The Shetland Animal Rescue, previously a working farm hosts 35 stables set in 9 acres of land, split into 6 fields. The land that we own clearly isn’t enough for the horses, and animals that we rescue and so we rent 34 acres from a number of nearby factories, and farms, as well as the homes of a number of volunteers.
The Shetland Animal Rescue began in 1982 when Diane Strongman went to Beeston horse market and came back with a Shetland Pony for just £30. The pony was literally a bag of bones and Diane couldn’t bear to leave him there. Over the years Diane took in more elderly, abandoned and unwanted ponies, as well as other animals. Diane initially, rented land but eventually sold her house and bought a plot of land, and a caravan where she lived to look after the animals that she had adopted.