The brouhaha of Horsegate misses the real story (Crisis mounts: now PM caught up in Horsegate, 2 March). Rebekah Brooks was performing a charitable service by taking a retired police horse on loan. She saved the taxpayer money by paying for its food and vet bills while the horse remained the property of the Met, and provided a loving home for an animal that had given such valuable service to society. The real scandal is that so few people consider rehoming a horse, which is not the case with cats and dogs – even though horses live much longer. We wish more people would rehome horses. The economic downturn has put real pressure on horse owners and therefore on horses. There are a lot of horses suffering out there right now. Horse welfare charities are full to capacity and we are being called upon daily to help more horses. This is a desperate situation and we need to make space for them by rehoming the ones that are healthy. That is why we launched our Rehome a Horse Month on Thursday. It is vital that people come forward who can provide good homes to our wide range of horses and ponies.
Roly Owers
Chief executive, World Horse Welfare
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