How we do it
The Redwings Guardianship Scheme is devoted to finding the right Guardian home for the horses and ponies we rescue. Since the scheme began in 2005, we have found loving Guardian homes for over 150 horses and ponies and have responsibility for more than 300 others who were already settled in homes thanks to the Ada Cole Rescue Centre in Essex, an equine welfare charity who merged with Redwings in October 2005.
The principle behind our re-homing is always to ensure it’s right for the individual equine involved, so if they do not take to the backing process or do not settle in to life in their homes they will always have a home for life here at the Sanctuary instead – it’s the best of both worlds!
Some of our horses are backed later in life than normal, and as many have been through traumatic experiences in the past, our backing process itself is very patient – we never put any pressure on our equines and some take to it much quicker than others so we don’t rush anyone. Once they are used to being handled and led, we begin the process of backing. Whereas in a normal home a horse would begin with lunging, we begin with long leading to get them used to being led a bit further away from their handler: this teaches them a bit of independence. Then we begin lunging, so the equine learns to listen to voice commands and builds up their muscle strength, before moving on to long reining to get them used to the feel of the reins on their mouth and the stirrups by their sides.
The last stage is putting weight on the saddle, laying over and then finally sitting on the horse or pony for the first time – this is often the moment when they may show some reaction so it requires a bit of bravery from our re-homing team, but it usually goes off without incident!
Once they have spent some time on the lead rein with a handler beside them, the rider will then encourage their new steed to strike off on their own (another scary moment!) We slowly build up their riding to increase their range of work, through walking, trotting and cantering to basic jumping and some more complex schooling manoeuvres to see where their aptitudes lie. Hacking around our sites is also an integral part of the process as our Guardian ponies must be ready for anything the outside world will throw at them. Once ready, the pony is ready to find a home!
Did you know? Our children’s ponies also go through lots of desensitisation – our team try to imitate the unpredictability of children as best they can, from popping crisp packets around them to sneezing loudly while on their back! We always need to know they will be safe for their new little Guardian!
Did you know? We rarely re-home Shetland ponies as ridden ponies as they are not always the straightforward children’s ponies that many people think they are. However those that are considered to be suitable are trained to be ridden with our special hay dolly called Felicity as none of our team are small enough! She’s quite the jockey!
