About 100,000 horses were living in Ukraine before Russia’s invasion in February 2022. The current number isn’t known but many have been displaced and others killed in Russian attacks. Some have died from hunger or from injuries; some stolen by the invading force. Tens of thousands don’t have enough food to survive and many will not last the harsh Ukrainian winter.

Human suffering increases by the day and aid agencies are working hard to offer assistance. Followers of The War Horse Memorial also told us of their concern about the plight of animals, particularly horses.

With this in mind, and two years on from the start of the conflict, we teamed up with friends in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America to create the first International War Animal Day – and launched our annual Animal Purple Poppy Fund.

Thanks to your help we were able to send £1,000 towards food, medicines, and warm coats and blankets for some of the horses. Our great friend, Nigel Allsopp, President of the Australian War Animal Memorial Organisation, travelled to Ukraine via Poland with supplies and reports that your contribution really did make a difference.

Here you can see just two of the horses already wearing their new coats as autumn will soon lead to winter with sub-zero temperatures expected.

Our partners at World Horse Welfare are raising funds on behalf of British Equestrian and the UK’s equine sector to provide emergency support for horses, and their owners and carers, affected by the devastation They are working initially with local partners, including the Ukraine and Polish Eques-trian Federations, and with other agencies as the situation progresses. Any unused funds will be donated to the the Ukraine Equestrian Charity Foundation.

If you would like to donate, please go to the website worldhorsewelfare.org.