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Hamish becomes 'foster dad' to orphan RubyA particularly small Mini Shetland foal, sadly orphaned on Christmas Day, has found a new life and a 'foster dad' at the Redwings Ada Cole Rescue Centre, near Harlow in Essex.Ruby, who was born on 1 November, lost her mum unexpectedly to an illness and her owner turned to Redwings for advice. After spending time and effort bottle-feeding at nights and doing as much as anyone could in that situation, the owner realised she could not alone provide the intensive around-the-clock care the tiny foal needed. We offered to take Ruby in and provide what was needed and her owner agreed, though she keeps in touch to see how the 25-inch blue and white foal is progressing. Ruby came to Redwings Ada Cole on 3 January, and will remain in the charity’s ownership so has a home for life where she can be monitored. On Ruby’s arrival, the first issue to tackle was feeding, and the Redwings Ada Cole staff established a rota. Every day for six weeks Ruby’s two night feeds – and cuddles – were taken care of at 1am and 5am by committed members of staff who never complained about the unsociable hours but instead were delighted at the chance to return Ruby the love she had lost. Ruby was initially fed a special milk formula for foals and then moved on to milk pellets from a bucket. Ruby picked up condition well, and our veterinary team were delighted with her progress. The second issue to tackle was to socialise Ruby with other equines as, without a mum to feed her, she was spending more time than usual with people and she needed to learn to be like a pony to develop her natural instincts. Her carers introduced her to some other young Shetlands but although not much bigger themselves, they seemed confused by Ruby’s particularly small size and didn’t seem to know what to do! It was back to the drawing board but Ruby was clearly in need of an adult equine influence as she was becoming somewhat cheeky and naughty as the hand rearing didn’t supply the ‘keeping in check’ that a mother would.
Her carers tried her with Hamish, an eleven-year-old skewbald Shetland, and also the smallest Shetland at the centre. The introduction seemed to work like a charm! Despite the age gap, the pair instantly bonded and the relationship seems ‘parental’. Typically a new foal will bond with its mother, not it’s father, and so Hamish and Ruby are a bit like an adopted dad and daughter, bless! While Ruby is still fond of her carers, and shows a good attitude towards people in general, she has settled in well with her more ‘natural’ way of living. She is now being weaned on to solid food and has settled into happy grazing with Hamish nearby just as she should be doing with her mum. It’s a happy, heart-warming ending to a sad tale of a very small foal being losing her mum on Christmas Day and illustrates brilliantly the extra effort our staff will go to, to make sure a new arrival settles in. Ruby and Hamish live at the Redwings Ada Cole Rescue Centre, near Harlow in Essex. The centre is open seven days a week and entry is free. For more details telephone the visitor helpline on 0870 040 0033 or follow this link to the Visit Us pages of this site >>>>>>>>.
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