Malta’s only horse rescue NGO may no longer be in a position to take in horses as the landlord of the stables they rent is upping the monthly fee.

RMJ’s Horse Rescue, a registered voluntary organisation, has been paying €2,200 a month in rent to a farmer for the use of the Salini stables, where they currently keep about 30 horses.

A rescued horse at the Salini stables.

The stables are located on government-owned land registered as a chicken farm, NGO president Corinne Farrugia said when contacted. She said the farmer now wanted to increase the rent by a further €700.

In a message posted on Facebook, the NGO wrote: “We were already struggling with field bills and we simply cannot afford paying more rent. We now have the daunting task of trying to sort out a place for our horses until the end of the rent term, assuming we are not forced to leave before.”

When contacted, the farmer declined to comment.

The NGO is calling for a solution that would solve the problem in the long term.

“Donations always help. But we’re looking for a long-term solution, a place where we can keep these horses,” she said.

Ms Farrugia elaborated that, apart from the rent, the NGO has to foot the bill for animal feed, vet bills as well as the cost of overseas homing.

The majority of the horses they rescue, she said, are retired racing horses. Each year, racing enthusiasts import between 200 and 300 horses from abroad. 

We simply cannot afford paying more rent

These are often horses that approached the end of their racing career overseas so, when they arrive in Malta, they do not have many years left on the track.

When the horses slow down, or get injured, the owners call the NGO and give them ‘a deadline’ – usually when the new horse arrives. 

“When I get a phone call to rescue a horse I know that, if I say ‘no’, it will be sent for slaughter,” Ms Farrugia said.

The NGO takes in the horses and keeps them at the Salini stable from where they try to find them a home – in Malta or by sending them abroad. The horses at the stables are also made available to other NGOs for therapeutic services, she said.