Life Changes For Gareth And Will ... and not just the Pop Idols!

Whilst the nation was settling down for the evening to watch Gareth and Will
in the Pop Idols final, the BHS welfare representative for Hampshire was
called out to a serious case. Two aged Thoroughbreds were found emaciated
and in a very poor condition. They were removed to the BHS Rescue Centre at
Oxhill in Warwickshire and named Gareth and Will to mark the fact that it
wasn't just the pop idols whose lives changed for the better on Saturday 9
February.

The horses had been left out all winter in the cold and wet with no shelter
and little to eat. While native ponies are hardy enough to live out all
year, thoroughbreds need to be stabled. Despite their terribly weak and
thin condition, their unthinking owner was still riding the horses right up
until they were rescued.

Gareth and Will are now receiving the dedicated care they so desperately
need. Weak and emaciated, Gareth's condition is giving some initial cause
for concern. Their suffering had been as a result of both ignorance and
apathy by their owner. It is hoped that both horses will in time make a full
recovery and be found a new and caring home in the future.