Who ever thought that Britain would experience a similar challenge?
https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/blog/the-rescue-of-70-unhandled-icelandic-horses
Over the past fifteen months in Devon, three animal rescue groups worked with the owner to take ownership of the animals. "We discovered fields of pregnant mares with foals at foot living alongside colts and stallions with insufficient space for all the horses to safely express normal behaviours. Years of uncontrolled breeding had led to this highly pressured environment with ponies incurring life threatening injuries as a result of infighting for resources."
Considerable fighting among the stallions over mares resulted in sometimes serious injuries and most of the horses had worms.
"On my first visit to these horses in May 2024, I saw a yearling colt isolated at the bottom of the paddock and clearly terrified. He was trying everything he could not to be noticed, trying to hide in the bushes, the whites of his eyes showing and his breathing fast and shallow. As I watched, a large stallion left his herd and ran down the paddock and smashed into him, causing the colt to scramble into the hedge to try to escape. We managed to get him to safety, but it was a scene being repeated all over the paddocks. "
All of the horses at the rescue groups and will be up for adoption after evaluation.