Cinders and Gulliver
Last summer, an emaciated mare was found by the RSPCA in Buckinghamshire. The mare had given birth to a foal just a few days earlier and without urgent attention, both mother and son were in real danger. The RSPCA contacted Redwings for help and Jo, the Field Officer at our Ada Cole Rescue Centre, set off at once to collect the pair.
They were taken straight to the veterinary practice in Harlow that supports Redwings in Essex. Jo and her team mates named the mare Cinders and her son Gulliver and veterinary tests showed that there was no reason for Cinders’ terrible condition other than lack of nutrition. Almost all the food that Cinders had been able to eat was being used by her body to produce milk for Gulliver, leaving very little for her own sustenance. As a result, Gulliver was in much better shape than his mum. Once the vets were happy that Cinders needed no other treatment than good food and lots of TLC, she and Gulliver were transferred into the experienced hands of staff at our Ada Cole Rescue Centre.
Since receiving all the nutritional support she needed, Cinders has had no trouble putting weight on and is now a picture of health. Gulliver has been weaned from his mum and now eats grass and hay along with everyone else. He is growing fast and is turning out to be a very handsome chap indeed!
We are hoping that Gulliver will be healthy enough to be brought into work when he is older and found a caring home through Redwings’ Guardianship Re-homing Scheme. Although Cinders is still young herself - being only around 7 years old - she has a slight deformity in one of her hind legs which means she suffers from lameness from time to time. Because of this she will retire into permanent sanctuary at Redwings where she’ll receive all the care she needs and will never have to go hungry again.
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