Channel 4 Monday eve. Horse Hoarder

Penny Less

Penny Less

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Just seen in tv times programme about a man in Wales that has over 50 horses on land he is squatting on! Be interesting to see what slant programme will take
 
Doing a bit of googling I think this could actually have an interesting slant on it. The chap has some sort of dementia by the look of it and the local friend has done an awful lot of work with him and his horses to get them rehomeable. I think the programme is more a reflection on how society treats its vulnerable rather than about overbreeding as such.

It's an estate property which he used to have as a tennant farmer, and has lived in for years, but there are a couple of newspaper articles online suggesting that the estate had been trying to get him to move off/downsize for some time as the house had fallen into disrepair. So he's more of an overstayer than a squatter I think.
 
Channel 4 adveritses it as "he strrugles to care for the horses and himself, and hes been reported to the RSPCA..."

Will be an interesting program to watch.
 
The Channel 4 blurb:
Pensioner Clwyd Davies harbours a compulsion to hoard horses. Squatting in a derelict farmhouse without heating, electricity or warm water, he dedicates his every waking moment to caring for the 52 untamed horses he has collected, and in some cases bred.

Forgoing the most rudimentary comforts of modern living, Clwyd, who's 68, maintains an extraordinary existence; not in the remote countryside, but on a housing estate on the edge of Wrexham, where his eccentricities appear to make him invisible to his neighbours.

His is a tale of just one outsider, the likes of which exist in almost every British town. No one knows who they are and why they lead such isolated lives, and usually no one bothers to find out.

For Clwyd, there is one exception: Michelle Crowther, who's 44, runs a livery stables and also rescues horses. She has struck up a friendship with Clwyd, recognising a kindred spirit in his devotion to his horses.

Despite Clwyd's evident affinity with the horses, Michelle has recognised that he is struggling to care for both the horses and himself, so she begins to help him.

But Clwyd discovers someone else has taken an interest: he has been anonymously reported to the RSPCA for neglect and cruelty to animals. He faces having his horses removed, prosecution and a potential prison sentence if he does not comply.

This documentary follows Clwyd's battle, with Michelle's support, to keep his horses.

It explores the events in his past that have led this one-time award-winning horse breeder and family man to isolate himself and live rough in squalid conditions with only horses and pigeons for company, and asks questions of a society that can sometimes appear to put the needs of animals above those of humans
Click to expand...

There's an article from 2009 here:
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/farming-...tenant-vows-to-fight-eviction-55578-22785329/
 
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