THE RSPCA has dealt with 115 incidents involving horses in North Yorkshire during the Covid crisis, and says it is braced for an influx of sick and abandoned horses following the pandemic that will "cripple" resources.

With the microchipping of horses becoming compulsory in England this month, the RSPCA fears it will not be enough to prevent an impending horse "welfare catastrophe."

As the charity launches its month-long rehoming drive, Adoptober, it reveals that nationally the number of horses in its care is already three times what it was at the start of the last recession in 2009.

The charity said it is preparing for huge numbers of abandoned and neglected horses as the country plunges into an even deeper financial downturn.

During the lockdown period of March 23 to September 8 alone, the RSPCA dealt with 4,479 incidents involving horses - including 115 in North Yorkshire.

Last year the charity rehomed 242 horses, but almost 760 remain in the charity’s care to date, desperately needing new homes.

At the time of the last recession, the RSPCA had 250 horses in its care in 2009, but following that downturn, numbers peaked at nearly 1,200 in 2013.

The RSPCA is expecting more horses to be abandoned or neglected as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the deepening recession and is urging people who are looking to take on a horse to think about adopting one from the charity.