Bransby Horses, one of the UK’s largest equine welfare and rescue charities, has said a heart-breaking goodbye to two of its most-popular and well-loved equines, Emerald and Justice.
It is with a heavy heart that we wish a very sad farewell to these two beautiful and charismatic horses that both had a huge impact on those they came into contact with, and held a place dear in staff and supporters’ hearts.
As both Emerald and Justice were retired Sponsorship Stars, letters have been sent to notify all sponsors (previously known as ‘adopters’) of this unfortunate loss.
Remembering Justice
Justice was a firm favourite by all that met him; staff and supporters combined, and was a much-loved member of the Bransby Horses’ family. This year, he unexpectedly began to show some unusual behaviour and his assessment revealed that he had developed a neurological issue.
The team and vets continued to monitor him, but as his condition couldn’t be improved, they made the decision to euthanise him this October. The team, as you can imagine were greatly saddened by such a sudden turn of events, but knew his best interest was at heart.
As an Ex Police Horse (serving with the Greater Manchester Police Mounted Branch for several years), Justice’s calm and kind nature won many hearts. Despite his large stature, which also meant he was incredibly handsome, he was always easy to handle. Having been on site for many years and a very popular Sponsor Star for much of that, he is going to be sorely missed.
Rosanna Elliott Hart, Acting Head of External Welfare at Bransby Horses’ says:
“I remember taking a group of scouts on a tour at the Visitor Centre. Everyone was very excited when we got to Justice and he was straight over to say hello. It was a cold day so everyone was wrapped up to keep warm but as we were talking about some of the work we do Justice decided that was the perfect moment to pluck a woolly hat straight from the head of a small scout and walk off with it. The children were all laughing hysterically and asking him to take their hats and scarves too! Such a character who will be very missed.”
Rachel Jenkinson, Farm Manager, also remembers Justice fondly:
“A special gent; I always have a soft spot for those that have served. He had a wonderful retirement with us and was surrounded by friends both horse and human. He was another great ambassador and legend of Bransby”
Remembering Emerald
Emerald became a treasured member of the Bransby Horses’ family after her arrival in January 2016 along with her friends Amethyst, Peridot, Diamond and Tanzanite.
On arrival, Emerald was extremely poorly requiring 24-hour care at our Animal Reception Centre (ARC). Emerald was visibly emaciated, had a body condition score of 0.5 and was unable to stand unaided. The ARC team cared for Emerald around the clock, lifting her by hand with a special harness every few hours until she had the strength to stand alone.
After spending months at the ARC being nursed back to good health, Emerald and her friends joined the VC yard where they spent time charging around the field having a great time and making lots of mess. She had physio to improve the movement in her joints and the team spent time working on her handling and she soon progressed and developed into a well-behaved mare.
Although she had ongoing lameness and pain relief to keep her comfortable, to our surprise, she was quite often caught zooming around her field when she was feeling on form.
The welfare team had been monitoring her ongoing dental and lameness issues throughout her life at Bransby Horses, and unfortunately, her pain was increasing significantly, alongside a growing difficulty to eat. The decision in October was taken by our vets to enuthanse her. She leaves a huge hole in many hearts; teams’ and supporters’, who helped give her three more years of life, full of love and care, following the harrowing ordeal she endured before coming to our charity.
Shell Craven, Team Leader (Visitor Centre) at Bransby Horses, says:
“In the last year Emerald had really mellowed and was a great calming influence on Genie when she joined the herd – we never thought we would see a calm Emerald. She had her meds in a sandwich every day and begged for it when we approached her, digging in the ground or 
woodchip.
“We will notice her absence and miss her terribly. The big girl herd won’t be the same without her and her crazy moments.”
We would like to thank everyone for the support of our charity at this time.
If you would like to Sponsor one of our equines click here: https://bransbyhorses.co.uk/sponsor-a-horse/
