Although she could never have known it, during her lifetime, a mare called Clora Bay helped numerous animals find safety in new homes at times when their lives literally hung in the balance.

Her acquisition was the trigger that led Aldershot couple Rod and Sue Wray to start their animal sanctuary, Ray of Hope, in Badshot Lea.

And although Clora Bay has since died, Sue, 61, and Rod, 69, continue their work with the same dedication, enthusiasm and love that inspired them right back at the very beginning three decades ago.

Rod explained that, more than 30 years ago, he bought Clora Bay as a surprise for his horse-lover wife and, as so often happens with people who have horses, somehow more followed, along with a variety of other animals.

But the difference was that all of these subsequent animals either came from homes where they had been neglected or were, for one reason or another, faced with the likelihood of a premature death.

Sue explained how it came about: “When we got Clora, a friend knew of an unwanted horse and asked me if I would like a companion for her and I said yes. But then more calls followed and that was how it all started.”

Rod continued: “We had Clora for 31 years, and over that time we helped numerous animals, and we continue to do so. And each one finds a loving home where they can live in security until the end of their days.”

And this can be a long time. The couple recently lost a beloved old horse called Peter who died at the grand old age of 42.

By the time he died, he had no teeth and could only eat a ‘slop’ type of food, but when he could no longer cope, Rod and Sue decided it was time to let him go.

“We always have the animals, including the horses, cremated. It’s expensive, but that way we know where they have gone,” said Sue.

“Every time one of them dies, they take a little part of me. But each one stays in my heart.”

At the present time, the couple care for a selection of goats, chickens, cats, horses and ponies plus a donkey at the Badshot Lea premises.

And in addition to these, they have several animals at their home, including rabbits, guinea pigs and two much-loved and pampered cats.

One, Thomas, came to them with a badly broken jaw, and the other, Chocolate, has been with the couple since he was a kitten when they had to nurse him through potentially fatal cat flu.

Rod also has a dog called Pru, which originally was given to a woman as a birthday present by her sister.

“This lady was distraught,” said Rod. “Her sister had given her this dog, a lively springer spaniel, but she really didn’t want a dog and just couldn’t deal with one.

"I went along to pick Pru up with a view to rehoming her, but I just fell in love with her there and then and I had to keep her.”

Caring for all the animals is quite a major task, but as Rod and Sue are both retired now (Rod is a former undertaker and crematorium technician and Sue a care worker), they are able to devote as much time as it takes to the job.

But on top of that, Sue still manages to arrange the rehoming of various animals through the numerous phone-calls she receives from the public.

“The phone never stops ringing and people even turn up on the doorstep with animals,” she said.

“Luckily I’ve got good back-up. Over the years I’ve built up a wide net-work of sanctuaries which can take animals and we have fost-erers who care for animals, like cats, dogs, guinea pigs, ferrets and so on, until we can find them a suitable home.

“When we’re looking for a new home, we will always check it first to make sure it will be OK. We are very cautious, but we have had lots of experience by now and we’re able to get a pretty good idea about people.

“It’s all very hard work, but it’s extremely rewarding.”

Rod said: “We’re not in a position to take on any more animals here and we always say that as one passes away we won’t replace it, but then somehow it doesn’t seem to quite work like that.

“But obviously we can’t take them all so we have to look elsewhere. For example, Sue has just rehomed a guinea pig.

"It was a typical case. The children had lost interest and the guinea pig was being neglected, but she found someone who was willing to take it.

"We have had all sorts of animals over the years, even a snake, which was dumped outside our gate in a box. We managed to find somewhere for it though.”

The animals often have sad stories behind them.

Quite commonly, for some reason, practical or financial, an owner is unable to care for it despite their best efforts, but in other cases there is neglect, through wilfulness or ignorance, or occasionally even cruelty.

As a result the Wrays are often in contact with the RSPCA.

“We have four goats here,” said Rod. “Katy came from another sanctuary, Rascal and Minstrel came from a couple whose marriage was breaking down but, unbelievably, Alfred was found dumped in a skip. The RSPCA found him and brought him here to us.

"They are all happy and healthy now and have had all their vaccinations, including the one for bluetongue.”

Like Rascal and Minstrel, the donkey Rebecca was also the fallout of a marriage break-up, but the ponies Shady, Topsy, Jet and Bubbles all had long-term health problems which their owners were unable or unwilling to deal with.

Fortunately, with the right care, each one is now fit and well, with their condition being successfully managed.

The most recent addition to the sanctuary, a mare called Red Ruby, is also in need of some TLC as she has a breathing problem a little like asthma, as well as an allergic skin condition.

Furthermore, when she arrived, she was showing signs of neglect, including inadequate foot care.

Sue said: “She is a sweet mare but she was in a poor condition. Her skin sores were so bad and so deep when she arrived they were infested with maggots.”

Rod continued: “These types of health problems are incurable and ongoing so they need careful managing and continuous treatment which, of course, is expensive.

"The owners don’t want to care for the horses and they can’t sell them because of the condition.

“We had a horse called Posey who sadly died recently and we said we wouldn’t take another horse, but when Red Ruby came along we couldn’t say no.

“She was in a poor state but she is a lovely old lady and we are getting her sorted out.

"We don’t know much about her but we think she may have done some kind of competing in the past, possibly eventing.

“We always try to find out an animal’s history, not just out of interest but also because it can give clues about their current behaviour and state of health.”

The other three horses have different tales to tell. Poor little Hope was rescued from certain death at the abattoir.

A petite Welsh pony, she was earmarked for meat because of her roach back, which means that her back is raised rather than dipped in the middle.

This conformation fault makes her useless as a riding pony and her owners could think of no purpose for her other than as meat.

“She is such a sweet little thing. When she came to us she was so nervous and frightened we couldn’t even catch her, but now she’s friendly and confident. Our only regret is that we weren’t able to save any more of the ponies that were being shipped to the abattoir,” said Rod.

But it’s not just small ponies that can be unwanted if they are unable to fulfil the role allotted to them.

A racehorse that goes by the rather formal name of Ann Banks has also found a home at the sanctuary for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, being what is effectively thrown away is not an uncommon fate for ex-racehorses.

If they are not fast enough or become too old to race, there can be nowhere for them to go.
Some are retrained as riding horses, a job which they carry out very well, but racing can take its toll on legs and many racehorses have lameness problems which make them unsuitable for this purpose.

If this is the case, the future is bleak for those horses which are not taken in by specialised ex-racehorse sanctuaries.

Rod explained that Ann was the winner of numerous races, and because she had very good bloodlines she bred nine foals.

Alas her days as a racehorse were well and truly over and the birth of her last foal was difficult, nearly ending in her death, and therefore she could not be bred from any more.
Because she had no further use to her owners she then fell into the hands of the wrong people, with the result that when she was rescued she was skin and bone.

“We had to go out and raise money to pay for her rehabilitation,” said Rod. “Ann needed special feed to build her up, as well as veterinary care. But now she’s a good weight and has everything she needs.”

Skewbald Max also was a horse that no longer had a purpose. He had been owned by a gipsy who had used him in trotting races until he became lame, at which point, like so many others, he was deemed surplus to requirements and was destined for the meat market.

Unfortunately, even though he did not want Max, the gipsy was not willing to give him away, so Sue, with Rod’s blessing, spent a small amount of money she had recently inherited on acquiring the horse, such is the level of the couple’s commitment.

Money, of course, is something which is always in short supply, and Rod and Sue spend much of their pensions on ensuring that all the animals’ needs are met.

Rod has always resisted the idea of ‘going legal’ and becoming a registered charity, preferring to keep the sanctuary run as a hobby.

“I would be wary of becoming a larger charity because money tends to be spent on things other than the animals’ things, such as fancy horseboxes and the like to build an image,” he said.

“Also we would have to appoint trustees. Once you do that you are accountable to them and they become involved in any decisions on how money is spent.

“I want to be free to spend money in whatever way I want it to be spent. Many of these animals are elderly and could be considered not ‘viable’, but I want to be the person who decides the fate of an animal, without having to refer to trustees.”

Keeping things small means that all the work is carried out by Rod and Sue themselves.

“We don’t have any public liability insurance, so we can’t have any helpers,” Rod added. “And in any case, we couldn’t afford to pay someone.”

But the Wrays do receive some help with the ever-rising costs of keeping the animals.

Rod continued: “Feed, hay and veterinary bills are the big expenses. Mike and Linda, who work at Rocket Communications in Fleet, give us invaluable support helping with feed and other costs.

“A couple called John and Iris, who live in Churt, donate hay to us, and our fantastic farrier Michael Johnson, who comes up from Richmond, gives us a special rate for trimming the horses’ feet every six weeks.

“We are happy to spend our money on the animals and we never go on holiday, partly because of the expense and partly because we don’t like to leave the animals in someone else’s care.
"We did that once before and it was a disaster, so we prefer to do it all ourselves now.

“In any case our lives are very hectic and there is always something unforeseeable happening.

“Our biggest worry at the moment is the possibility we could lose some or all of the land we use as it has been earmarked for development.

“It all seems to be on hold at the moment because of the slump in the housing market, but I don’t know what will happen in the future.

“Sue worries about this, but I always say to her live for today and try not to think about tomorrow. You don’t know what’s round the corner.”

Anyone who would like to contact Ray of Hope, or would like to offer help in some way, should call 01252 655829. Rod and Sue are particularly in need of donations of sturdy rabbit hutches at the moment.