An equine welfare charity has suffered more than £10,000 worth of damage after all of its horse sanctuaries were hit by Storm Darragh.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary, which is based in Devon and houses 130 equines across four sites, had field shelters ripped from the ground and destroyed, as well as suffering damage and power outages due to falling trees.

The storm, which hit the UK at the weekend, upended two of the charity’s field shelters at its Honeysuckle site, with one flying through a section of fencing. The charity said that all ponies were safe, having been moved out of the field beforehand. 

At the charity’s Upcott Park Rehoming Yard, near Holsworthy, the metal side of the feeder barn and wooden slats from outbuildings came loose due to strong winds. 

The sanctuary’s Yelverton Moorland Rescue Facility was without power all day on Sunday, and the storm brought down a tree and set off a fire alarm at its Coombe Park Education and Equestrian Centre. 

The charity said that none of its horses, ponies or people were hurt in the storm, “largely due to careful planning and regular daily maintenance of its land and buildings”.

Iain Wylie, the sanctuary’s chief operating officer, estimated that the storm caused more than £10,000 worth of damage, including to field shelters, outbuildings and fences across all of its four sites.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “We hope to be able to cover the costs with the help of some strong legacy income last year and are investigating whether our insurance might cover some of the damage.”

The charity also cancelled its annual Christmas and Tea Tour event, which gives visitors the chance to hear about the charity’s rescue work and meet its ponies and horses, and was due to take place at the weekend.

The spokesperson said that although the event was free, the charity had estimated that profits from the sale of goods and donations would have amounted to between £400 and £500.

Wylie said the charity’s staff team dealt calmly with the situation and monitored the weather over the weekend.

He said: “Although our top priority is to provide safe sanctuary and shelter to every one of our horses and ponies, exceptionally severe weather like this can make our work extremely challenging. 

“Despite the damage caused by Storm Darragh across the region, we anticipated these challenges and implemented measures to ensure everyone’s safety. Thankfully the only casualties were tree branches, barn panels, a fence and outdoor field shelters. 

“The maintenance team will be busy this week, clearing debris, assessing any damage and repairing structures.”

He added that he was “incredibly proud” of the charity’s staff for their resilience and commitment during “such awful conditions”.