The RSPCA has declared a "horse crisis" in the UK as the number of neglect cases have rocketed to record levels because of over breeding, new figures reveal.

The animal charity took 980 abandoned horses into their care throughout 2017, up from 673 in 2015, and they have warned that too many horses are being bred that have no homes to go to.

Many are being dumped in private fields by their owners because it is “cheaper than euthanising them”, Dr Mark Kennedy, a senior scientific equine advisor at the RSPCA, said.

The “culture” of the traveller community, who frequently breed horses to generate social status and financial income, is contributing to the crisis, Dr Kennedy added.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Dr Kennedy said: “The horse crisis has been caused by a mixture of cultural and social reasons. There are communities in the UK that, in order to express your wealth and status, you breed horses despite having nowhere to send them.