The Trafficked 20: catch up with the horses rescued from smuggling

In December 2024, a year after we rescued 26 horses from being smuggled out of the UK, another group were found in equally horrific conditions. This group became known as the Trafficked 20.

Dover port officials first stopped the lorry these horses were on due to the smell coming off the vehicle. During an inspection, they found a mixed group of horses on board. They were travelling illegally, and one foal had fallen and was too weak to stand. Like the ‘Dover 26’, we suspect some of the horses were being smuggled for fattening and slaughter.

We took in eight of the seized horses, including a pregnant mare and terrified foals. They came into the care of our Hall Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Norfolk.

A year after their arrival, we catch up with Centre Manager Sue Hodgkins. She shares insights about their arrival at the farm and how the Trafficked 20 horses are doing now.

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Trafficked 20 horses arrive with illness and disease

“The Trafficked 20 group of horses arrived with a host of different welfare issues. From a complete lack of handling to heavy worm burdens, untreated wounds and infections to different degrees of foot and lameness issues, and the highly contagious bacterial infection strangles.“

Three petrified youngsters

“The three youngest in the group were Blondie, Rover and Dappled Lady. Aged between just six and eight months old, they had been separated from their mothers. It was heart-breaking to see how terrified they were from their ordeal. All three foals were completely unhandled when they arrived at Hall Farm, and it is fair to say that they were all petrified when they first got here.“

Mystery microchips

“Next off the lorry was Amy, a heavily pregnant mare. Unlike the three foals, Amy had obviously received handling in the past, but she was still very wary of us and understandably, quite defensive at times. When we scanned Amy to get her microchip number, we discovered that she had two microchips. The first microchip was in the normal, expected position on her neck, but interestingly, it was not recorded in the passport that she arrived with. The second microchip, which was recorded in the passport, was in fact much lower down than it should be. After some detective work, we discovered that the passport Amy arrived with was issued incorrectly while she was with a previous owner. We managed to track down her original passport and in doing so we found out that Amy is in fact called Tina, and she was born in 2013.“

A rescue only days after racing

“The next two horses in the group were Irish Thoroughbreds – The Expert and Victor. Unbelievably, The Expert had been raced just the day before the lorry was stopped at Dover and they were both still shod. However, both horses looked uncomfortable on arrival, and ended up needing extensive lameness work ups.“

A contrast of conditions

“Finally on the lorry, we had Cora and Kevin. Cora was also shod on arrival, and we believe someone may have ridden her in the past. Out of the group, Cora appeared to be in the best condition and there were no immediate concerns with her. Sadly, the same could not be said of Kevin. Kevin arrived with a passport that aged him at four years old but in reality, our vet aged him as a 2-year-old colt. He was in a terrible state. He was underweight, terrified of people and suffering from a horrible skin condition that covered over 30% of his body. It was irritating him so much that he was biting himself raw.“

The realities of working in welfare

“The harsh reality of working in equine welfare is that not every horse makes it. Sometimes the problems they arrive with are just so significant we cannot reverse the damage that has already been done. Sadly, this was the case with Kevin. Despite our team’s best efforts over the past 12 months, a combination of worm and liver damage resulted in us losing him in January. It was heart-breaking for us all.“

From rescue to rehoming

“On a brighter note, following a period of rehabilitation, both The Expert and Victor have been rehomed as non-ridden companions. The Expert was among the first horses to leave the farm after we started to rehome again last year after an outbreak of strangles, brought in by the Trafficked 20.“

“Blondie has also found a home but is still on the farm at the moment. Sadly, towards the end of 2025, Blondie had a setback when the repercussions of serious worm damage reared their ugly head again. Blondie found himself in intensive care and was being sick nursed around the clock. Fortunately, he got through those first few critical days and he is recovering well. We will continue to monitor him closely for a little bit longer but hopefully he should be heading off to his new home in the next few weeks.“

“Dappled Lady has made such good progress that she was ready for rehoming in November. She has the potential to be ridden in the future so is looking for a home as a companion with potential.“

“Since giving birth to Joy, a healthy and huge filly foal, back in May last year, Amy has been enjoying a well-earned rest since Christmas when Joy was weaned. Amy was ready for rehoming as a non-ridden companion this March and has already found a loving new home which she will move to in the coming weeks. Joy has now been assessed by the team here and she is looking for a home as a companion with potential.“

Rehabilitation continues

“And that just leaves Rover and Cora who are undergoing rehabilitation. Rover because he has a retained testicle which needs to be surgically removed and Cora who is recovering from sarcoid (tumour) and melanoma treatment. However, once they complete their rehabilitation, both of these horses will also be looking for new homes.“

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The rehabilitation of The Expert and Victor was supported by funding from Retraining of Racehorses – the official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing.

We continue to campaign and advocate tirelessly to give horses like the Trafficked 20 the protection they deserve. But we can’t do it alone. Later this year, we will launch campaigns on horse smuggling and better enforcement of equine laws. So, keep an eye out on our social channels, email newsletter and website for updates.