A year ago Equine Dreams near Worksop was making poorly children's dreams come true - now they are struggling to feed their animals

But after nearly a year of lockdowns and the coronavirus pandemic, its boss is today appealing for help with the cost of feeding their animals.

Equine Dreams, on Bawtry Road, previously known as Horse World, has been run by Bev Griffiths for 10 years. She makes dreams come true for youngsters, dressing up horses as unicorns, often as a special treat for ill children.

They included Freya Dawson, who suffers from hydrocephalus, after JPI Media contacted her to arrange a special Christmas treat in 2019, a year which saw her in and out of hospital following major brain surgery.

But the pandemic has seen the stable’s income dry up, and arrived shortly after it had expanded by bringing in new animals including a zebra, reindeer and alpacas.

Bev said: “We have managed to deal with multiple lock downs and tier restrictions but in this third national lockdown it’s proven difficult to feed all our animals. We are thankful for all the possible help we’ve received from the government but unfortunately it just doesn’t cover the cost of feed and upkeep of all our animals, bearing in mind some have special dietary requirements and medical expense, like equine dentist, farrier, wormers and so on.

“We know everyone is in the same position and feel for all businesses but we have livestock to take care of and this is our priority.”

She is appealing for anyone who can afford to help, to make a small donation to help them feed the animals through what she fears could be tough months, or to buy them vouchers from Torne Valley, the farm supplies store in Tickhill where they get the animal feed.

"For the last year we’ve been trying to keep the stables running,” she said. “But when the latest lockdown came on January 4, we had to close again, and had to let staff go. Some of them are still coming in to help anyway. We’ve had grants which have helped, but they don’t cover all the costs.

"We still don’t know when the lockdown is going to end.”

She has published details of how to donate on social media – https://www.facebook.com/Horseworldtickhill/

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