**UPDATE** 15/04/2020 Huge thanks to everyone who has helped us so far - you have made a huge difference to our ability to feed and care for our horses. We have been writing to government and our governing bodies to try to highlight the plight of schools like ours which fall through all the cracks in the current support systems.

Our next challenge is to get our new base functioning and ready to go for when the lockdown lifts. This will require separate funding for which grants are being sought, so that our help from our crowdfunding supporters goes 100% on the daily care of our much loved horses and ponies. Our goal is to be able to 'hit the ground running' once we move, so that we can quickly support the costs of our daily care ourselves.

**UPDATE** 27/03/2020 - We have reduced the target as we have had to make some changes here at TDS to save money where we can.

Here are some of the changes we have had to make - horses have come off their unnecessary supplements and feeds, hay has been reduced to manage horses weight now their workload has reduced, 2 members of staff have been furloughed and casual staff laid off.

Sadly we have had to temporarily close our doors at TDS until reviewed by the Government.

Although our horses and ponies are no longer doing lessons, they still need to be cared for, exercised to keep them healthy (especially those that may have health issues if they're out of work eg. Laminitis risks), they need their hard feed, medications, bedding and their hay. We still need to pay their stable/field rent, their insurances in case they get sick.

For the last year, our monthly care for our horses has averaged at £10k per month. And we have to try to meet these costs with £0 income

We are currently receiving no assistance from the Government, as we do not pay the business rates - we rent per stable (like any other DIY livery arrangement). This means that the landowner will get the business rates relief AND the grants which are available - not us.

We also cannot lay off all the staff (which is the other way we could claim some help) as they are needed to care for our lovely horses and ponies. Laminitic ponies need several tiny haynets a day, we have horses on box rest requiring care too.

Even just a small contribution would really help. What your money would buy - £10 = a bag of feed, £35 = a bale of hay, £80 = a set of shoes

Thank you everyone - and hopefully see you in the not-so-distant future