A pony who came into Redwings as part of a group of 21 ponies and donkeys is being celebrated as ‘a real success story’ by the charity’s behaviour experts, a year on from her arrival.
Pansie, a 17-year-old mare, came to Redwings from a site in Norwich last August. Many of the group were elderly, or from previous rescued backgrounds, and needed the specialist ongoing care Redwings could provide.
Sarah Hallsworth, Redwings’ Equine Behaviour Manager, said: “We had heard that before coming to Redwings, Pansie required sedation, delivered by dart rifle, for any interventions such as the vet or farrier. It was clear to us straight away that Pansie found humans quite aversive and would avoid any interactions with us.
“When Pansie first arrived at our Behaviour Centre she was very stressed. She would pace along the fence and wouldn’t eat. We were very concerned about her and knew that we needed to immediately implement changes to help her cope, before we could begin work on improving her relationship with people.
“We identified a small herd of calm and sociable horses and began integrating Pansie and Rory, who was also from her rescue, with them. Almost overnight her behaviour changed. We observed her grazing peacefully, interacting with the other horses and even laying down to sleep.
“Pansie was much happier, so we could begin work on her handling training. We used food rewards to create positive associations with people and what we’re doing, in an approach known as counter conditioning – delivering tasty food when we’re doing something they find aversive or difficult. By pairing the two, and with lots of repetitions, the thing they once found scary actually becomes the predictor of something nice.
“With Pansie, we did this to introduce a headcollar, which she picked up ever so quickly. Then, step-by-step, we introduced a second person coming in to touch and assess her legs, then pick out each hoof. Then we introduced the farrier, and him trimming her front hooves, and finally all four! At every step Pansie responded really well to her training, and now we can deliver all her routine care needs without her feeling stressed. She’s a real success story for our training, and it’s so lovely to see.”
Watch a video about Pansie’s behaviour training at Redwings on YouTube here.
Redwings launched their Ready to Rescue appeal earlier this year, focussing on just some of the horses, ponies, donkeys and mules they’ve rescued. They told the story of Elsa, who came to Redwings after being found abandoned. She was severely emaciated and sick. Sadly, despite their best efforts her condition deteriorated, and she had to be put to sleep on vet advice. Smokey was given a home for life by Redwings after his owner realised that he needed extra care in his twilight years that he could not provide. Former teaching pony Tom was taken in by Redwings after a seizure meant he could no longer work and needed very special care and attention. Semi feral mare Bonnie and foals Tyler, Tom and Jones were removed from Gelligaer Common in South Wales. Their future is now secure at Redwings. None could have been rescued without your donations.
To help ensure Redwings is always Ready to Rescue, and can help ponies like Pansie and Rory, Elsa, Smokey, Tom, Bonnie, Tyler, Tom and Jones, please donate whatever you can here.
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