Creating a Legacy of Love, Hope and Positive Change

For Remus Horse Sanctuary, legacies act as pillars or rocks of support, enabling us to continue our vital work long into the future. A legacy, often bequeathed through a Will, is a powerful testament to an individual’s commitment to a cause close to their heart, leaving behind a lasting impact that will echo through the ages.

Legacies are incredibly important to us here at Remus for several reasons and, whilst it’s still ‘Make a Will Month‘, we’d like to explain more:

1. Steady Cash Flow:

Legacies are like the rock-solid foundation of our finances. With these gifts, we can breathe easy knowing we’ve got a reliable stream of income to keep our amazing animal welfare work going strong.

2. Room to Grow:

Imagine having the green light to dream big! Well, legacies give us just that. They provide the fuel needed to expand programs, reach more people, and tackle even the toughest challenges.

3. Flexibility Rules:

Unlike restricted grants or donations tied to specific purposes, legacies come with no strings attached. This offers greater flexibility in allocating funds where they are needed most and allows us to respond swiftly to emerging challenges, seize new opportunities, and keep on making a real difference not only in terms of rescue, but education and awareness too.

4. Making Friends for Life:

Legacy donors aren’t just supporters; they’re part of the family! By nurturing these relationships, we build a crew of dedicated fans who’ll stick with us through thick and thin.

5. Honouring What Matters:

Leaving a legacy isn’t just about money; it’s about leaving a mark that reflects your values and passions. Legacies let donors make a lasting impact on the causes they care about most.

6. Spreading the Love:

And here’s the best part: legacies inspire others to get in on the action! When people see the incredible impact of legacy gifts, they’re more likely to consider leaving their own mark on the world.

No matter how big or small, leaving a gift in your Will is one of the most valuable ways you can help us. Legacies play a vital role in sustaining and advancing our mission, providing us with the resources, stability, and flexibility needed to create lasting change and to leave a legacy of love, hope, compassion, and positive change.

Do you already have a Will and wish to include a gift for Remus?

Add a simple paragraph to an existing Will, we suggest some words on our website here: https://www.remussanctuary.org/how-you-can-help/wills-legacies/

Do you need to create a Will?

We’ve teamed up with Free Wills so that you can complete your Will online and totally free of charge. Interested in finding out how this works? Visit our web page to find out more.

Thank you in anticipation of your support.

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone to own a gloriously decorated 2m elephant! Situated indoors or out, he will be the ultimate talking point in your home and a wonderful addition to your family!

Named ‘Never Forget’, this not so little elephant was part of the Herd in the City initiative along the Essex seafront, organised by Little Havens Hospice. These wonderfully decorated elephants each had a meaning and significance and were part of a trail that people could follow. The herd was then auctioned with bids starting at £3,500.

One of our members very kindly donated the ‘Never Forget’ elephant to Remus to auction and raise much needed funds for the Remus animals.

The Hospice chose elephants for the trail to make people aware of:

• ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – supporting conversations around death and bereavement, a previously taboo subject
• ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET – the memory of loved ones live on after they have died
• THE ELEPHANT COMMUNITY – the importance of family within herds, working as a collective within their own community, and their caring & nurturing nature

The Herd in The City trail took place from 14 July to 4 September and consisted of 46 elephants and 72 baby elephants located around Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea and Shoeburyness.

You can find out more about ‘Never Forget’ at the Herd in The City website at: www.herdinthe.city/sculptures/never-forget.

‘Never Forget’ was designed by local artist Neil Fendell and sponsored by Ruark Audio. Neil’s inspiration focused on “having a connection with our past, and remembering where we came from, as it’s an important part of understanding who we are. Never Forget.”

The dimensions of this beautiful elephant are 2200m (length) x 1600m (height) x 800mm (width). The weight is approx 40kg and he is made of fibreglass. Each elephant was treated with varnish to protect them from the elements. Over time they would need to be re-varnished to re-protect them.

The winning bidder will receive a certificate of authenticity.

Sue Burton, Founder of Remus Horse Sanctuary, said: “We are delighted to have received the gift of this iconic elephant and, as Remus is so often likened to a hospice environment for our animals, the sentiments of ‘Never Forget’ is very fitting. We never forget any of our animals. 

“We really hope this wonderful elephant will find a treasured new home whilst raising much needed funds for Remus.”

You can own this unique elephant, just head over to our Facebook page and place your bid on our pinned post at the top of our page at: www.facebook.com/RemusHorseSanctuary. Or email Sue Burton at info@remussanctuar.org or telephone: 01277 356191.

Please do share the details of this unique fundraising auction with your friends and family.

Closing date: 12 noon Monday 9 October 2023.

 

Lockdown Charity Quiz

Are you suffering from brainfog during Lockdown? Perhaps you need a Lockdown Quiz to keep you entertained and our charity quiz can help!

Why not buy Jenny Palmer’s latest Lockdown Quiz for our charity, aptly titled ‘At Ease’… 100 cryptic clues for just £1.50 and £25 for the winner.

All proceeds to Remus Horse Sanctuary.

Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary provides lifetime help and care for horses, ponies, donkeys, goats, sheep and cats, that are victims of physical and mental abuse, be it as a result of ignorance or malicious intent. The charity is 100 per cent reliant on fundraising to continue rescuing and rehabilitating animals and we receive no government support.

Like many charities, Remus Horse Sanctuary is suffering financially due to the impact of Covid-19 on its fundraising activities. Our Founder, Sue Burton, believes that the charity will be facing a funding gap somewhere in excess of £337,000 for events and fundraising activities cancelled so far this year, as it costs £450,000 per annum to remain open.

Every winter is tough due to the spiralling costs, but this year will be extremely difficult. So if you need the stimulation, we definitely need the money! And, as they say, every little helps!

Did you know that our Christmas Gift Shop is now available online? We have some lovely gift items including stocking fillers, new and exclusive Christmas card designs for 2020 and a new wall calendar for 2021, which features a variety of rescued animals residing at the Sanctuary. Take a look here. We will also accept orders placed over the telephone.

New items for 2020 include a Christmas Biscuit Gift Drum (£3.50) available as Caramel and Sea Salt biscuits or Clotted Cream shortbread, Clotted Cream Fudge (£3.25) and Milk Chocolate Truffles (£4.50). The majority of items come with a choice of Christmas design.

To purchase a copy of the quiz, please contact Jenny on tel: 01277 654065 or email her at: palmer38@sky.com and she will be happy to send you a copy!

Good luck and happy de-fogging!

No Foot, No Horse

It’s an old saying among horsemen, ‘no foot, no horse’, but it remains true no matter how long it’s been around. Our horses’ feet need to be healthy and in good shape, because it is the feet that influence how the rest of the body moves. The repercussions of bad hoof and shoe management can be devastating.

Of course, it’s not just relevant for shod horses. Many of our residents at Remus go barefoot because they don’t work. Regular visits from the farrier are essential for: keeping horses’ feet trimmed; checking for signs of laminitis; and making sure the foot balance is just right so that they can move around in as much comfort as possible without hindering any existing conditions.

Whatever your horse’s situation, remember to pay close attention to his feet, particularly in the summer months when the ground can become very hard.

Your Horse magazine has some useful shoeing management tips. You can read them at: https://www.yourhorse.co.uk/advice/horse-care/articles/shoeing-management-tips-for-problem-hooves.

There are only two dates left on the 2019 calendar for when you can come and visit our animals at the Sanctuary, and remember the whole family are welcome! We are always looking for good quality items to sell at our events, so if you have any unwanted gifts, bric-a-brac or books etc, please bring them along!

Our remaining Open Days of the season are:

• Sunday 1 September – with Novelty Dog Show
• Sunday 6 October

Pony Days Return to Remus Horse Sanctuary

Remus Horse Sanctuary’s much-loved Pony Days for children will be returning during the school holiday periods in 2018 as follows:

• Wednesday 11 April
• Wednesday 30 May
• Wednesday 1 August
• Wednesday 15 August
• Wednesday 29 August
• Wednesday 24 October

Remus Pony Days are a fun and educational day for a child, they will learn how to care for a pony and the responsibilities that come with it.

Priced at just £45 per child and taking place only on selected dates, the Pony Days are suitable for boys and girls aged 10 years and over and will take place from 11am until approximately 4pm.

Places are limited to just six children per date and bookings can be made online via the website at www.remussanctuary.org or by contacting the Sanctuary on tel: 01277 356191. Children will need to bring a packed lunch and refreshments for the day.

For anyone thinking of getting a pony or horse for their child or for those who just love being around horses, this is the perfect day.

Each day, children attending will be ‘loaned’ a pony, to make up its feed, be taught how to groom and turn it out into the field, shown how to clean out the pony’s stable and make a nice new bed for him or her to come back into later.  There’ll also be lots of tips, information and fun throughout the day.

Events and fundraising play a vital part in raising much-needed funds to keep the Sanctuary open and Sue Burton, Founder, says, “We’re always delighted to welcome children and horse lovers to the Sanctuary for our Pony Days.  The work we do here is vital and our Pony Days are both great fun and a great way of educating children on animal welfare”.

For further information, visit www.remussanctuary.org or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.

 

 

Specialist Dental Care Required for Pony at Sanctuary in Essex

Remus Horse Sanctuary are asking for donations to help one of their ponies – Sparkey – who has had problems with his mouth, teeth and now nostrils, with both Diastema and Periodontal Disease – and will need ongoing veterinary care, medication and possibly surgery.

For some time, the staff at the charity noticed Sparkey’s breath smelling quite badly and on an examination by the vet a Diastema was found. Diastema is a gap between two teeth that allows food to build up. As the food rots down, it causes infection in the gap, known as periodontal disease.

When the food in this gap was cleared, a small piece of wood was found in the gap and further veterinary examinations found that the wood had gone through his gum piercing his nostril. Having endoscoped his nostril it was clear that this piece of wood had been there for a long time causing massive distortion to his nostril. It is not easy to extract a horse’s tooth due to their design and the roots being deep set so Sparkey had to undergo three sessions under sedation to finally be able to remove the tooth.

Sue Burton, Founder of the Sanctuary said, “we have spent many hours with our vet clearing food that had gone through the hole in Sparkey’s nostrils, and now we are trying to sort the hole out.  Its too early at this stage to say whether the hole will heal or not and we now have to wait and see. But for now it is packed to prevent any more food going up through the hole into the nostril.”

Sparkey arrived at Remus 4 years ago when his owners were no longer able to provide him with what he needed to live with his Laminitis and Metabolic Syndrome problems.

Sue continued, “dear little Sparkey has been through so much and we still don’t know how this is going to turn out, but he has remained his usual cheery self and within minutes of the sedation wearing off he’s back to himself and calling for company and food!

“He is only 12yrs old, so we want to give him every chance possible, but this of course has already cost veterinary care into thousands of pounds with more vet visits and possibly surgery to sort out.”

This year, Remus Horse Sanctuary is celebrating its 35th Anniversary.

Donations can be made via numerous methods. Full details can be found on the website at: https://www.remussanctuary.org/donate/.  For further information, contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.

 

 

Tin Rattlers Wanted!

It’s amazing how much a charity can collect from street collections, with people just popping spare change into a tin. But we can’t do this kind of collection without volunteers, and that’s where Remus Horse Sanctuary hopes that you can help!

As you know, we rescue horses and ponies that have been neglected and ill-treated, and we’re looking for volunteers this year to help us raise some much-needed cash.

If you like chatting to people, this is the perfect volunteering opportunity for you. You won’t need to stand for hours – we’ll have a rota of volunteers so you can just do an hour if that’s what you can manage, before someone else takes over.

It’s a great way to meet people and make new friends with similar interests too. So go on, resolve to help Remus today and start the New Year off with a good deed!

It would be remiss of us not to mention that there are various regulations regarding this type of street collecting nowadays, not least that there’s to be no actual rattling of tins! However, we know you’ll understand what we’re asking for help with if we refer our request to ‘Tin Rattlers’!

You can read more on street collecting here.

Just send your details to promotions@remussanctuary.org.

Street collectors must be aged over 18 and require a permit. Remus will source the permit on your behalf.

 

Sparkey needs your help

Little Sparkey has had problems with his mouth, teeth and now nostrils, with both Diastema and Periodontal Disease – and will need ongoing veterinary care, medication and possibly surgery…

Sparkey arrived at Remus 4 years ago when his owners were no longer able to provide him with what he needed to live with his Laminitis and Metabolic Syndrome problems

He is such a happy little pony, very vocal and like a lot of metabolic syndrome ponies, is driven by food!!!

For some time we noticed his breath smelling quite badly and on an examination by our vet a Diastema was found. (Diastema is a gap between two teeth that allows food to build up. As the food rots down it causes infection in the gap, known as periodontal disease).

When the food in this was cleared a small piece of wood was found in the gap and following veterinary examinations we have found that the wood has gone through his gum piercing his nostril. Having endoscoped his nostril it is clear that this piece of wood has been there for a long time causing massive distortion to his nostril. It is not easy to extract a horses tooth due to their design and the roots being deep set so poor Sparkey had to go through three sessions under sedation to finally be able to remove the tooth!

We have spent many hours with our vet clearing food from his nostrils that had gone through the hole and now we are trying to sort the hole out – it is too early at this stage to say whether the hole will heal or not and we now have to wait and see but for now it is packed to prevent any more food going up through the hole into the nostril

Dear little Sparkey has been through so much and yet we don’t know how this is going to turn out but he has remained his usual cheery self and within minutes of the sedation wearing off he’s back to himself and calling for company and food!

He is only 12yrs old so we want to give him every chance possible but this of course has already cost veterinary care into thousands of pounds with more vet visits and possibly surgery to sort out.

Donations can be made fee-free via our Facebook Page or Make-a-Donation, or alternatively via the FundRazr on our Facebook page. For all donation options, please visit our website here.

We are a Finalist with Absolute Horse Magazine

Vote for us now in Absolute Horse Magazine!

The February issue of Absolute Horse Magazine is now available in stores, and Remus Horse Sanctuary is one of the five finalists in their ‘We Love Charity’ feature!

Readers are invited to visit the website and cast their vote for one of the five finalists before the deadline of 19th February 2018. The charity that receives the most votes through the website will be declared the winner in the March edition and receive 25-bales of Phillips wood shavings.

The link to the voting page is: https://www.absolutehorsemagazine.com/category/competitions/.

Voting via the above link can only take place between 1 and 19 February 2018.

You can view the digital version of the February 2018 edition here. This will allow you to read the magazine free online, however you will still have to visit the website to cast your vote, using the link above.

Please vote for Remus and share with your friends and family.

 

35th Anniversary Year for Horse Rescue Charity

As Remus Horse Sanctuary, in Essex, enters its 35^th Anniversary Year, Founder Sue Burton, looks back at 2017.  The horse charity was founded in 1983 and is now home to more horses than ever before due to the horse welfare crisis in the UK and the many animals caught up in its icy grip.  Presently Remus gives sanctuary to 82 horses and ponies, nine donkeys and Jess, the mule!

Sue commented: “2017 saw the usual ups and downs of life at the charity – the ups were definitely watching the rescued animals come in to the Sanctuary and recover from their trauma and, of course, the visit from HRH The Countess of Wessex in June was a highlight for all of us; while the downs had to be the break-in and the loss of friends both two and four legged.”

The break-in occurred in November when, already strapped for cash and heading into the hard winter months, vandals broke in to the premises at Little Farm, Buttsbury, near Ingatestone stealing over £1000 in cash and creating significant damage to the charity’s offices and equipment – which required thousands of pounds to repair and rebuild.

Remus Horse Sanctuary is funded totally by public donations and its own fundraising and event activities.  Details of the Kid’s Pony Days and Open Days for 2018 can already be found on the website at www.remussanctuary.org and special events for the 35^th Anniversary Year will be announced in due course.

The Countess, who joined the charity as a Patron in 2013, visited the Sanctuary on 29 June 2017, for a tour of the facilities and to learn more about issues such as: tethering, cruelty and neglect, indiscriminate breeding and abandonment, and elderly horses – all of which continue to escalate around the UK.

The Sanctuary continues to rescue horses and ponies from across Southern England, who are victims of physical and mental abuse, be it as a result of ignorance or malicious intent.  Sue also works alongside other like-minded organisations to inform and update on rescue operations and on the particular care required for elderly horses – of which the charity is a specialist.

“The Sanctuary just couldn’t survive without the help, support, generosity and loyalty of the staff, volunteers and supporters, said Sue, “but still its incredibly tough to continue year on year. I implore anyone who loves animals to get in touch and help us out.”

For further information, visit www.remussanctuary.org or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.