Our core resources

It might be natural to assume that our ‘core resources’ are to do with our finances, but in fact there’s much more to it than that. Our core resources are assets, tangible and intangible, that we’re able to draw upon to enable us to care, research, educate and influence to improve the welfare of all horses – including horses in need, sport and leisure horses and horses used in work and production. 

These resources include:

• Our influence
• Our expertise
• Our networks
• Our physical assets
• Our funds

Our influence

Our influence can be described as the way we improve equine welfare by guiding others and/or impacting their decisions, policies or practices. Our reputation as a practical equine welfare charity with an evidence-based approach and nearly a century of experience helping horses is part of this. We are a trusted partner of governments, agencies, institutions, civil society organisations, regulators and authorities to help inform their approach to equine welfare. As a long-established campaigning organisation, we are also able to influence the public to support the introduction or development of legislation to protect and promote equine welfare.

Our expertise

As you might expect from an international charity, World Horse Welfare has a wealth of experience in many aspects of equine welfare and practices across geographies, climates and societies. From providing hands-on, practical care to horses who desperately need our help to understanding the most effective way to share skills and knowledge with the owners of horses – be they in Britain or Honduras or Nepal – our teams are all expert at what they do – and so the breadth and depth of our expertise is vast. We also have expertise across horse sport 

Our evidence-based approach helps us to ensure that our expertise remains current, as we constantly strive to make sure we’re informed about the latest research – or that we’re the driving force behind it and sharing our learnings with others.

Our networks

Due to the breadth of our work, our people – from staff to Trustees to patrons – meet, work with, or can reach out to, individuals in a huge variety of fields. This is a very valuable commodity, as it not only gives us access to knowledge, skills, and expertise that we might not have “in house,” but it also supports and increases another core resource: our influence.  Our approach is to work in partnership with others, and in helping working equids in 16 countries we work through local partners, and often in associations with universities, governments and other NGOs.

We are also an active member of membership bodies and organisations which work to influence policy and practice, including the World Federation for Animals which lobbies UN institutions, the International Coalition for Animal Welfare and the International Coalition for Working Equids which work the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Working Animal Alliance.  In Europe, we are members of the European Horse Network which represents the horse sector to the EU and Eurogroup for Animals which represents animal welfare interests. In Britain, we are members of the British Horse Council, which represents the equine sector to government, the National Equine Welfare Council which brings together equine welfare organisations and the Equine Disease Coalition which works across sectors on equine biosecurity.  In horse sport, we are independent welfare advisors to the International Equestrian Federation, the International Horse Sports Confederation and the British Horseracing Authority. We are also members of British Equestrian.

Our physical assets

With four Rescue and Rehoming Centres around the UK, our physical assets include our four farms and the equipment that is needed to run them, as well as our head office. Our physical assets, in the form of our centres, make it possible for us to fulfil one of the core strands of our work: rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming horses in the UK.

Our funds

As a charity, we simply couldn’t do what we do – helping horses – without the donations of our generous supporters. From caring individuals making a one-off gift to those who so kindly leave us a legacy in their Will, as well as trusts who choose to support particular projects, these contributions to our funds are all invaluable. We take our responsibility as a charity very seriously and are mindful of how we spend every penny generously donated to us to help horses. If you’d like to find out more about our finances, you can do so here.