Luxury Flooring for Stables
A few weeks ago, we purchased 30 rubber mats which are used to cover the concrete flooring in a large number of our stables.
We’ve cheekily called this article ‘luxury flooring’ but in fact, for our older horses, these rubber mats are absolutely essential. They cost about £40 each but provide a softer, warm and more insulated feel from the hard cold concrete. It also helps with our laminitic cases as it provides extra cushioning to assist with the deep beds that we provide for these animals.
We also use them in our field shelters to provide a suitable base to put bedding on top of so that it doesn’t get wet from the ground.
These mats come in a fixed size and have to be cut down for purpose, which was Yard Supervisor Alex’s job recently. This is done with a guide ruler and a utility knife and the mats are trimmed down to size so that they fit snugly together without any overlap.
We took some pictures of the process with Heidi and Jakie looking on! Actually we’re not sure if they’re curious or making sure it’s done properly!
We would be very grateful for any contributions to the purchase of this essential rubber matting for our animals and donations can be made via our website here.
And if you would like to provide sponsorship for Heidi or Jakie, either for yourself or perhaps as a gift for a friend or Christmas, you can do so via our website using the links below:
World Animal Day is Here
Today, 4 October, is World Animal Day and we’d like you to help us celebrate!
World Animal Day is intended to raise the status of animals and improve welfare standards globally. Here’s some ideas to help you celebrate:
- Dress up as your favourite Remus animal – it could be a horse, pony, donkey, goat, sheep or cat, so plenty to choose from!
- If the weather is fair today or at the weekend, organise a wildlife walk with family and friends. You might like to use our 9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge for inspiration
- Make a donation or sponsor one of our animals
- Wear green for Remus and for World Animal Day
- Arrange an animal-themed movie night such as Black Beauty, Peter Rabbit or CATS…
- Walk the dogs in your neighbourhood to raise money for us
- It isn’t too late to get involved – here are some other last-minute ideas!
Watch the YouTube Video:
View this video in your browser
Whatever you do, don’t forget to tag us @RemusHorse in all your posts, pictures and videos using #WorldAnimalDay on social media.
Every year, #WorldAnimalDay trends on social media, with an increasing number of people around the world using the hashtag.
Will YOU unite with animal lovers around the world and be a voice for animals?
On behalf of animals everywhere, thank you for sharing – and thank you for caring!
How Can I Help?
‘How can I help?’ is question we often get asked by our supporters and we’ve worked hard to come up with lots of ideas for you to help us, from fundraising to volunteering, microvolunteering, recycling and plenty more besides.
One of our ideas is for you to create a fundraising page and fundraise on our behalf, in your own time and at your own pace!
So if you’re not yet aware of it, please take a look at our 9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge.
This is a great way for you to get out in the fresh air, get some exercise and get your family, friends and colleagues together! All we’re asking is that you pick a date of your choosing, and then to walk, run, cycle or even scoot the equivalent of the Hanningfield Reservoir – which is coincidentally also 9.9K!
The Hanningfield Reservoir is a nature discovery park in Essex and it’s a glorious place to visit. However, if you live in Scotland, Wales, Plymouth or even London or Norwich, you may not want to travel to Essex. So guess what…you can choose to do your challenge wherever you like! You don’t even need to find a reservoir! You can do this at any time up to the end of October, but time is starting to run out, so don’t delay.
So go on, what are you waiting for? It’s really easy, just follow these simple steps (pun intended):
- Decide on your date and location
- Click on the link to create your fundraising page> https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/-remus-reservoir-challenge
- Share your fundraising page with your friends, family and colleagues on social media and by email and get those sponsorships rolling in
- Do your walk, run or cycle on your chosen date
- Share your pictures with your family and friends and encourage them to donate if they haven’t already
- Sit back and congratulate yourself on a job well done!
We’re recommending you create your fundraising page online to help track your progress and also accept donations online, which saves having to worry about cash or collecting in funds. However, if you prefer to create your fundraising page via another means, such as Facebook or JustGiving for instance, please go ahead.
PS. And don’t forget to tell us what you’re doing, tag us in your posts and share your photos with us too!
9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge
Join us on our 9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge! We are asking our supporters to walk, run or cycle the full distance of the Hanningfield Reservoir 9.9km, or equivalent, in a day this September or October.
Help us raise £10,000 to support the running of the Remus Horse Sanctuary, which provides lifetime help and care for horses, ponies, and donkeys, many of which are aged between 30 and 45 years old. The Sanctuary provides these equine horses a happy and pain free quality of life.
Get your family and friends involved to complete the challenge together. You can track your progress by linking your Strava account to your fundraising page.
It’s very easy! Just decide on a date to undertake the challenge, create a fundraising page and ask for donations!
Sign up today! donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/-remus-reservoir-challenge
#remusreservoirchallenge #remus4horsewelfare
9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge
Many charities like Remus Horse Sanctuary have been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. It has massively affected the charity’s fundraising activities and they have lost out on crucial donations for horses in their care.
The charity is calling on any supporters to help them raise £10,000 in donations by taking part in their 9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge. Supporters are encouraged to walk, run, or cycle the full distance of the Hanningfield Reservoir in a day this July and August.
Sue Burton from Remus Horse Sanctuary commented: “Our mission is to bring an end to horse cruelty by helping the horse welfare operation in the UK. The animals are our prime concern and are treated with the utmost respect. Our aim is to rescue and rehabilitate the animals to give them every chance to thrive into old age.
“However, this is something we cannot achieve on our own and heavily rely on fundraising events so that supporters can help us raise much needed donations.”
All donations raised will go towards the running of Remus Horse Sanctuary, which provides lifetime help and care for horses, ponies, and donkeys, many of which are aged between 30 and 45 years old. The Sanctuary’s mission is to provide these vulnerable animals with a happy and pain-free quality of life.
Further details of the 9.9K Remus Reservoir Challenge can be found at www.remussanctuary.org or sign up today at: donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/-remus-reservoir-challenge.
#remusreservoirchallenge #remus4horsewelfare
Giving Checkout – A New Online Tool by JustGiving
In the past year, more and more people have been going digital and JustGiving is addressing this by helping charities and supporters get a smoother user journey through its new online donation tool called Giving Checkout.
Why is this important to us?
Put quite simply, it’s a no-brainer! Giving Checkout is completely free to use for your direct donations (including regular gifts), so every donation makes an even bigger impact for us. Plus there’s no platform fees on JustGiving and, for Giving Checkout donations, they’ll cover the processing fee from a donor’s voluntary contribution if you do “tip” or absorb the cost if you don’t. Plus, donations can be made in five currencies via all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Pay with Bank Transfer. As an HMRC approved Gift agent JustGiving can boost all eligible donations by 25% (though a 5% fee does apply for this service).
What to do next?
If you see a JustGiving ‘Donate Now’ button, please click it!
Thanking you, as always!
New Shelter Roof Proves to be a Success
Remus Horse Sanctuary, experts in the care of elderly equines, has shared pictures of its new shelter roof following a fundraising campaign earlier this year.
Remus raised £3,735, via JustGiving, in January and February to replace the roof after it began leaking again, despite two previous repairs.
Image 1: More beams were added to strengthen the roof and wooden supports were attached to the sides of the building to make the whole structure stronger. The electrics that had been getting wet from the previous leaking roof were removed and new timbers added before the lights could be reinstated.
39-year-old Megan can be seen here crunching on some tasty fresh hay. She has been with Remus since 2012 and has a heart issue, laminitis, arthritis and EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome). She is the sweetest of ponies.
Of the shelter, Sue Burton, Founder of the charity said, “We grew very concerned last year as the roof began to leak really badly. Pippa, Sophie, Dickie and Megan all share the shelter which opens out to a large laminitic paddock.
“The quote to replace the roof was £3,600 including VAT which seemed an awful lot at the time, especially as we’ve received very little in the way of donations over the past year and haven’t been able to carry out our normal fundraising efforts”.
Image 2: The completed project from the outside with the box profile steel sheeting attached. Treated timber battens were fixed over the existing felt to the entire roof area to reduce the bow in the roof bays.
Image 3: Pippa, warm and dry in the newly improved shelter. 25-year-old Pippa has been residing at the Sanctuary for many years now. The team worked with her to re-build her health and to encourage her confidence after previously having her spirit destroyed. In 2013/2014 Pippa underwent two serious eye operations to repair her sight and is a different animal now from when she arrived in 2009. She also has various health issues which we see in older horses including arthritis. The Ophthalmologist that performed her surgery sees her from time to time and is very pleased with how well the eye is performing. The surgery was for cataracts after she went blind, and it was because of Pippa being kept in whilst she was blind that the charity introduced music to play around the Sanctuary for the animals as it really helped calm her.
Like many charities, Remus has suffered greatly as a result of Covid-19.
“Towards the end of last year, we calculated that our deficit was somewhere in excess of £337,000 and obviously it has just continued to escalate since then.
“Winter is always much more expensive, with us needing to provide so much more food when grass isn’t available and the paddocks turn to mud and, even worse, get flooded. And many of our elderly horses require additional warmth too, which we provide via special electric lamps.”
There are numerous ways for members of the public to support the Sanctuary. Obviously donations are critical, but leaving a gift in your will, recycling, microvolunteering and clothes recycling are just some of the other ways that people can help. Visit www.remussanctuary.org/how-you-can-help to find out more. Both Megan and Pippa can be sponsored here.
“We are delighted to share pictures of our new shelter roof and we, Pippa and Dickie, Sophie and Megan are eternally grateful to everyone’s support. Our thanks to Malcolm and Paul at Ablefelt Roofing for the great job that they did.
“Hopefully we will see everyone in early May for our first Open Day – weather and safety permitting!”
For further information, visit www.remussanctuary.org or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.
Remus Takes Part in Essex Lottery Case Study
As our supporters will know, Covid-19 all but wiped out our usual fundraising events in 2020. However, we still need approximately £400,000 a year for daily food, water and veterinary care. So, a few months ago, we decided to sign up as a good cause with Essex Lottery.
Sue Burton said: “If Covid-19 has taught us anything it’s the importance of staying local and investing in local. That really was the main appeal for us to sign up as a good cause. It was also incredibly easy and there were no sign-up costs.”
Sue was therefore delighted when Essex Lottery invited the Sanctuary to take part in a case study recently, where she was able to talk in depth about the work of the Sanctuary and some of its success stories, such as our blind mares Hollie and Grace. We very much hope that this will increase knowledge of our work thoughout Essex and help us raise some of those vitally-needed funds. You can read the full case study here.
Buy a ticket and support us
Please buy a ticket or two to support us, from only £1 a week.
We receive 50% of the ticket sale with another 10% going to other good causes in Essex.
There are weekly prizes of up to £25,000!
Get your ticket at www.essexlottery.co.uk/support/remus-memorial-horse-sanctuary.
Mother’s Day Gift Idea for a Socially Distanced World
For Mothering Sunday 2021, Remus Horse Sanctuary are offering to include a Mother’s Day card with hand-written personalised message within their sponsorship packages this year, to assist those unable to get out and shop or visit the Post Office during the current lockdown.
This year, Mother’s Day will fall on Sunday 14 March. Under current lockdown rules, non-essential shops such as card and gift shops, restaurants and pubs will remain shut. Indoor socialising will still be banned and people will still be advised to stay at home.
The team at Remus Horse Sanctuary are always looking for creative and imaginative ways to boost fundraising for the charity and the idea of adding a greetings card within the sponsorship package is highly relevant right now. Furthermore, funding continues to be problematic during 2021 and fundraising even more important than normal.
The sponsorship gift packages are popular at the Sanctuary all year round and offer a unique and different type of gift. Once lockdown rules are relaxed later in the year, the Sanctuary will be able to re-open to the public, and sponsors and recipients will be able to visit and meet their animals.
Details of the animals available for sponsorship and dates of all events are shared on the charity’s website at www.remussanctuary.org. To ensure delivery of the pack and greetings card for Mother’s Day, orders should be placed with first class post no later than 12 noon on Thursday 11 March. If orders are placed after this time or on Friday, a voucher can be emailed.
Sue Burton, Founder of the Sanctuary, said: “We find that horses such as the blind mares Holly and Grace and their two youngsters are particularly popular as Mother’s Day gifts due to their own particular stories, and orphans such as Dante and Charlie.”
For further information, visit www.remussanctuary.org or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.
Cryptic Quiz to Entertain You
Jenny Palmer’s cryptic quizzes have for many years helped to provide a little of the much-needed funds for the Sanctuary.
Her present Lockdown Quiz is currently on sale at £1.50 a copy and there is a prize of £25 for the winner! The quiz is guaranteed to fill in some of those hours of boredom whilst in lockdown.
Obviously Jenny is unable to sell her quizzes at live events, so if you able to help her and, of course, the Sanctuary, by purchasing a copy please get in touch with her. Jenny can be contacted either by telephone on 01277 654065, by email at palmer38@sky.com, or by mail at 38 Little Norsey Road, Billericay, CM11 1BL.
Thank you for your support