"People have this romantic idea of animal rescue. It's not like that at all."

Billy Thompson has been jailed, physically attacked and throttled unconscious saving animals. He'd do it again tomorrow. This is what running a horse rescue sanctuary actually looks like.

At The Retreat Animal Sanctuary, over 30 horses, donkeys and more have each arrived broken in some way — dumped in fields, abandoned on village greens, rescued from roundups. Anna Louise spends a day with Billy and trustee Lil to find out what it really takes: financially, emotionally, and physically.

• Meet Octavia — a blind horse who lost both eyes to uveitis and now has a guide horse of her own.
• Andrew — a foal the size of a border collie, given 12 hours to live when he was found collapsed.
• Pip — 37 years old and proof that a rescued horse can have a long, calm life.
• And a family of donkeys Billy refuses to split up, no matter how hard it makes rehoming.

This animal rescue documentary doesn't shy away from the difficult parts. Some horses don't make it. Some names Billy still can't say out loud. But the majority do recover — and that, he says, is what makes it possible to keep going.

Learn more about the work of The Retreat Animal Sanctuary: https://www.retreatanimalrescue.org.uk/