Our story
We moved to Spain from England in 2001, aiming to slip into an easy sunshine-and-relaxation retirement.
But all that changed in 2008 with Luceiro, a two-year-old stallion we found locked in a filthy and dark stable, his left eye badly injured and rotting, hurling himself repeatedly against the bars of his stall as flies drove him crazy.
Unable to walk away from such a distressing case of animal cruelty, we brought Luceiro home to our own finca – and unwittingly created a much-needed horse rescue centre.
We set up our Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre near the little town of Rojales in the province of Alicante, along Spain’s Mediterranean coastline.
We now care for more than 120 horses, ponies and donkeys saved from abuse and neglect, plus a menagerie of other rescued animals, including dogs, cats, parrots, chickens, geese, peacocks and pigs.
We believe that when you love an animal, you fight to save it. They may be old crocks and broken down and disabled or whatever, but for the abuse they’ve suffered and survived, they deserve a second chance.
Saving Faith the three-legged pony
Our rescue centre has attracted significant media attention both in Spain and abroad, particularly after our daring and difficult rescue of Faith the Pony, which pushed animal welfare into the public spotlight.
Faith became the first pony in Spain to be fitted with a prosthetic leg after her mutilated front leg had to be amputated.
In 2014, American publication Narratively ran a feature-length story on the rescue, entitled Saving an Amputee Pony Named Faith.
Faith’s journey inspired Sue to write a series of children’s books telling the stories of our rescued horses, aiming to raise awareness about animal abuse while generating additional funds to cover the centre’s hefty running costs.
Lobbying against animal abuse in Spain
We are determined to help push for the better treatment of animals in Spain and constantly lobby authorities to change laws and punish those who abuse animals.
We believe the tipping point came in 2010 with the case of Captain and Hope, two skeletal horses left to die inside a pitch-black garage.
The dreadful condition of these horses attracted major media attention and amid intense community lobbying, police finally acted.
A man was later jailed in what is believed to be the first such prosecution in Spain – and authorities have been on our side ever since.
How you can help lobby for animal welfare in Spain
The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre is the only officially registered horse rescue foundation in Spain. We are a non-profit foundation and rely solely on donations to fund our important work.
We offer various donation options, including one-off donations and horse sponsorships.
We also run a network of charity shops across the Alicante province, located in La Zenia, La Siesta and Ciudad Quesada. Donations of furniture, clothes and bric-a-brac to stock the shops are gratefully welcomed.
Every single cent donated or spent in our charity shops goes towards the hefty feeding and care costs of all our animals.
Maybe you can’t change the world by saving one horse but you can change the whole world for the horse that you save.” – Easy Horse Care co-founder Sue Weeding