Staff at an Angus equine sanctuary have received another boost to support its work.
Country and western fan and regular supporter Margaret Smith presented £1200 to the Mountains Animal Sanctuary at Milton of Ogil after her latest music event in Forfar’s Plough Inn.
The money is badly needed at Mountains, which is still coming to terms with the death of sanctuary owner Alan Fraser and battling the impact of the weather.
“It’s still very tough, but the horses are continuing to be well looked after and a lot of that is down to the fact that the staff care so much about their work,” said senior groom Dave Udale.
Mountains is home to 165 horses, ponies and donkeys, all subject to a daily care regime that in recent weeks has involved making sure they have plenty of feed and water supplies are free from the thick ice that froze lochs and rivers in the district.
The sanctuary was heartened by support over the festive period, but until the financial future of the facility becomes clearer it will remain an uphill struggle to fund the operation.
Mr Udale said, “We are still getting requests to take animals, but until the financial situation is sorted out we are effectively full to capacity.
“Mountains was set up as a welfare rescue centre and we will still take in welfare cases if the likes of the SSPCA come to us, but the message is that we are here for the horses and not people in need who might be finding it hard to afford the upkeep of their animal.”
He added, “It can be a fine line when someone may not have the money to look after their horse, but we have to protect the horses that are here already.”