Horse sanctuary struggling with soaring hay prices

A horse sanctuary in Leicestershire says it is facing a major struggle this winter due to the high price of hay.

Carole Fielding, who runs Pablo's Sanctuary in Long Clawson near Melton Mowbray, said a dry spring and drought in the summer had led to a shortage of the crop.

Mrs Fielding, 79, said the price of hay was now the highest she had known in her 30 years of running the sanctuary.

"It is going to be a really tough winter," she said.

"We have got to survive, so it is a worry," she added. "A lot of it will depend on how the winter goes, if we get a lot of snow, we will be in trouble.

"We have some wonderful supporters who donate every month, some way or another, we will do it. It will probably clear us out money-wise, but we will regroup in the spring."

The sanctuary looks after 85 horses and uses about 20 large round bales and 100 smaller bales of hay each week.

Mrs Fielding said larger round bales currently cost between £90 and £100 per bale, while the smaller rectangular bales cost between £9 and £10, rising from the usual price of £4.

She added she had heard some farmers and other suppliers had been forced to import hay from Europe.

Hay is used to feed horses through the winter due to a lack of nutrients in the grass, at a time when they generally need to be taken out of fields to protect them from the weather.

However, yields have been affected after the summer of 2025 was declared the warmest since records began in 1884.

Richard Brooks, who runs EuroBale - the largest big bale haylage producer in the country - said he had not seen customers "panic" about hay supply this early in the winter during his 30 years in the business.

"The price will continue to increase and I would be concerned at some stage in the not too distant future, [supplies of hay are] not going to be there," he added.

Mr Brooks said he had imported hay from France to keep up with demand.

Oli Lee, a farmer from Slawston in the Harborough district, said dry weather over the summer meant farmers were forced into using winter reserves of hay "far earlier than planned".

He said: "Across the country, some were also forced to sell livestock due to a lack of feed.

"These pressures are not just financial - they threaten herd health and welfare, productivity and the future of British livestock farming."

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