E.H.P.P.S.
Pitsea Hall Lane, Basildon
Essex SS16 4UH
Tel: 01268 584603
Welsh Section A ponies, Ozzy and Sienna, who were admitted to the Sanctuary along with three pigs some weeks ago, are coming along in leaps and bounds. Initially very wary of people, they both enjoyed a good grooming session yesterday with one of our regular volunteers. It has been a pleasure to see this little ponies put on some much needed condition. They have settled in well, but are still very reliant on each other. We shall gradually introduce them to some of the other residents here over time to ease this dependency. In the meantime, they are relaxed and happy .... and safe!
The pigs -
Minnie and Romeo
Visitors to the Sanctuary today had a special surprise in the form of little Romeo, a Cob foal born to Minnie Mum late last night. Romeo is Minnie's first foal and her owner, who is well known to us all, was concerned just in case she foaled down while he was at work and anything when wrong (and they say women are old fusspots!) Luckily for mare and foal that they were at EHPPS, as Romeo's legs got stuck during the birthing process, and Head Groom, Laura Jardine, was on hand to assist the foal safely into the World. The pair will be with us for a couple of weeks until Romeo is a little stronger, and then the pair will rejoin their family. (Note: All costs for the mare and foal were completely covered by their owner). Do come along on Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday when we are open and you can see the handsome little lad for yourselves.
Erin, Grace and Riley
We have now managed to separate Erin, Grace and Riley (aka The Three Amigos!). We were still unable to get headcollars on them, but rather had to entice them one by one across the car park with a bowl of feed to enable us to put them in adjoining field shelters. Grace is by far the most wary of the three, and, being the leader, the other two copy her. All's well at the moment and they are all next to each other. Now the task of getting each one individually handled is the next step. Although they've all been wormed (easy, as we pop it in their feed), they still need their innoculations and (desperately!) need a farrier to their feet. It's going to be a case of slowly slowly at the moment, but at least we are going in the right direction.
Babe, Levi and Dolores
Babe -
Winter Hay Appeal
The hay has started coming into today. We have managed to unload 400 bales this afternoon …. only another 2,600 to do before the end of this week!!! Thanks to all who has donated towards our Winter Hay Appeal so far … but we still need to continue saving towards more … 3,000 won’t last long with all these hungry mouths to feed!
Peas in a Pod!
We are going to start working on Erin, Grace and Riley in the next few days (once we’ve got the hay sorted!) by putting them into separate stables next to each other. They are SO close that the three almost act with one mind! Scary – but sweet. All of them are more sociable now, but still need to be able to be handled – something we still can’t do.
Bye Bye Vi
We were so happy when a lovely lady came forward and offered our Vi a foster home.
What a turnaround for this sweet little mare who came to us so ill accompanied by
her dying five day old foal. Sadly, we couldn’t save him – he didn’t stand a chance
– but thankfully Violet is now safe, cared for and happy.
Amber
Amber has been going so well with her riding and we found her a wonderful foster home. Sadly, she is going to have to come back to the Sanctuary as her allergies have got the worst of her and she can’t be ridden without coughing. Despite exhaustive tests, we are none the wiser as to why Amber is fine in some parts of the County, and develops a smoker’s cough when she moves North of Basildon! This little sweetie is a brilliant ride, loves jumping and hacking (although not alone). We are still looking for the ideal home where her allergies won’t be triggered again.
Laminitic Paddock Fencing Completed
The fencing around our “lammy” paddock has suffered a lot of wear and tear over the years, so much so that it had almost disintegrated. Thanks to a £3,000 grant from The William and Patricia Venton Charitable Trust, we have been able to reinstate our much needed laminitic paddock and the works were completed today.
Three Little Piggies
Some of our recent visitors may have noticed three little piggies in situ at the Sanctuary. These pigs were rescued with Ozzy and Sienna, two Welsh Section A ponies, from the most horrific conditions you can imagine. We thought (wrongly!) that we would be able to place them with another “general” animal welfare centre; but like us, most of them are over flowing with unwanted and abandoned animals. All three are settling in nice – Willow is the sow – who is BOSSY, Levi, the (now castrated!) boar is a complete old softy and Babe (the little one that visitors see running around the yard) is a real cutie who has us all oohhing and aahhing over him throughout the day. We are hoping to eventually integrate them with veteran pigs, Dave and Greg – once Levi’s testosterone is out of his system!
Keep Up The Support for our horses and ponies – we have lots of events planned – go to our Events Page for full details. Following the recent press articles, we’ve had lots of lovely people come forward to help our horses in one way or another, whether by donations, fund raising or even coming on board to join our Fund Raising Team. Thank you all.