Stormzy loves a morning nap 😴💤
Think we found Pennys itchy spot 😍❤️
Clover doing her best impression of a fire breathing dragon 🐉 🤣❄️
Ellie coming home
Update on Our Beautiful Little Pony, Ellie
Ellie joined us last year and due to her round shape, we suspected she might be carrying a foal, so we arranged for a pregnancy test, which confirmed our suspicions as the results were positive. With that news, we kept a close eye on her every step of the way, monitoring her around the clock including during the night.
At Hope Pastures, we have a strict no-breeding policy, and with Ellie’s unknown history, we couldn’t help but worry about the size of the foal’s father and how it might affect her. To be absolutely sure, we arranged for a second test which was also positive.
A few weeks ago, Ellie became very unwell. She wasn’t herself—lethargic, refusing food, and clearly in discomfort. It was heartbreaking to see her like this. She was so unwell we made the decision to take her to Rainbow Equine Hospital for urgent care and investigations.
Ellie had to have scans and emergency fluids & It was there we learned the news that she was no longer expecting a foal. We don’t know whether she re-absorbed the foal earlier in her pregnancy or if the tests had been false positives, but our focus shifted immediately to understanding why she was so unwell.
The next few days were so challenging. Ellie’s condition was serious.
Her digestive system wasn’t working as it should, causing her pain and complications. The Vets and care team at Rainbow worked tirelessly to help her, giving her the very best care possible. With the right medications, extra care and expert help, Ellie began to make small improvements. She was diagnosed with Colitis and was really struggling to cope with the condition.
After several days in the vet hospital, Ellie finally turned a corner. It was such a relief when we brought her home.
The healing journey hasn’t been easy, and we’re still keeping a very close eye on her. She’s finished her medication now, and though we’re cautiously optimistic, every day she makes it toward recovery
❄️Welfare Wednesday ☃️ Knowing how to assess a horse’s welfare in freezing weather 🥶
It’s been so cold, snowy and Icy here in West Yorkshire, recently it’s been as low as -7 degrees.
What does this mean for our residents and the welfare team’s calls about other horses out in the community?
We have several things to consider when we are assessing the welfare needs of horses both on site and off site.
❄️Body condition of the horse/pony/donkey- do they have a good covering of fat that will enable them to keep warm?
❄️Breed- are they a finer type of equine - a ‘warmblood’ or are they a native breed, a coldblood
❄️Coat condition- do they have a thick coat of hair that is functional and able to trap in heat when it stands on end? Are they clipped or wearing a man made coat?
❄️Horses natural fur coats are usually waterproof due to containing a type of oil that repels water. Donkeys don’t have this oil so are especially vulnerable to cold and wet.
❄️Availability of shelter, either man made or natural - do they have this and is there enough room for all the animals in the group to fit inside?
❄️Availability of forage- equines keep warm partly from the heat created internally when digesting forage such as hay. We look out for this and become concerned if an equine is left for long periods of time in the cold without access to forage.
❄️Health status- sick animals may struggle to keep warm and need extra support
❄️Age - elderly horses can struggle to keep warm due to slower metabolism, less functionality of their teeth and digestion, and age related health complications such as Cushings Disease
🐴 Several of our residents wear man made coats. These are horses that are warmbloods, may have health problems, struggle to maintain weight and are older.
But, most of our residents are hardy native breeds who can cope well with severe weather simply with constant access to hay and what nature provided for them
Alex thinks feed buckets make the best toys 🤣❤️🫏
Playtime
Little foal Stormzy loves playing with his donkey bestie, Ned.
Their favourite game is Tug! Usually with an old welly boot or a dog toy. How cute is that 🥰
Rescues, rehabilitates and re-homes horses, ponies and donkeys
