What's happening

03 August 2018

Summer Club Fun

Hello, Red Here.

It's the summer holidays. Finally a chance to relax and enjoy the sunshine...well I actually do that all the time! I'm just excited for all of you who get to visit my friends over the holidays; I've heard they have had lots of cuddles from you already.

Did you know some of my four-legged friends are taking part in Summer Club this year and you can be part of it too?!

Each weekly session is different and gives you a taster of what it's like to be a member of the Redwings team - from a vet or a farrier to a field officer or farm team member. You'll learn all about the different job roles that involve caring for us horses and donkeys in a fun and interactive way. My friends will be there to help you with your activities in return for lots of scratches and tickles afterwards.

Summer Club is underway at our Norfolk, Essex and Warwickshire sites. For more information and your chance to book a place ask your parent or guardian to go onto our main website: https://www.redwings.org.uk/news-and-views/summer-club-2018.

As for my buddies up in Scotland, I cannot believe Summer Club has nearly come to an end, but there may still be a chance to get onto the last few sessions. So head to Redwings Mountains to find out more.

Even if you cannot get to a Summer Club Session there's still loads of events going on over the summer holidays. All of our visitor centres are open every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 10am to 4pm and entry is completely free!

 

24 April 2018

Welcome to the Club

Welcome to the Club Cookie and Dayzee!

 

Hello, Red here!

I’ve got some really exciting news to share with you! Have you heard that two more of my friends have joined the Redwings Adoption Scheme?

Let me start by introducing you to dinky Dayzee who lives at our Mountains Visitor Centre in Scotland. I think you’ll agree that Dayzee is a stunning Shetland pony, with short legs, a dark brown and white skewbald coat and a white ‘snip’ on her nose that makes her very distinctive! Unfortunately Dazyee was born with a hip problem that can cause them to dislocate and make her feel very uncomfortable – ouch! It’s ok though because the lovely staff at Redwings are able to give her all the TLC she needs and now my confident little pal is always first to the fence to greet visitors or can be seen racing around the paddock with bestie Kassie!     

Cuddly Cookie is an appaloosa, which means he’s a very spotty and dotty pony, who is absolutely inseparable from his girlfriend Coral! Cookie had a very bad start in life after being rescued from the terrible conditions of Spindle Farm in Amersham 10 years ago. He was one of over 100 horses and ponies that did not have enough food, water or the basic care that they needed. Cookie now loves life, living at our Aylsham Visitor Centre in Norfolk alongside Adoption Stars such as the cheeky Gangsters and donkey duo Wiggins and Wacko. He is having a wonderful time!

 

It would be lovely if you could make Dayzee and Cookie feel even more welcome by adopting one of them today! By becoming their special friend, you’ll get a brilliant adoption pack including a certificate and special photo. You’ll also be able to read their online blog, which gives you a bit of a sneaky peek into their life at the Sanctuary! Adopting costs just £15 per year and your parents or guardians can find out more here https://www.redwings.org.uk/adoption. 

 

17 April 2018

I see you… can you see me?!

Red here! I’m sure you’ll agree that my friend Jenson looks very fetching in his brand new visor – I think the colour especially suits him! Now you may think that Jenson looks a bit strange but the visor he is wearing is just like a horsey version of sunglasses!

Visors come in all shapes and sizes and some even cover up the ears or front of the nose too! But they are all very important for protecting my friends from bright sunlight and annoying insects. They are made from a special see-through mess which makes them really easy to see out of and, of course, the lovely people at Redwings make sure they are kept clean by popping them in the washing machine every now and again!

 

Sunlight

Some horses are more sensitive to sunlight than others. Really bright sunlight can hurt my friends’ eyes, causing them to continually blink. Like sunglasses, a visor reduces the amount of sunlight entering the eyes, making it more comfortable to see. Those that have pink skin around their eyes also have to be careful that it does not burn – by wearing a visor harmful UV rays are filtered out, keeping the skin protected.

 

Insects

Just like you, horse’s eyes produce a liquid to keep them clean! Unfortunately for me and my friends, this liquid is extremely tasty to the pesky flies that come out in warm weather. Believe me when I tell you it’s horrible to have flies around your head all day – especially if you are trying to get in your three hours of sleep! We can get so irritated that we will do anything to get rid of them – including rubbing our face against anything we can find! Unfortunately, sometimes we can injure ourselves in the process. When we wear a visors the flies leave us alone and we can spend the day doing what we love!

 

My friends are extremely happy to wear visors because they help them stay comfortable when spending time outside. Although some of my cheeky pals do find it fun to try and hide their visors over the far side of the field so our carers have to go and retrieve them! 

 

20 March 2018

Red's Shed: Horses love toys!

Hello, Red here, Redwings Horsey Mascot!
 
Have you ever noticed that in some of the fields at Redwings you might see my horsey pals with a log, ball or even a welly or two?! Slightly strange you might think!
 
Well… horses are actually naturally very curious and love to play! The wonderful staff at Redwings know how much we enjoy having ‘toys’ to amuse ourselves. By providing us with strange items such as wellies, balls and logs they stops us getting bored and, best of all, allow us to behave like we would do in the wild.  
 
Toys are not only fun - they have health benefits as well! By giving us something to kick around, push with our heads or pick up with our mouths, they gets us moving, stretching and strengthening our muscles. Other toys challenge us to use our brains, encouraging my pals to use their amazing senses to solve a problem or investigate something new.
 
Even though we love to play, we can get bored of the same old toys. Our carers know that it’s really important to keep things new and exciting so they only give us a toy for a short amount of time and try to always give us something different. Sometimes they even use their amazing recycling skills to create homemade toys from string, cardboard boxes and milk bottles!
 
Toys are especially important if my horsey friends are poorly and need to spend some time in the Horse Hospital. When they get bored or upset, all horses can pick up bad habits like chewing their stable or standing and rocking their heads back and forth. To make a stay as relaxing as possible, the lovely Redwings vets are always coming up with new ways to challenge us – they even think of new ways to give us our dinner! I mean, bowls are boring when your food can come hidden in a box or an odd shaped ball!
 
It’s important to remember that toys are never as good as having another four legged friend to play with or lots of cuddles and tickles from our two legged carers and visitors!