The CHB SPCA is calling for volunteers to help form an equine response team so the charity can deal with a large number of horse welfare cases.
SPCA shelter manager Renee Hickey revealed that somewhat surprisingly, there was a major issue in CHB of horses being left neglected, malnourished and generally in a poor condition.
"It's the biggest drain on our resources. Its more common than dog issues, if you can believe that."
While CHB had an "amazing and passionate" horse community, Hickey said some owners allowed their horses to quickly fall into poor condition through a lack of education and knowledge.
"The problem seems to be some people who say 'oh, I live in CHB and have a paddock so I should have a horse'. They don't realise how much work horses require - teeth, feet, feed. It's the basic things," she said.
Horse welfare was part of the reason why Waipukurau horse trainer, Kirsty Lawrence, initially joined the SPCA in an equine advisory role four years ago. Now a warranted SPCA auxiliary officer, Lawrence said absentee owners were also a big problem.
"We've got properties where there are skinny horses roaming around on a farm where no-one knows who owns the land, or who owns the horse," she said.
She had been using her own horse truck and devoting time and money in her voluntary role to uplift horses in serious cases.
"We're currently averaging four welfare cases a month, which doesn't sound a lot but when it's a seven-hour round trip and you add in fuel and the rest of it, it's kind of got to the stage where its bigger than me," she said.
For that reason, Lawrence said the the SPCA was calling for volunteers to get on board with the response team.
"It could be someone who has a paddock where the [uplifted] horses can graze for a week, a hay contractor who could donate 20 bales of hay at the end of the season, or people with horse skills that could help with some manpower and transport," she said.
Uplifting a horse was a last resort in most cases, she said.
She preferred for the SPCA to with horseowners in an education-and-prevention approach, rather than just taking a hard line on enforcement.
"We don't just go and uplift a horse. We have to be fair and reasonable with owners at all times.
"We want to be working with owners and developing a plan, and following up that plan, rather than being called out to horse with a condition score of only one or two," she said.
Anyone interested in becoming an equine response team member, or horse owners needing advice can contact the CHB SPCA on 06 858 8933 or by emailing chbspca@xtra.co.nz