Horse centre near Husbands Bosworth fears for survival
A horse rescue centre in Leicestershire says a financial crisis is threatening its survival.
Since 1990, the Horse's Voice, near Husbands Bosworth, has cared for horses which have been abused or neglected, with many successfully re-homed.
Volunteers at the centre currently look after about 25 horses and ponies.
Founder Pat Dargue said rising hay costs and a recession-linked fall in donations were a major concern, especially in the winter months.
She said: "We've seen 50% of our donations dropped, our funding dropped, basically because of the recession, that's basically what people are telling us.
"People are losing their jobs, so they can no longer afford to give a donation, some of our horses are at foster homes and have had to come back because their carers are losing their jobs.
"These animals have already been abused, that's why they're here at the rescue centre, and we're not going to let them be abused any more, so obviously if we couldn't afford to keep them we would have to have them put down.
"We've just got to raise the funds, we can't afford to keep paying out if not enough's coming in."