This Christmas Day a Grantham truck driver will be pulling on his winter boots and heading off to help care for over 300 horses we have at our site in Bransby near Lincoln.
Will Gee (28) has been volunteering for us for a number of years and loves working on Christmas Day.
He joined us a number of years ago as a way of saying thank you to a horse he said taught him the greatest lessons in life.
Will said: “I got involved with Bransby Horses in 2017. There was a horse called Denzel in my village, who had lived in a field near my house for about 10 years.
“There were a few problems with him and eventually I called the Welfare Hotline. A member of the team came out to Denzel, after which he was taken into their care.”
Will explained how Denzel was neglected for many years. Another villager was also feeding him and this caused the horse to gain so much weight he developed a painful foot condition called laminitis.
Although well meaning, this act of kindness was actually making Denzel dangerously ill and that’s when Will decided to give us a call to get some advice.
He said: “Denzel went to Bransby Horses and so I started visiting him there. I could see how much happier he was there and after a while I asked if I could help out. A few weeks of training and I was able to start volunteering on one of the yards.
“I muck out the stables, and help with the daily checks once a week. I’ll be there on Christmas Day too. We will all have Christmas dinner together at the charity’s cafe. It’s great really. I live on my own and my family don’t live near-by. And so I really love being at Bransby Horses at this time of the year.
“If it hadn’t been for Denzel I would never have found Bransby Horses or be involved in volunteering for them. Without saying a word Denzel taught me everything about what is important in life.”
Denzel lived at Bransby Horses for many years but has since sadly passed away.
His impact on Will however will last a lifetime.
“I feel the plight of horses is overlooked far too easily. I feel like people don’t always see their struggles in the same way they do for cats and dogs.
“I hope more people visit or support Bransby Horses and see for themselves what amazing animals they are.”
Whilst we are not currently taking on any new volunteers, you can find out more about visiting or to make a donation visit BransbyHorses.co.uk
To read more about Denzel click here
