12 July 2024

Ruby's Recovery - Part Three

Feeding Ruby

It’s been two weeks since Ruby arrived at Redwings, after she was found orphaned, next to her sadly deceased mum.

She has settled into life at Redwings well, and Cilla – her foster mum – is providing an ever-reassuring presence. The pair are increasingly seen interacting over the low wall between their stables, and we are working on the next step of their introduction.

If you’re new here, I’m Jude, from the Redwings Communications team, and I have the honour of writing Ruby’s blog as we document her recovery here at Redwings. If you haven’t read the first parts of her story, you can here.
This week, I’ve been finding out more about the mammoth effort that is feeding an orphan foal, and some of the small army of people who have been helping. Not least because Ruby is currently fed 9 times a day, around the clock at 2–3-hour intervals.

Daily, these feeds currently use over a kilo of foal milk powder – costing Redwings around £10 a day. This soon adds up, especially on top of the ever-increasing costs of looking after our rescued residents. Could you spare £10 for Ruby’s care? In return we can promise the warm and fuzzy feeling you will get knowing you have helped a little one have the very best start in life!

Ruby drinking her milk

When Ruby arrived, Nicky, Redwings’ Head of Veterinary and Care, devised a feeding regime to ensure Ruby would have the correct nutrition as she grew. Nicky is especially passionate about equine nutrition, perfect for more complex cases like Ruby. Nicky explained to me how Ruby’s rescue background, and the fact we didn’t know exactly how old she was, did make this more complex.

“When Ruby arrived, we knew she was anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks old, which is a significant variation.

“So, when calculating the feeding regime for Ruby, we look at how keen she was to drink the milk, how interested she was in the forage and grass we provided, and her body condition. We monitor her closely, and after every feed the team member doing the feed will make a note on her record of how much she drank, and any observations about her demeanour.”

Open wide!

This week, thanks to all the handling training already in place for Ruby we have managed to make her comfortable enough around us that welfare vet Nic was able to get a look at her incisors and identify specific teeth which are now erupting. Combined with the information from her rescue, we can now more accurately age her as around 5 to 6 weeks old.

Weigh-in time

With Felicity’s help (and the help of Ruby’s much loved ‘scratchy stick’) Ruby has proven to be a dab hand with our portable weighbridge so we can accurately monitor her weight and tweak her feeding regime accordingly.

Round the clock care

At Redwings we are lucky to have our Nights Welfare team, who have been supporting the vet team with her night-time feeds. Plus, staff from across many Redwings departments have been giving their time to volunteer to do the most anti-social shift of the day – her 3:30am feed.

I had a chat with some of the heroes who have been setting a very early alarm, and asked them why they were happy to sacrifice some shut-eye for Ruby!

“Why did I offer to help??? Well, why not? This is what we do. When there is a horse in need of help, we step in. This is one of our values, welfare at the heart of everything we do. Be it a foal, be it a poorly resident, be it an elderly pony, I will always volunteer because they simply deserve our best.”

Talita, Norfolk Operations Manager

“I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to contribute something tangible to the organisation and be a part of Ruby's story. Not sure where or when I would every get an opportunity like this again. (Plus, she so darn cute!)”

Rachael, Communications Officer

“Being a horse lover and owner, having the chance to help in Ruby’s rehab is an honour. I’m looking forward to seeing her become a healthy, happy mare and being part of her journey.”

Liz, Finance Officer

“I volunteered because I felt sorry for her, she’s only little and missing her mum. The least I could do was help her out in her first few weeks at Redwings.”

Byron, Facilities Manager

“As writer of Ruby’s blog this was the least I could do! I can’t put it any better than any of my colleagues, for ponies like Ruby we will always pull together!”

Jude, Senior Communications Officer

Watch our attempt to condense 24 hours of Ruby's feeding schedule into one video!

Nicky also explained to me, “As Ruby gets older her feeding needs will of course change and we will give her a specialist balancer and feed for young ponies, to ensure she has all the vitamins and minerals she needs. Plus, we look forward to seeing her out in the paddock enjoying some grass with Cilla.”

Whilst this week may have included an earlier start than most, it’s been a privilege to be one of Ruby’s ‘feeding army’, and a pleasure to see her happily slurp up her milk and then show us her milky chops!

We know that Ruby’s army of support extends beyond our Sanctuary gates to you, our supporters, too. Thank you so much for your support, and it’s never too late to donate to help her ongoing care. Thank you #RedwingsAngels.