29 October 2024

Ponies and People: Helping horses beyond our fences

A woman shakes hands with the Queen, Camilla, in an old building called Anna Sewell House.

This year, Redwings has been celebrating its Ruby Anniversary! We have been providing sanctuary care and promoting horse welfare - inside and outside our paddock fences - for 40 years. 

This month we sat down with Campaigns and Policy Manager, Helen Whitelegg, and Head of Communications and Campaigns, Nicola Knight, to learn more about the communications and campaigns departments at Redwings, and why this work is an important part of meeting our charity goals. 

A woman stands outside a stable looking up at a bay horse.
Helen Whitelegg, our Campaigns and Policy Manager

Meet Helen and Nicola

 

Helen first joined Redwings in 2001 as a horse care assistant. She explained: “I joined Redwings as I had just finished another job and was really seeking to connect with animals again.

"The site I worked at, which Redwings no longer has, had a lot of elderly herds so we delivered lots of medications and treatments. I then joined the welfare team where I answered welfare calls, and even went on several rescues. 

"When our Oxhill Visitor Centre opened I moved there to help the team get established and later came back again to Norfolk to work at our quarantine site. Here I learnt a lot about infectious disease in horses. From there I moved into education, then into campaigning where I am now.

“I really appreciate how my breadth of Redwings experience helps me have a greater understanding of all the elements that go into running the charity, there is so much more to each department than you might think!

"Keeping the charity healthy and effective is complex and requires lots of different elements working together.”

A woman stands outside a stable giving a scratch to a large horse over the stable door who is pulling a silly face.
Nicola Knight gives a cuddle to Prince... who seems to be appreciating the scratch!

Nicola is celebrating 20 years at Redwings this year! She told us: “I also started on the farms after wanting a change of career. I’m a trained journalist and worked in sales and marketing but I needed a change, so when I saw a horse care job, I thought that would be great! 

"I did my training at one of the private farms then moved to one of Redwings’ previous visitor centres. I met Helen then as she came over from head office which I thought was really wonderful as she knew so much about the stories of the horses I was working with every day. 

"I had a short break from working here but I really missed it, and I had always wondered why Redwings didn’t have a press officer to shout about all their great work. So, I reached out to our CEO Lynn Cutress and asked if I could come back to support the press work. 

"I started as an Information Officer as well as working in welfare. It’s been amazing to see how the team has grown to now having a whole Communications team who work to raise awareness about our work and share stories of the horses and staff inside the Sanctuary.”

Two women sits on armchairs in a marquee hosting the Redwings Book Festival.
Redwings CEO Lynn Cutress and Nicola Knight get ready to welcome guests to the inaugural Redwings Book Festival.

A day in the life

 

As with all roles at Redwings, no two days are the same! 

Helen said: “My work focuses on driving Redwings’ campaigning efforts forwards and finding ways we can contribute to improving welfare for horses beyond those we care for directly. We work to try and influence legislative change, increase regulation where needed, and encourage better enforcement of existing laws.

“There are many different approaches to campaigning and we use several here at Redwings. We have our awareness campaigns such as Strangles Awareness Week which is about helping more people gain a greater understanding of a nasty infectious equine disease. 

"We use a different campaign style for our fireworks campaign. This campaign focuses more on pushing for legislative change and tighter regulations, as well as educating the public on horse welfare issues, such as fireworks, and encouraging them to consider the impacts of their choices and behaviour.”

“We often work collaboratively with other organisations on campaign initiatives to pool our information and resources to achieve the biggest impact.”

Nicola added: “I’ve never had a day I didn’t want to come into work because it’s so varied! There is always something going on, whether planned or a surprise, so we are always busy.

"My responsibility is to manage the team and make sure we are performing well, but I also manage budgets and report to the board of Trustees. As a charity we want to be careful with how we spend our supporters’ donations.

"I’m part of the senior management team too, so we run the organisation under the supervision of the board and our CEO Lynn.

“On a day-to-day basis I do a lot of proofing of work, overseeing projects and driving the Redwings vision, and creating strategies to keep everyone on track.”

A herd of Shetland ponies are crowded into a barn.
A herd of Shetland ponies, left without basic care, are discovered at Spindle Farm, Amersham, in 2008.

Memorable moments

 

Helen’s most memorable moment is a significant milestone in the world of animal welfare.

She said: “The introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 will always be memorable as it really changed how we could work as a charity. 

"Shortly after its introduction it was tested by our largest ever rescue – the Amersham rescue where over 100 starving horses, ponies and donkeys, left without basic care, were rescued from one site. If that rescue had happened 12 months earlier we wouldn’t have been able to remove all the animals from the site. 

"Previously, animals could only be seized if you could prove physical suffering. Under the Animal Welfare Act, our vets were able to decide to remove all the horses from Spindle Farm, including those not in obvious medical distress, because they were at risk of suffering physically and psychological if they remained at the site.

“One of my most striking memories from that rescue is how silent the horses and donkeys were, they were completely shut down. Now we have a lot more respect from the psychological side of suffering, and we’ve seen evidence of it in so many cases, but without the Animal Welfare Act many of those horses and donkeys would not have been rescued that day.” 

Nicola shared a similar milestone memory. She added: “Another significant moment we contributed to is the Control of Horses Act. We collaborated with other charities as well as organisations and government agencies to bring this legislation forward. 

"This provides landowners a mechanism to take action if horses are abandoned on their land. Before this act, landowners, charities and local authorities had very few options to deal with abandoned horses, and these horses weren’t just in danger themselves but also posed as a threat to the land and people around them. 

"Now we have seen a reduction in horses being abandoned on private land which is a great step for animals welfare.

“Helping horses beyond our own fences is important as we have limited resources; we can only care for so many horses. So our campaigning work is a great way to improve the lives of all horses and hopefully reduce the number that need help from charities like us.”

A donkey foal is cuddled by her mum. Both are standing in a grassy field wearing rugs.
Esther the donkey foal is cuddled by her mum Martha shortly after their arrival at Redwings having been rescued from Spindle Farm.
 
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Favourite residents

 

Despite having worked at many Redwings sites, Helen was quick to name her favourite resident. 

“The horse that always pops into my mind is Socks. I met him at our quarantine site after he had just been rescued. He was a cob foal who was so thin he couldn’t stand on his own, so we had to go in several times a day to carefully get him up and we had to do that for several weeks. 

"But honestly the reason he is so memorable is his character; seeing him every morning would tighten my chest because he had the nicest nature, and even as he got stronger he stayed so lovely. He might be the sweetest horse I’ve known, which I think is extraordinary given his start in life. 

"He’s now been rehomed so I don’t see him, but I do speak to our field officer who checks on him and she always updates me on his five star home where he is being given all the love he deserves.”

Nicola had several favourites from over her years at Redwings, but managed to settle on one answer.

She said: “Esther is really special. She’s from the Amersham rescue and she was so young. I’ll always remember how quiet she was, and that first day she called for her dinner was amazing. You’d never know how shy she was now, she’s the friendliest donkey ever. She’s even an Adoption Star! 

"I feel like she really demonstrates our work here as a charity; we rescue those in need and do everything to provide them with a healthy, happy and safe future where we can see them thrive.”

the new Redwings fireworks campaign logo

Keep Horses In Mind

 

This edition of Ponies and People is coming to you just before Bonfire Night and, as mentioned by Helen, fireworks are one of the topics Redwings campaigns on.

Helen explained: “We are very passionate about fireworks as an issue for horse welfare, particularly because we have been directly impacted. A stray firework nearly caused a major fire at our Oxhill Visitor Centre in 2012, then we lost Cinders at Redwings Ada Cole in 2014 after she partially dislocated the joint inside her foot after being spooked by nearby fireworks. 

"We sadly then lost two ponies, Percy and Sprite, in 2016 due to lameness and a severe colic, again caused by severe stress from fireworks being let off close by.”

“Most horse owners we speak with say they can’t go out over Bonfire Night, they have to be close to their horses to check on them, they have to stable their horses or even sedate them. This isn’t only horse owners though, other pet owners and people themselves are affected by fireworks. 

"We produce educational content and work together with other charities and organisations to present as one voice when calling for regulatory change and enforcement. We aren’t saying there’s anything wrong with enjoying fireworks, we just want to raise awareness that not everyone in the vicinity of a display will be enjoying the experience and that distress can have devastating consequences.

“Many people we speak with say they just hadn’t realised what the negative impacts can be. I recall showing someone a video of horses running around in a panic because of fireworks and they became very passionate about the value of low noise fireworks. We want to give people the opportunity to become aware of the impacts so they can make informed decisions about fireworks.”

Nicola added: “A really great way to support our charity is to raise awareness about our work, share our campaigns and help us drive positive change. Of course, it’s an expensive task to care for the 2,000 horses we are responsible for, and we are so grateful for all donations, but for those not in a position to financially support our work we really value people getting involved in our campaigning. 

"Share us on social media and engage with our communications team, visit our centres to meet our horses, and tell your friends what you learn to help us improve the welfare of horses outside our paddock fences.”

Georgia standing with donkey Wiggins

Georgia Precious

Communications Officer

Find out more about Georgia Precious

Adoption
Adoption stars
Campaigning
Education
Events
Fireworks awareness
Impact
News
Rescue
Residents
National
Blogs
Esther
Georgia Precious
An image of a pony's ears with the Redwings 40 year logo

Support Redwings

At Redwings we are responsible for over 2,000 rescued horses, donkeys, ponies and mules, no matter their care needs. However, we are only able to do this thanks to the generosity of our supporters! 

Whether you have supported us for 40 years or 40 minutes, thank you for providing our residents with a safe home for life.

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