Natural herds
At Redwings, our horse management system is based on providing a lifestyle for equines that is as natural as possible.
Back to Basics
Despite thousands of years of domestication, a horse’s mind and body are both still geared towards life in a wild herd. At Redwings, we provide permanent turn out within a herd environment for all our equines. This enables them to enjoy several essential elements of this natural lifestyle: space, grazing and company. In our experience, what we might call the ‘peace of mind’ this natural lifestyle provides can make a significant contribution to the bodily health of an equine, as well as their overall quality of life and the way they recover from mistreatment or cruelty.
However, although we have adopted a very natural environment for our residents, nature is complimented with whatever support may be needed to ensure every equine enjoys health and well-being. Fresh water, field shelters, mineral licks and muck picked, well-managed pasture are standard. Extra feed, forage, medication, rugs, sun visors and therapeutic shoes are readily available when needed. A strict routine of worming, vaccinating, foot trimming and dental checks also maintain the good health of our resident herds.
All our horses, ponies, donkeys and mules are checked by our equine care staff at least twice a day and our nights welfare and security team also check on them once or twice during the night and provide any night feeds or medication that might be needed. Many of our residents are on permanent medication or have ongoing veterinary problems and they need to be checked to ensure they are healthy and happy at all times. The care team provide any horses that need it with extra feed throughout the day and all the residents are provided with hay or haylage through the Winter to supplement the available grass. We also have our own maintenance team who carry out many tasks including making sure all our fencing is secure, fixing water tanks and drinkers where needed and maintaining all the sanctuary vehicles to ensure our residents’ needs are always met.
Although turn out is the basis of Redwings’ horse management system, every equine centre is also equipped with a number of stables. A horse, pony or donkey may be brought into a stable for several reasons. Laminitis, other forms of lameness, colic, diarrhoea or open wounds may all prompt our veterinary team to prescribe a period of box rest for treatment, observation and convalescence. Horses may also be brought into a stable for clinical tests or to prepare them for surgery and so a stable is an important asset for any equine management routine.
