A coalition of local government and a private trust will help the abandoned horses at Dunsink, a common grazing ground near Dublin. The Fingal County Council and the Irish Horse Welfare Trust drew up the plans jointly.

According to Sharon Newsome, spokeswoman for the trust, there are approximately sixty horses on the 160-acre site at Dunsink.

“There is limited grazing and water supplies, and there are a lot of dangers for horses on the site,” she said.

The plan will start by providing temporary feeding and watering stations and monitoring the welfare of the horses there. Then in the weeks to come, local horse owners will bring their horses to vet checks for microchipping and the issuance of passports. Unclaimed horses will be taken into care by the Irish Horse Welfare Trust to be rehomed.

Horse Sport Ireland, a government-established agency, is sponsoring the passports and microchipping of all the horses.

It has been reported that as many as one hundred thousand horses across Ireland are being abandoned as a result of the financial crisis there.

Read more details in Sean MacConnell’s article in The Irish Times.
January 25, 2011