Rest Home for Old Horses

What do you think happens to the horses that pull the trams along Douglas sea front when they are too old to do the job ?

Did I hear someone say glue or dogfood ? Happily you are wrong. For the last fifty years they have ended their days at the Rest Home for Old Horses just outside Douglas. The centre was set up by the daughter of a man who watched horses being shipped off the island for slaughter abroad. These animals would be dragged onto ships where they would be tossed around while sailing to their fate. All he could do initially was buy straw to make it less uncomfortable for them.

Now no Douglas tram horse can be sold off the island. Animals are offered first to the home, and they never turn one down. In addition they take in other horses and donkeys for the 92 acre site.

Visitors get to meet the animals and for a quid can buy bags of horse nuts to feed to them. Obviously this is great fun and no one passes up the chance. Really this is genius, the horses need feeding anyway and the punters will be pleased to pay to do it. On top of this you can sponsor a beast for a tenner a year.

The cafe is serves excellent chocolate cake too but you don't want to know about this, you want to look at the photos on Flickr and go ahhhhhhhhh

Check out the official web site