News stories
A very busy 2008!
We wanted to say a huge thank you for all your amazing support over the last 12 months.
Here at Redwings we rely 100% on donations from the public and we couldn’t have achieved anything we have done this year without your help and support so thank you!
2008 was a very busy year for us as we were involved in a number of large rescues and saw lots of needy horses and ponies coming into our care.
We were offering advice to owners as well by holding roadshows on Strangles and sharing our knowledge of transporting horses, and we also launched our brand new Adoption Club – including a fab online version!
The year began with a bang back in January with a large rescue from a farm in Amersham. This was an RSPCA-led case involving local Police and several other charities, and Redwings was pleased to involve 30 of its staff and eight horseboxes. This case is currently being heard at Bicester Magistrates Court, and this week a number of images and footage from the rescue have also been in the national news.
Timothy the donkey was born the day after the rescue!
Then in May we were asked to help with the rescue of a group of ponies on the outskirts of Birmingham. Having worked with the owner and the RSPCA over the past few years, conditions were still not ideal for the horses and ponies living on the site and many were overweight and some had developed severe laminitis as a result of living unrestricted on a large area of grazing. We were soon on our way to help and we collected three poorly ponies that we brought back to Norfolk – they have since been named Pudding, Banoffee and Sorbet as they clearly loved their food!
Beautiful Banoffee!
We also saw several horses being signed over into our care following successful RSPCA prosecutions, including Oliver the handsome cob who is a resident at our Oxhill Rescue Centre and more recently a group of horses and ponies originally rescued from the Wrexham area in Wales.
But more than anything, 2008 was the‘Year of the Foals’ as following several large rescues including a number of pregnant mares, we saw more than 20 foals born into our care in 2008, which is definitely a new Redwings record!! Our most recent new arrivals are Conker – born on November 14th at our Hapton centre - and Acer, who was born to mum Foxglove just five weeks ago at our Oxhill Rescue Centre in Warwickshire – both are doing well!
Conker and his mum at Hapton!
The list goes on and on but there is hopefully a taste of what we have been up to in the last 12 months. In 2009 we celebrate our Silver Jubilee as we are 25 years old, so keep an eye on the website for details of our special events and help us celebrate!
We thanked you for your extraordinary support at the beginning of this year, and we finish this year thanking you again. We simply could not do what we do without you.
Thank you and a very Happy Christmas from everyone here at Redwings!
Please help us to continue our vital welfare work across the UK - email us at info@redwings.co.uk to join our mailing list or donate now to our latest appeal.
