When a familiar person's voice is played from a hidden loudspeaker, horses look towards them more if it is someone they know.

Scientists at the University of Sussex have previously revealed the animals also recognise members of their herd, which is an ability known as crossmodal.

This crossmodal perception involving interactions between two or more different senses was once believed to be a purely human trait.

Animal psychologist Dr Leanne Proops said subjects were able to match a familiar voice to someone they knew but struggled to do so if the person was unfamiliar.

"The matching of the owner to their voice does not reflect a spontaneous preference for looking towards the owner, instead subjects actively associate the audio and visual stimuli," she continued.

Paul Bamford will cross Yorkshire in his specialist hand cycle with the ultimate aim of raising £100,000 for Racing Welfare.

Racing Welfare is a charity that helps people in need – be it support and advice on injuries or benefits and pensions for staff who work in the racing industry.

He will set off from Redcar racecourse and is set to arrive at Doncaster's course on Saturday May 19th.

The 41-year-old fell off a beast in 2006 while working for trainer Les Eyre and was left paralysed from the chest down.

Racing Welfare has helped Mr Bamford with specialist housing, wheelchairs, standing frames and retraining courses.

"I wouldn't be here without Racing Welfare, they have helped me so much since my accident," he told Horse and Hound.

It is currently looking after 600 ponies and horses that have suffered neglect and cruelty.

In order to tackle this growing "horse crisis", the organisation has launched its stable future appeal to find foster homes to temporarily care for the 270 youngsters that are too young to be ridden.

The RSPCA claims the vet bills alone for horses cost the charity £3.2 million and it is struggling to provide adequate facilities and levels of care.

Equine rehoming officer with the RSPCA Sally Learoyd said there appears to be a never-ending tide of young horses being given up by irresponsible owners.

"Over the past year we've seen a huge increase in the amount of horses being disowned or allowed to get into an appalling state because the trade in horses has collapsed," she continued.

Depp is no stranger to riding a horse, having done so in major flicks including Sleepy Hollow and he even had such a good connection with the Andalucian beast that he adopted it after filming stopped.

The actor told the Daily Mirror that he forged such a strong bond with Scout – his horse in Lone Ranger – that the equine reacted instinctively to ensure his fall wasn't as bad as it could have been.

He said he has looked at the tape a couple of times and noticed that Scout saved his life.

"I'm lucky to be here. I've done a number of films on horseback and I've taken a couple of spills but this was a violent one," the 48-year-old actor was quoted as saying.

The show will be performed at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham from 16th to 18th November and tickets are now on sale for people to get hold of.

Horses and riders from the 430-year-old school will be demonstrating classical equitation including some of their famous ground movements such as capriole, levade and courbette.

Riders wishing to join the group must first pass a four-week trial and then train for five years before being allowed to perform in public.

A spokesperson for the historic school said as a result of huge public demand from Birmingham and other parts of the Midlands it will be back for three shows only.

"Traditionally the Spanish Riding School has always played London and Birmingham together, however last year we were sadly only able to do London," the spokesperson continued.

Operating profit in 2011 was £19.2 million, which represents an increase of £0.9 million.

The body paid out £16.4 million in prize money throughout the 12 months, while turnover was up to £139.4 million.

Owners of Cheltenham, Aintree, Newmarket and Epsom racecourses, the Jockey Club will now increase prize money over the year to £16.7 million.

It is hoped this will help offset a decline in funding received from the levy paid by the betting industry.

Group chief executive of the organisation Simon Bazalgette said despite the extra prize money, the government needs to press on with a legislative framework that would see racing receive more funding.

"We were able to afford to contribute more than ever to British racing in the form of prize money, despite the challenging economic environment around us," he added.

Lindy Spencer Bernard will be leading a group on the 300-mile journey from Chantilly to get to Windsor for the celebrations and raise money at the same time.

The group will include a coach, a polo player, a flat race jockey and an eventer who will all be mounted, Horse and Hound reports.

They will set off on June 4th, which is the first day of the bank holiday celebrations, and expect to arrive on the 25th of that month.

She will be raising money for a trust set up in memory of her nieces – Eloise and Katie Plunkett – which funds projects for youngsters.

"They represent the equestrian sports with which The Queen and Prince Philip have been closely involved during her reign," Mrs Spencer Bernard told the news provider.

It is the only horse charity to be nominated for the event, which is being held on the private grounds of Windsor Castle.

The Diamond Jubilee celebration will occur on the same evenings as the Royal Windsor Horse Show and take place from Thursday May 10th to Sunday May 13th.

It will see over 550 horses and more than 1,000 dancers, musicians and performers from around the world coming together each night in celebration of Her Majesty's reign.

Chief executive of the World Horse Welfare Roly Owers said the pageant will be an excellent opportunity for the charity to highlight the challenges beasts face.

"We have been proud of our links with the royal family throughout our history. In addition to enjoying HRH The Princess Royal as our president, our rehabilitated horses have found new homes at Balmoral," he added.

From 2013, the FEI jumping committee wants to replace the current league system with a knock-out competition that could embrace dozens of new countries.

However, with just seven shows potentially being involved over three rounds worldwide, existing nations cup events could be left out in the cold.

The FEI Nations Cup is the most prestigious showjumping series for national teams in the world.

Hickstead has hosted the British Nations Cup for all but one year since 1971 but organisers Lizzie and Edward Bunn weren't consulted about the scrapping of the league system and fear the worst.

"I am not sure some shows will survive if they don't have the funding, especially as you are talking about not having a grand prix at the same event," Ms Bunn was quoted as saying.

McCoy has been deeply affected by the April 14th race in which his mount and another horse According to Pete had to be put down after suffering fatal injuries at a fence.

A British Horseracing Authority review concluded that Synchronised was injured while running riderless – five fences after initially falling with McCoy onboard.

McCoy told BBC Sport that the high profile nature of the event had put the two incidents under greater scrutiny than perhaps would have been the case in a lesser race.

The 17-time champion jockey said he has been trying as best he can to forget the race and not talk about it because of how much Synchronised meant to him.

"It is one of those terrible things you wish would never happen. Certainly Synchronised is a horse I won't ever forget," he said.