Thousands of horses and ponies are the latest victims of the credit crunch. Hundreds are brutally slaughters every day because their owners can no longer afford to feed them. So many are being abandoned that there is no room for them in rescue stables, so they are killed by a fatal bullet to the brain and the carcass thrown to a pack of dogs.

Prices for horses have also reached an all-time low, leading to many being sold to unaware owners, oblivious to their expensive needs.