 1913, the Great Western Railway owned around 30,000 horses across Britain. By 1945, this number had fallen to around 9,000. Several years later, the railway announced plans to convert entirely to motorised transport, which meant closing all the stables. Many of the hardworking horses faced an uncertain future.
The Founding of HorseWorld
HorseWorld’s founder, Mabel Cocksedge, worked for the railway at Bristol Temple Meads. She spoke daily with the carters who cared for the horses and shared their deep concern about what would happen once the stables closed. Many horses were at risk of being sold for meat. Determined to give these loyal animals a safe and dignified future, Mabel joined with Alderman Knight and Reverend Ian Murdoch to create the Friends of Bristol Horses Society — the organisation that would eventually become HorseWorld. Their mission was simple: to rescue working horses from slaughter and give them a long, happy retirement.
A Growing Charity
A year later, two remarkable women, Marjorie Pelling and Madge Checkley, joined the charity after seeing a photo of a rescued horse in a local newspaper. They became central to the charity’s work and dedicated the next 45 years of their lives to running and expanding the organisation. In 1960, Reverend Murdoch sold his half of Staunton Manor Farm to the society for £2,500 — far below its market value. At the time, the other half of the farm was owned by a garden tools company. This purchase marked a huge turning point, giving the charity a proper home after years of housing rescued horses on small plots of land owned by supporters. Within just three months, the once-derelict property was restored and ready to welcome horses. Marjorie and Madge moved into the farmhouse, and the farm was officially opened later that year by Lady Cadbury.
Moving to Keynes Farm
By the late 1960s, the original 11 acres at Staunton Manor Farm were no longer big enough to care for the increasing number of rescued horses. As the charity’s work grew, more space was urgently needed for grazing, stabling, and rehabilitation. When the neighbouring Keynes Farm became available, the society seized the opportunity. The larger property provided the room and facilities essential for expanding the rescue operation and offering horses a safer, more comfortable environment. This move marked a major step forward in the charity’s development, and Keynes Farm remains HorseWorld’s main base to this day, supporting the rescue, care and rehabilitation of hundreds of horses, ponies and donkeys.
HorseWorld's Visitor Centre
In 2000, Staunton Manor Farm began a new chapter when it opened as the HorseWorld Visitor Centre. For the next 14 years, the site welcomed thousands of families, school groups and supporters, offering people the chance to meet rescued horses up close and learn more about the charity’s work. The centre became a much-loved attraction, helping to raise awareness and inspire a new generation of horse lovers. However, as time went on, the cost of maintaining the historic Grade II listed buildings grew significantly. Essential repairs, structural upkeep and the specialist work required for protected buildings placed increasing financial pressure on the charity. Eventually, these rising expenses meant the Visitor Centre could no longer be sustainably operated, and it closed in 2014. Although HorseWorld is no longer open to the public on a daily basis, the charity continues to welcome supporters through regular Open Days at Keynes Farm. These special events offer a behind-the-scenes look at HorseWorld’s rescue and rehabilitation work and are listed on the events page of the HorseWorld website.
So what does HorseWorld do now?
Although there are fewer working horses today, the need for our services has never been greater. Record numbers of horses are being abandoned on waste ground, cruelly treated or neglected. We work with organisations such as the RSPCA, and the police to rescue these poor animals who would otherwise face a bleak future.
Whereas in the early years of the charity, the horses were mainly older animals, ready for retirement. Nowadays, they can be any age and some are even born at HorseWorld if we rescue pregnant mares. This meant that our sanctuary space was running out, so in the year 2000 we started rehoming horses on a loan scheme.
Thanks to this approach, we are able to care for many more horses than ever before. Rescued horses go through a tailored rehabilitation and training process to prepare them for their lives ahead to give each horse the time it needs to regain health and confidence before it goes on to start a new life.
This may be in a loan home or they may become one of the HorseWorld Discovery team members. Our Discovery courses boost the confidence, emotional well-being and life-chances of disadvantaged and vulnerable young people through an innovative learning programme that brings them together with our gentle rescued horses.
Our Rescue and Rehabilitation programme
For almost 70 years, HorseWorld have been providing a rescue operation to save horses from neglect and abuse in the local area. We are fortunate to have a wonderful site of almost 180 acres, just south of Bristol in the North Somerset area. We take pride in sustainably managing our land to maximise the productivity of our fields and maintaining appropriate levels of biodiversity, whilst providing a peaceful and safe environment for our rescued herd. Protection of nature is one of our charitable objects.
At HorseWorld we strongly believe in the benefits of working together with others to achieve a greater impact. This is particularly important in our rescue work where, in addition to working with the police and local authorities, we provide support to other charities such as the RSPCA and Redwings to enable rescues in our region where horses were suffering from neglect or abuse.
Once rescued horses arrive at our farm, they receive dedicated care in our isolation unit, undergoing a variety of admission tests to ensure they are free from any infectious diseases, before they are integrated into our herd. Our rescue policy sets up 6 criteria which could lead to our intervention:
- welfare seizures, supported by police/RSPCA, may include “case” horses (prosecution).
- abandonment, in compliance with notices displayed.
- owner death, terminal illness, or mental health concerns to prevent potential welfare issues.
- economic, to prevent future welfare issues.
- enablers, support to other charities by taking “non-case” rescues.
- other, such as loans for Discovery but limited to no more than 5% of our herd on site.
In 2022 we agreed to include reference to horse owners with mental health issues in our rescue criteria above, as we have seen an increase in requests from this category. We will always aim to support an owner to keep their horse if we can be confident the equine’s welfare is not negatively impacted.
In addition to working closely with local authorities, other charities, and the police to ensure any rescue is in accordance with the law and the welfare risks to horses involved are minimised, we also support the fire & rescue services with the provision of a specialist environment for their teams to train in the handling of equines. In an emergency rescue where an equine is involved, it is essential all parties have the sufficient skills to be able to approach an injured and probably terrified horse.
Throughout the year we receive numerous calls for help, advice and guidance. Many are reporting welfare concerns or horse-owners seeking a long-term home for their own equines when they can no longer provide the appropriate care. Our aim is to try to ensure horses remain with their owners, however this is not always possible.
Once a horse arrives at HorseWorld and is clear from our isolation procedures, it will then be appraised, and a tailored rehabilitation programme will be established. Working together with our grooms, our Head of Welfare and her team will undertake a risk assessment of each horse, and it will be assigned to a member of staff depending on its needs. We utilise the services of equine professionals such as the farrier, dentist and chiropractor to support the ongoing care and rehabilitation of our horses.
It is our aim to ensure that each horse can lead a happy life with good welfare. For some horses, this could mean they are retrained for our Discovery programme, for others, they may be better suited to a new home where they can enjoy the care of a loving family alongside other equine friends.
We are an active member of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) whose overall aim is to improve equine welfare, support those invested in improving equine welfare standards, and communicate best practice to NEWC members and the wider equine community.
Our Rehoming programme
For many years, HorseWorld have been working with local horse lovers to provide loan homes for our many rescued equines. There are about 200 horses and ponies in loan homes, usually within a 90-minute drive of our centre, to enable us to remain in physical contact with our loaners. Each year we receive around 200 applications, either via our website, through an email or a telephone call. If we have a suitable horse available for their needs, we will invite the applicant to meet the horse and we will also undertake a home visit.
We take great care to ensure our horses and ponies are placed in the care of people committed to giving them a home for life, however sadly there are always some who are returned. We will always accept a loan horse back into the HorseWorld herd and although in the past, we have agreed to sign over a loan horse after 5 years, our policy was changed in 2022. In future all horses and ponies will remain in our ownership for the rest of their lives – once a HorseWorld horse, always a HorseWorld horse.
Our Discovery programme
The HorseWorld Discovery programme was established in 2007 to meet the local need of young people struggling in mainstream education. Discovery boosts the confidence, emotional well-being and life-chances of disadvantaged and vulnerable young people and adults through an innovative learning programme that brings them together with gentle rescued horses. This learning programme has seen positive results when nothing else has worked for the individual or group.
We are a registered part time alternative learning provider and work closely with Bristol City Council and particularly their Families in Focus group which meets every 6-weeks. We are also working with other local authorities and agencies such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Social Services and other charitable organisations that work with vulnerable young people.
Every year Discovery works with over 250 children, young people and adults who are at risk of exclusion or who are experiencing life challenges due to their social, emotional, mental health and learning needs. Attendance on our programme can help young people to:
- Better manage their lives.
- Develop positive relationships.
- Learn problem-solving techniques.
- Develop communication and social skills.
Through a variety of carefully designed activities with the horses and nature, we support young people to realise what they can achieve in the right environment. The horses, which have been specially chosen for their calm nature, also bring about calmness in the young people, helping them to concentrate, communicate effectively and engage in their learning, all of which has a positive impact back in the classroom and at home.
Discovery provides a safe, supervised, hands-on, learner-centred curriculum of activities. Our trained facilitators ensure that all learning is carefully structured and begins with ‘doing’. In our 6-week programme, each successive week builds on the skills learned in the previous week, at a pace suited to the individual learner. This allows for reflection on, and development of, skills over the duration of the course.
We are a Federation member of The Federation of Horses in Education and Therapy (HETI). In 2022, we secured membership of the Human Equine Interaction Register (HEIR) which was established by HETI in UK. The Register aims to bring together all people involved in the field of human equine interactions to ensure high quality service provision and create a greater awareness of their work.