What's happening

16 August 2018

Summer Club - Mini Vets

Hey, Red again!
 
I keep hearing great things about Redwings’ Summer Club so thought I would update you all on what’s been happening so far.
 
The mini vets session proved popular at all our visitor centres where aspiring vets were helping to give one of my horsey friends a health check. Here’s a taster of what they learned about:
 
Breathing – Yes, making sure your horsey patient is breathing is an obvious one, but also look at their belly moving in and out to count how many breaths they are taking. The ideal range is 12-16 breaths per minute. If a horse is breathing a lot faster than this something may be wrong, which our vets would need to investigate further.
 
Heartrate – You can check a horse’s heartbeat by using a stethoscope, just like the ones you see at the doctors. The ideal range is 36-44 beats per minute. If a horse’s heartbeat is a lot faster, this is another sign that something could be wrong. Check out this video, by one of our vets, to see another way to check for a horse’s heartbeat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCJH8EOZb5s.
 
Temperature – Our temperature is between 37.5 – 38.5°c; anything a lot higher or lower could be a sign we are unwell.
 
Finally, look at the poo! – I know you love the gross bits! Paddocks are checked every day for the presence of poo, its texture and for worms. We can poo 8-12 times a day so that’s a lot of poo to look through! Anything more or less than this may indicate a problem. Samples are collected and sent over to the vets for testing for worms. Having lots of worms in our system can make us very poorly so vets will look at our poo for worms and their eggs, and may do further tests if needed.
 
Sounds like our mini vets have been busy and from what I was told, all of my horsey friends passed their health checks. Thank you for helping to make sure my friends stay happy and healthy.
 
I wonder what our mini farriers have been up to…? I’ll keep you posted.
 

 

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!