08 October 2019

We say goodbye to lovely Tilly

We have sadly had to say goodbye to Tilly, a very special Shetland pony from Redwings Oxhill, at the age of 27 years old.

Tilly arrived at Redwings in 2011 after she was seriously injured in a car accident. She had several severe wounds to her hind legs and it looked like she may have been dragged along by the car that hit her. Local horse owners rushed to her aid after the accident, but sadly no owner could ever be traced.

A fundraising appeal was set up by local residents to help pay for her care, but knowing that she would need ongoing support to help her recover, Redwings was asked to help. We were all too happy to offer her a place in the Sanctuary to secure her future and give her all the love she deserved.

Upon her arrival at Redwings we also discovered that sadly, prior to her horrific accident, it seemed likely that Tilly had suffered from neglect as her teeth were extremely overgrown, making it very difficult for her to eat, and so on her arrival she received extensive dental treatment.

Recently, Tilly had been struggling again with dental issues. Although she was seeing our vets on a regular basis for dental care, her teeth continued to deteriorate and were affecting her ability to eat properly. Despite every effort to help her, our vet team sadly decided that her quaility of life was being impacted too greatly and the kindest thing for Tilly would be to put her to sleep to ensure that she did not suffer. She passed away on Friday 4^th October 2019.

We know she will be very sadly missed as she was a very popular resident at Redwings Oxhill and known as the best friend of Adoption Star Wensley. We will keep a very close eye on Wensley in the coming weeks, but thankfully he has the company of his other field friends, grandmother and grand-daughter duo Bunty and Hope, who will offer him plenty of pony support.

We’re sure you'll join us in remembering this very special pony. RIP Tilly.