The Irish times has reported that "the plight of Irish horses abandoned because of the downturn in the economy, has touched hearts in the United States and donations have started to arrive at the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals."

"The money is arriving after a report in the New York Times on December 20th which said tens of thousands of horses and ponies “have been abandoned amid Ireland’s financial nightmare”."

Ireland is famed for its love of horses, but due to the severe downturn in the economy, there are now thousands of surplus horses in the country that are no longer being cared for. Leading Irish horse expert, Ted Walsh, guesses the number could be as high as 100,000.