How the Mare and Foal Sanctuary brought order to their visual asset library

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary is a registered charity based across four sites in Devon, UK, dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and providing lifelong care to horses, ponies and foals that have been abandoned, neglected or abused. Through a range of therapeutic, equine-assisted programmes with rescued horses and ponies, the charity also supports the physical and mental wellbeing of children and adults.

The scale of their work is remarkable. Last year alone, the Sanctuary cared for over 500 horses and ponies and provided support to over 450 vulnerable children, young people and adults.

Photography and video are central to how the Sanctuary communicates this impact to donors, volunteers, press and the wider public. Managing those visual assets efficiently isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

A fragmented library holding the team back

Before PhotoDeck, the Sanctuary’s image library was scattered. Photographs lived across individual staff folders and various internal systems, making it genuinely difficult to locate the right image when it was needed. Large file sizes compounded the problem, pushing the limits of available storage. There was no single source of truth.

Photographs were previously stored across multiple internal platforms, including individual staff folders and various organisational systems. This fragmented approach made it difficult to locate, manage and share images efficiently.

For a small charity team where every hour counts, the time lost searching for images (or simply not being able to find them at all) was a real operational burden.

Choosing a solution that fits a charity’s reality

When evaluating options, The Mare and Foal Sanctuary had a clear set of priorities: cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and a platform that could grow alongside them as their content needs evolved. PhotoDeck’s media library software struck the right balance between functionality and value, a combination that matters especially to organisations where every cent spent needs to be justified.

The balance between cost and functionality is what led us to PhotoDeck. We felt the platform would suit our needs well as we grow and develop our content as a charitable organisation.

The setup process reinforced that decision. The team found the onboarding smooth and well-supported, with troubleshooting resources that were clear and easy to follow from day one.

One centralised library, shared with the right people

Today, the Sanctuary uses PhotoDeck to archive, label and organise their growing image collection in one place. A particular advantage is the ability to grant access to specific folders for selected users while keeping other collections private — giving the team precise control over who sees what, without complicated workarounds.

Our team can quickly search, download and use images from a single, centralised source, which saves considerable time and streamlines our workflow.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary is as ambitious as ever. Plans include rehoming more rescued horses with experienced long-term carers, expanding their equine-assisted wellbeing programmes, and enhancing biodiversity across their sites. Telling those stories compellingly — through powerful photography and, increasingly, video — will be essential to connecting with donors and supporters.

As the Sanctuary continues to grow its content strategy, PhotoDeck is proud to support the team with a reliable, accessible home for their visual assets. Donations to the Mare and Foal Sanctuary can be made on their website.