The Untold

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The Untold: A horse called Hope

A horse called Hope

BBC Radio 4 - The Untold, A horse called Hope

Two women who have dedicated themselves to a horse sanctuary face having to close it down.

Two women who have dedicated themselves to a Sussex horse sanctuary face having to close it down. Can they find a new site, or will their horses have to be re-homed?

In 2005 Zoe McQuade and Pat Evans set-up the Little Bramley Farm Sanctuary in Polegate, Sussex, caring for sick, abused and unwanted horses.  In 2020 they were told that their lease on the land was coming to an end and they would have to move on.  Zoe and Pat have dealt with numerous challenges in the past, but for the first time they face the prospect of having to close the sanctuary down.

Grace Dent and producer Toby Field follow Zoe and Pat as they weigh up their options and consider what future they can provide for their horses, like Chandler who was brought in and given less than five days to live, or Hope, a Shire with a cleft palate and a neurological condition that makes it difficult for her to walk.  Toby meets volunteers who help at the stables: Tim, an operations manager who after bringing his daughter to the Little Bramley quickly found it helped him cope with the stresses of work and dealing with his ADHD; and Claire, a nurse who found her own sanctuary, away from the pressures of dealing with Covid patients and the effects of lockdown.  

Will Zoe and Pat find a new home for the sanctuary?

Presented by Grace Dent and produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Toby Field

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