THE RSPCA fears a second wave of the equine crisis after being called to 84 incidents involving horses in Essex during lockdown.

Concerns of more sick horses being dumped across the country have been sparked, with the charity warning a financial recession could plunge the nation into another crisis.

In 2019, the charity received reports of more than 4,370 incidents involving horses in the south-east, with 812 in Essex, the third highest in the region.

Now the charity fears much worse is to come if, as expected, the Covid-19 crisis sparks a recession.

The RSPCA is appealing for vital donations to help it prepare for an influx of horses and ponies desperately in need of help.

Christine McNeil, the charity’s national equine inspectors co-ordinator, said: “This is a truly worrying time for equine charities - we still haven’t got a handle on the repercussions of the current horse crisis and it now looks like the worst is yet to come.

“With such a huge number of horses in our care, and so many in private boarding, at great cost, we have already had to adapt how we try to help as many horses as we can.

“For example, several herds of horses in need are being cared for in situ with our officers visiting regularly to feed and care for them until we can find spaces in one of our centres for them, or funds to transport them to private boarding.”

The current horse crisis is thought to have been sparked by continued overbreeding, coupled with falling demand for some types of horses.

Between March and May the charity has received reports of 472 incidents relating to horses in the south-east, with high numbers of calls coming from regional hotspots including Essex, Kent, Greater London and Hertfordshire.

Chris McGreal was called to investigate a two-year-old pony in Stanford-le-Hope last month.

Mr McGreal said: “I could clearly see that he was underweight and I was very keen to speak to whoever owned him.

“Even though he was microchipped, it seemed the owner’s details were out of date and we couldn’t trace anybody responsible.

“We arranged for the pony, named Jenkins but nicknamed Wookie, to be transported to a private boarding yard in Essex, who are still working now to treat and rehabilitate him.

“Vets gave Jenkins a body condition score of just 0.5 out of five, so it will take a long time for Wookie to properly recover.”

To donate to the RSPCA, visit rspca.org.uk/covid.