The saying goes: Every dog has his day; or should it be every horse?

Yes and no, because not every horse is lucky enough to end up in an Old Horses' Home, being taken good care of, instead of being sent to the slaughterhouse after winning money for its owner on the racetrack.

Were it for Sue Arnett, chairman of the Funny Farm - Horse Rescue Association, all horses that lag behind in performance would be given shelter at the farm but then financing such a big project would be prohibitive.

Horse lover Ms Arnett runs the horse sanctuary at an unused pig farm in the limits of Bidnija together with a handful of volunteers.

There are 24 horses and ponies and some dogs including two Great Danes.

"Most of the horses we have are ex-racehorses from Marsa that have only suffered a slight injury, such as a sprained tendon, and only needed a few months of rest to recover fully.

"But their owners cannot waste time and precious money to allow them to recover, so they sell them to the butcher in order to buy a brand new, healthy horse," Ms Arnett said as she showed me the horses at the farm.

Horse meat is popular in Malta. Had it not been for Ms Arnett, a champion trotter from Sweden would have been served up on some dish.

It was purchased for Lm4,500 and brought over to Malta for racing. However, it was raced as soon as it got here, without being given time to acclimatise or get used to the change of food and track.

"Obviously, it did not do as well as it used to and its owner decided it was useless and gave up on it, so the horse ended up at the dealer/butcher with a specific order to be killed to avoid it being sold to anyone else just in case it was treated well and then raced successfully," Ms Arnett said.

"When we saw the horse, most of its tail had been cut off because someone needed some horsehair and since it was to be killed the butcher said that he did not need his tail."

The farm bought the horse but in summer it is tormented by flies since tails are used to keep flies off, she said.

A handful of dedicated volunteers help out on the farm, including Ms Arnett's daughter Michelle, Tony James, Kim Muscat, Claire and Tony Grima.

She has been saving horses from the slaughterhouse for several years. It all started in 1994 when she was informed of a butcher-cum-dealer who dealt in horses.

"I went along with a couple of friends of mine and we were shocked by what we saw.

"The horses, which were all grouped together, were not fed separately, resulting in the stronger horses being able to bully the others and eat more.

"The weaker horses, besides being underweight, had injuries and were covered in scars from fights," she said.

Most people could tell this was not an appropriate diet for a horse and as a result most of the horses suffered from malnutrition.

Ms Arnett recalled that a few years ago they rescued a beautiful mare that was perfectly healthy.

"We noticed her growing larger and larger. After an examination by the vet, he concluded it was pregnant.

"We, let alone the butcher, had not known this and it would have been slaughtered if we had not rescued it. The foal is now four years old.

"Unfortunately horses are looked upon by some owners as a money-making machine which is put aside once it does not render," Ms Arnett lamented.

The farm usually deals with the dealer/butcher who calls to say a horse is out of use and asks if they want it - horses usually fetch Lm200 when sold to be slaughtered for meat but between Lm450 and Lm500 are charged to the Funny Farm.

Ms Arnett said some of the latest arrivals were two ponies and two horses that came from a farm raided by the police Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) section, which rescued a number of animals from a pitiful state.

The horses and ponies were taken to the Bidnija farm where they were nursed back to health.

"We are often called up by people who either own or know of a retired racehorse which, if a loving home is not found, would be put down.

"Due to lack of funds and manual help we are unable to take in all the horses offered to us."

One of the tasks of the Funny Farm is to raise more awareness and encourage donations for food and maintenance of the horses.

Volunteers organise school open-days and fund-raising events such as barbecues, parties and children's fun days apart from offering professional riding lessons for both children and adults.

Dog sitting or kennelling is also offered to people who go abroad as another form of fund-raising.

The farm is trying to introduce a sponsoring scheme whereby a person may donate an amount of money per month, which goes towards the horses, Ms Arnett said.

Asked about the cost to keep the farm running, Ms Arnett said some Lm60/70 per month was needed just to procure hay. Of course there were other costs such as bedding, medicine and other needs.

Though the association does not get any financial help from the government, the latter can offer a helping hand by recruiting some of the refugees - who have a reputation of being very good and efficient workers - to help in the running of the farm, she suggested.

Anyone is welcome to visit the farm and even give some manual help. The best time is on weekends (preferably Saturdays). Ms Arnett can be contacted on 9948 7915 for details.

And if anyone is interested in helping out financially, donations may be sent directly to The Funny Farm - Horse Rescue Association account number HSBC 061074589001.