Exciting Spring Events at Remus Horse Sanctuary

As spring approaches, Remus Horse Sanctuary is gearing up for a vibrant calendar of events, offering something for everyone ahead of their much-anticipated Open Days, which begin on the first Sunday of the month from May through to October (weather permitting). With a diverse range of activities, supporters can learn, create, shop, and dine – all while raising essential funds for the Sanctuary.

March has some fantastic fundraising events to enjoy:

On Friday 8 March, put your knowledge to the test at our Quiz Evening at Stock Village Hall. Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start – gather your team and join us for a fun and competitive evening.

On Saturday 16 March, there are two great opportunities to support the Sanctuary. First, our Online Auction via the Remus Facebook page starts at 11am, offering a fantastic selection of items to bid on. Later in the day, join us for the Curry Club at Nirvana Indian Restaurant in Ingatestone. For £22 per person, you’ll enjoy poppadoms, dips, a main course, side dish, and rice or bread. The event starts at 2pm for a 2.15pm sit-down, and advance booking is required. (These two events will also be repeated on Sunday 27 April.)

April kicks off with an Elderly Horse Workshop at the Sanctuary on Sunday 6 April, running from 11am to 3pm. This insightful session is designed to help horse owners understand how to support their equine companions in their later years. Attendees can enjoy tea, coffee, and homemade cakes while gaining valuable knowledge. The workshop costs £40 per person, and booking is essential by calling 01277 356191.

On Saturday 12 April, creative minds can take part in a Cake Decorating Workshop at the Billericay Reading Rooms from 11am to 2pm. Participants will learn to ice a cake with fondant and develop basic modelling techniques to craft their very own Easter Bunny cake! The workshop costs £45 per person, including sugarpaste, modelling paste, and a cake board. To secure your place, call the office on 01277 356191.

Look out for details on our website of our Fashion Show on Saturday 17 May and Enrichment Workshop on Sunday 25 May.

Sue Burton, Founder of Remus Horse Sanctuary, said: “Spring is an exciting time for us as we prepare for our Open Days, and we’re delighted to offer such a wonderful mix of new events for our supporters.

“Whether you’re learning, bidding, or dining with us, every event helps to raise much-needed funds for the animals in our care. We’d love to see as many people as possible getting involved!”

For further information about the invaluable work at the Sanctuary, visit www.remussanctuary.org or call 01277 356191.

Horse Sanctuary Open Day Entertainment for the Whole Family

Remus’ Open Day on Sunday 6 August will see children’s entertainer, Magic Dave, joining the entertainment line-up, alongside various Princess characters from Children’s films and a children’s area with two bouncy castles, music from Midnite Blu and competitions and games to entertain the whole family.

Entry to the event will be just £4 for adults and £2 for children and will take place from 1pm to 5pm at the Sanctuary near Ingatestone.  Parking is available on-site, with disabled access and dogs are welcome on a lead.

The Sanctuary opens its gate just six times a year offering entertainment for the whole family, with a kids’ corner, bouncy castles, competitions and games, music, delicious refreshments including sandwiches (including gluten free) and homemade cakes, alongside stalls and a raffle.

The Sanctuary provides rehabilitation and care for over 200 animals, including horses, ponies, donkeys, cows, goats, sheep and cats.  The Open Days are a vital source of fundraising for the charity that, due to its location on greenbelt land, can only open to the public for a limited number of days each year.

Founder of the Sanctuary, Sue Burton, says, “The Open Days are a really important to us, not only in terms of fundraising, but educating people about what we do here. Visitors will be able to meet Blax, our latest rescue, and learn about our many other successes.”

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

Meet the Princesses at Remus Horse Sanctuary

Visitors to the final Open Day of 2016 at Remus Horse Sanctuary on Sunday 2 October will be able to meet special guests, Snow White, Cinderella and friends. Entry to the event is just £4 for adults and £2 for children and members can receive a discount upon presentation of their membership card.  The event will take place from 1pm to 5pm at Little Farm, Ingatestone.

The date marks the last in a series of Open Days held during the summer months to raise much needed funds for the Sanctuary.  However, extremely wet weather and flooding meant that the first three events of the year (May to July inclusive) were cancelled, severely impacting on the charity’s finances.

The Sanctuary’s Open Days offer entertainment for the whole family and, in addition to the Princesses, there will be competitions and games, music from local band Midnite Blu, delicious refreshments such as sandwiches (including gluten free) and homemade cakes, many stalls and a raffle.  Parking is available on-site, with disabled access and dogs are welcome on a lead.

The Sanctuary provides rehabilitation and care for over 200 animals, including horses, ponies, donkeys, cows, goats, sheep and cats.  The Open Days are a vital source of fundraising for the charity that, due to its location on greenbelt land, can only open to the public for a limited number of days each year.

Founder of the Sanctuary, Sue Burton, says, “Losing out on three important events earlier this year has been really traumatic and we’ve yet to make up the shortfall. We need this last event of the season to be a bumper day to help boost our finances and we’re hoping that the Princesses will be a crowd pleaser.”

For further information, please browse the website or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356191.

Animal Update

At last Spring is round the corner! The very wet winter and some very cold nights have made life very difficult for us and the animals here at the Sanctuary especially with all the rain we have had, making the ground saturated, although of course the animals are still kept warm and dry and are looking forward to the Summer!

At the end of last year we had another colt left at our gate who was full of lice and worms and had been dragged from his mother so you can imagine how scared he was.  He was in isolation at first so he could be treated and checked over by the vet.  We put a mirror in his stable so that he would not feel lonely and it was so sad to see him looking at himself wondering where he was.  Thankfully he is gaining in confidence and we have called him Charlie 2; he’s out in the paddock now having fun with with his new friend Dante.

We also took in four riding school horses recently as the school had collapsed financially. There was a total of 12 horses that we found homes for and they are now all settled. Our sponsored animals are all doing very well and we are so grateful to everyone who sponsors our animals and directly help make a difference to the lives of these animals. If you sponsor an animal that is not on this list, please do drop us a line or give us a call for an update.

APOLLO had had a good winter and still likes to check on all the others.  A bit of a ‘mother’ figure, she enjoys being in the barn at night with her friends Guinness and Clyde.

BERT GOAT our vets diagnosed his bad skin condition as a skin complaint prone to pygmy goats, but with the Aloe Vera we applied last Summer he seems to have improved a lot and is happy out with his friends.

BLOSSOM & AMBER gaze around watching all the goings-on.  They still enjoy their peaceful life with plenty of sweet smelling hay and different vegetable treats!

BRACKEN is now a beautiful mare, grown from such a little skinny little foal who was quite ill at the beginning and now a strong and healthy horse who enjoys her days out with Jess (who does enjoy bossing her about!).

CHARLIE is still the smallest bossy pony in the field!  Even the big horses are a bit mindful of him and although one of the oldest, is quite fit and often you see him trotting around chasing the others.

CHARLIE 2 is was the little colt torn from his mother who arrived at our gate thin and full of lice and worms but has really improved recently and is enjoying life out with Dante. They both had similar starts in life and now are happy as can be!

COCO & WILLIAM had a good winter too, enjoying life with the other donkeys although Harvey is still in charge – they don’t seem to mind though as they all snuggle up together at night in thick beds of straw and lots of hay to eat!

DAVEY had a serious operation but he is doing really well and is fit and happy and enjoying being with Harvey, William and Coco out in the fields when the weather is not too cold for them.

DANTE What a character he has become!  Having been left at our gate, close to death, he was brought back to health with continued attention from staff and helpers to give him confidence and is now a lovely looking, spirited little pony.

DYLAN is ‘one of the gang’ now and its hard to tell him apart from the other sheep, but he is soon at the gate at dinner time so that’s when we know it’s him!

FOUR SHETLANDS (and Marmite) have all been healthy during the winter, except Oscar who had a little bout of colic, but he is now eating well and enjoying the company of all the others.  They all have their cosy little rugs on and have regular teeth checks, and feet trimming just like all the other horses at the Sanctuary.

GUINNESS  you may remember that Orchid, the oldest horse in the country and who we lost last year at the age of 52 years, was her best friend and although at first she missed her, she has now become friends with Mallie and they spend their days together.

GRACE has come on really well, has gained in confidence with everyone around her and although she is blind, she is well aware of her surroundings especially now that she and Holly have their own little paddock where they can spend their days grazing until Bracken and Jess return from their play.

HARVEY is still the donkey in charge of the others and is very healthy and happy living with the other donkeys who all seem to love him.

HOLLY had a good winter, gaining in confidence just like Grace.  They are great friends and spend the day together while Jess and Bracken go out to play.  She is very healthy, apart from being blind of course, but looks really well and no doubt looking forward to warmer weather when at last they can feel the sun on their backs!

HOVIS had a good healthy winter and is still in charge of Wesley and Spencer but they all get on really well and snuggle down together each night with lots of hay and delicious dinners.

JESS is still as mischievous as ever especially knowing she is the only mule in the Sanctuary!  She and Bracken spend the days in the field running and bucking and annoying lots of the other horses but then come in at night to their mothers for a lovely dinner and deep beds of straw where they sleep getting their energy to cause more mischief the next day!

LACEY is getting older now, so she stays in a small paddock during the day where she cannot wander too far.  Last year she gashed her face badly and needed stitches and antibiotics but thankfully, with great care and attention from the staff and helpers, she recovered very well.  For an elderly pony she continues to eat well and generally enjoy life!

MARCUS had a good winter with his friends and still enjoys a gallop round the field especially on chilly mornings when he runs and bucks to keep warm!

MINSTRAL has pink skin pigments around her eyes and nose and still has sun cream applied even in Winter on sunny days.  She is still very well, and has a beautifully shiny coat which shows what good condition she is in.

PIPPA had the eye operation which thankfully was successful and she continues to be out in the fields with all the other horses.  It is so nice to see how that operation gave this horse a new life.  She is full of confidence and healthy in all respects.

PIPPIN & IVY have had a lovely winter together with all the other goats and have lovely thick beds of straw and lots of hay and delicious dinners when they come in at night.  They have some new play equipment in their outside pen which they love and have lots of fun climbing over it and sheltering under it when it rains.

PEPPER is still settled in the lovely warm office during the day and far too cold to go hunting at night!  So she stays where there is plenty of food, lots of cuddles from staff and helpers, so why bother going out…

ROWAN had a good winter with Willow, both in lovely warm rugs during the day then in at night to warm cosy stables, plenty of hay and delicious dinners.

SPARKY with the special shoes and veterinary care, the laminitis he suffers from has been managed well and he is enjoying life without too much pain.  You can always hear him whinny when someone comes by as he loves the attention from everyone!

STIX is still the cheeky little boy who likes to torment the others then run away which starts a stampede, but this is what he likes to do!

THOMAS was a bit poorly last winter, this winter he has been quite well, he is a good weight and enjoys the company of all the other horses especially his girlfriend Dolly!

TONY GOAT arrived with an awful torn mouth but after the infection was treated and cleared up, had a good winter enjoying the days with all the other goats – he had to be kept separate for some time because of his injury.

TOSCA  had a good winter and enjoyed being out in the paddock. Although he is getting on in years and his sight is deteriorating, you will see him at dinner time running up and down the fence waiting to come in.

WESLEY & SPENCER live in a stable in the barn with Hovis and you will often see them enjoying the warmth of the solarium.  They are out in the day but enjoy coming in at night to their sweet smelling hay and delicious dinners.

WILLOW lives out with her Mum and has lots of fun with the other horses.  We think she loves Qinter because that means there is lots of lovely mud to roll in while her mother watches her having fun!

Once again, thank you for all your help and support. We  look forward to seeing you at our Open Days starting in May when our sponsored animals will be looking forward to meeting you all again!