Flooding of our land last autumn and into the early part of this year has brought added pressures to the day to day running of Bransby Horses.
As with any major event the initial response was hard work for all involved but it’s the long term we must now look to understand.
Losing over 40 percent of our grazing will undoubtedly affect how we manage the 300 or so equines we care for here at Bransby Horses at any one time and we are now considering how we manage this financially and logistically.
Fence replacement, extra forage, rebuilding woodchipped corals and additional emptying of water run-off tanks have all come at a cost.
But it could be well over a year before we truly know the price of it all.
Head of Estates, Victoria Elliot, said: “Assessment so far suggests the land, and some woodchip pads will not be usable now until the summer and expensive repairs will be ongoing. We will also need to consider the cost of extra forage both this winter and next as we are having to supplement grazing now, and this land is likely to be less productive following on from a flood event, along with extra labour costs, grass seeding and fertilizer.
“While the situation is less than ideal, we are grateful all our horses are safe and that we can continue to accommodate them and new rescues. We had already begun to look at how we can adapt to the changing weather patterns and to what is likely to become a recurring issue and this work will continue through 2024.
“We are so grateful to everyone who donated during the flooding, which has raised just over £17,500. For this we are truly thankful.”
Flooding began back in October 2023, when Storm Babet hit and the Environment Agency were forced to open the floodgates on the charity’s land to prevent further flooding to homes in Lincolnshire – this water was held on our grass paddocks where more than 70 of our horses were living.
In December and January we experienced further flooding of the same land, which was of course already waterlogged.
Although Bransby Horses agreed to support the Environment Agency in flooding the land, we do not receive any compensation for this.
Our photo and video gallery showing the effects of the flooding can be found here, which includes a donation page, is still open for anyone who would like to support us through this challenging period.
