Silverado was skin and bone when he was found tethered on a roadside, harassed by motorbikes.

Once a well-known horse on the harness racing circuit, the 17-year-old stallion arrived at Roleystone Horse Sanctuary in a bad way.

“You could count every bone on his ribs,” says trustees chairman Dianne French. “He was starving and had bad teeth, which can be a problem with neglected Horses. If a horse has bad teeth it means they can’t chew.”

The sanctuary, at Wrose, is raising funds for Silverado’s dental work. Then there’s the £300 electric fence power unit needed to replace the one recently stolen, and the huge supplies of hay and feed needed to see the horses through winter, not to mention the ongoing vets’ fees, water bills and land rent.

Over the past year there have been break-ins, during which tack and other equipment was taken. One horse, which had burn marks down its back from a previous stable fire, had the rug stolen from its back.

Last week, two exercise carts – one pony-size and one full-size – were stolen from the yard. And an arson attack at the site earlier this year destroyed an isolation unit and storage container.

Now an outbreak of strangles – a highly infectious disease – has halted movement at the sanctuary, which currently has 31 horses. “We can’t re-home any horses, or take any more in,” says Dianne. “We had about six ready to go too. Because our isolation unit was burned down the horses have to stay in quarantine. We’ve got disinfectant and straw down everywhere. We’re hoping to get going again in a few weeks, but it could take months.

“Because the horses have to stop in stables, bedding costs have soared. I’ve had to use the rug fund to buy hay.”

It goes without saying that the past 12 months have been tough for Roleystone. The team of volunteers normally start preparing for winter months in advance, but severe weather took its toll.

“We had two bad winters, so a lot of hay was used up, and there wasn’t a good crop last year. We were left struggling for hay,” says Dianne. “We desperately need hay and haylage (horse feed made from grass) for the winter months. Big horses get through a bale of hay a day. And we really need stable rugs, especially pony sizes.”

Founded 36 years ago, the sanctuary has more than 50 animals. As well as horses there are rescue cats, dogs, three sheeps that arrived one day in a cardboard box as lambs, goats and hens.

Some animals have fallen victim to vandals in recent weeks. “Someone opened the hen-house door and a fox killed some of them,” says Dianne. “People regularly let horses out, and half-a-dozen uncontrolled dogs which were let loose across the field savaged one of the goats.”

The sanctuary, a registered charity, needs £3,000 a month to keep going but, as running costs rocket, Dianne says the number of horses being abandoned is reaching crisis levels.

The sanctuary, near Bradford, has been taking in horses from around the country, many from other sanctuaries forced to close. There’s been a record number of enquiries from cash-strapped horse-owners unable to afford grazing and stabling costs.

“The recession has had a big impact; most horses come from people who can no longer afford to keep them. Some people have had them a long time, it’s heartbreaking when they hand them over,” says Dianne. “We’ve been getting at least half-a-dozen enquiries a week.

“We have a 34-year-old horse, Mary, whose owner couldn’t afford to look after her. She has no teeth and lives on 12lbs of soaked grassnuts a day. It all costs.”

Roleystone relies on donations. Regular fundraising events include pony treks and open days, and there’s a £10 adoption scheme and a £1-a-month appeal. “If 3,000 people gave just £1 each month we’d have enough to keep going,” says Dianne, who runs Roleystone with a team of volunteers.

Some horses are referred to the sanctuary from Horsewatch, a network providing information to combat equine crime. “Stolen horses pass through a lot of hands,” says Dianne. “We get a lot of older horses here, especially stallions, because nobody wants them. We try and re-home as many as we can, but people usually want younger ones they can ride.”

The oldest horse, Patch, is 50. Rescue horses include Twinkle, found tethered on a housing estate with a bicycle wheel stuck on her leg, last Christmas. “People thought she was a gelding – then she had a foal,” says Dianne.

Hopper and Briar have been pals for 22 years. Hopper, a sweet little Shetland pony, is partially blind and follows Briar around.

A 31-year-old rare breed, Bisto, has equine Cushings Disease, causing a benign tumour on the pituitary gland. Percy is a 29-year-old retired show pony, whose owners went to live in Bulgaria.

Dianne says many horses end up neglected and abandoned because owners don’t know how to look after them. “Horses are cheap and often end up with people who haven’t a clue,” she says. “Without proper knowledge of horses you wouldn’t know how to spot something like bad teeth.

“If you’re taking on a horse, you have to accept it’s a big responsibility. People don’t mean to be cruel, they just don’t know what they’re doing. But we’re not here to condemn – we just want to give the horses a better life.”

Roleystone needs volunteers for various jobs, from mucking out stables to rebuilding fences.

“It’s a learning curve for anyone thinking of getting a horse, it opens your eyes to the care and work involved,” says Dianne. “We also need people with building skills – two of our stables are falling down and we have gates that need mending and replacing.

“The volunteers do a brilliant job. Some of them are children and they turn out in all weathers.”

* Roleystone Horse and Pony Sanctuary is at Westfield Lane, Wrose. For more information, ring Dianne French on 07789247209 or visit roleystonesanctuary.org. Donations can also be sent to 21 Wrose Grove, Wrose, Bradford, BD2 1PQ.