How We Started

Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary was formed in 1983 following the plight of the horses on Rainham Marshes, where over 100 horses were left on the bleak marshland.  As the water inlets flooded, they became cut off, resulting in 13 horses dying in the most awful conditions.

The Rainham Marsh case was followed by the single case of Remus, our namesake, a poor horse stolen and starved for three months in a feud between two people, over the paltry sum of just £50. Remus was eventually left tied to a lamp post in the most horrific bodily condition and, despite all possible help, his suffering was so bad that he eventually had to be put to sleep.

Shortly after Remus, we heard of the plight of poor Misty and her foal Pickles. Misty had sustained a fractured skull earlier in the year, possibly through a kick from another horse when she was on Rainham Marshes at the time of the flooding.  We heard of her not because of her suffering but because her foal kept attacking people on the footpath! Poor Misty was tethered and beside herself as her foal kept wandering off and she couldn’t get to him – and all this whilst tethered by her neck to the ground despite having a fractured skull.  Sadly there was nothing we could do to help Misty and our vet had to let her go to prevent any further suffering.

As a result, we then had her foal who we named Pickles and needed land for him to live on; and that was how the Sanctuary was formed – back in 1983.  Pickles went on to thrive and had a great home not far from the Sanctuary with Remus member Sue Tredget.

Horse welfare in Essex at this time was dire. There were many traveller encampments in Rainham, Rush Green and Tilbury, to name but a few, all producing huge horse welfare problems. Gradually, by bringing pressure to bear on other agencies, some of the problems were addressed, some of these areas that were once such huge problems are now country parks.

Over the years, some improvements in the welfare standards in this county and beyond have been made, but it is too little and we are still seeing terrible suffering, in some cases the conditions and the state of the animals are no better than some years ago. It is estimated that there are currently over 7,000 welfare cases in England, increasing every year which is why we launched our #BornToDie campaign. Find out more and how you can help.