This Adorable Little Donkey - Redwings

14 The Spindle Farm Story The Spindle Farm Story 15
January
2008
March
2008
April
2008
May
2008
December
2008
May
2009
June
2009
August
2009
January
2010
7th May
2010
13th May
2010
26th May
2010
June
2010
July
2010
Welfare charities
and Police remove
over 100 equines
from Spindle Farm,
Amersham; 21 go to
Redwings, Norfolk.
Owner Gray’s
application to have
some of the animals
returned or sold is
granted. Over
19,000 people sign
a petition set up by
Redwings.
The RSPCA
campaign for the
application to go to
the High Court.
The magistrates’
decision is
overturned.
29 in Redwings
care as several of
the Miniature
Shetlands give birth
to even more
miniature foals!
James Gray and
four members of his
family begin their
trial, expected to
last 12 weeks.
The case closes.
James Gray and his
son are found guilty
on 11 charges.
Gray’s wife and two
daughters are found
guilty on two
charges each.
Sentences - Gray,
six months in prison,
£400,000 fine, lifetime
ban on keeping
equines. The family;
10 year ban on
keeping equines. All
appeal against their
sentences.
61 Amersham
horses in Redwings’
care after we take
some boarding with
the RSPCA. A large
number need
specialist vet care
and handling
training.
The Appeal Hearing
begins at Crown
Court; all the
evidence given firsttime
round is
relayed to the judge
again.
All original charges
against the Gray
family are upheld,
except for two
dropped against
Gray’s son.
Gray disappears
when sentences are
due to be heard. His
sentence is upheld.
The horses and
donkeys are signed
over into our
permanent
ownership.
James Gray
arrested by police
after being missing
for three weeks. He
was found during a
random spot check
on the M5!
Little donkey Esther
joins our Adoption
Club!
Redwings takes in
two more
Amersham horses
from the RSPCA -
current tally 63!
Amersham and beyond! Where they are now
We are still celebrating the news that after more than
two and a half years of waiting, the Amersham case
has finally been resolved.
Redwings has helped the RSPCA by offering homes
to more of the Amersham horses and ponies, and the
original 21 (plus six foals!) that came into our care
has now increased to an incredible 63.
Throughout the court case these animals were
‘boarding’ with us, meaning we could not mix them
Mary became famous following the rescue as she gave birth
to a bouncing baby boy just a day later. Mary has always been
a friendly, sweet donkey although on the day she arrived she
was a very forlorn figure and the vets were extremely
concerned for her health. However, it turned out she was just
waiting to give birth to her precious baby in comfort and safety
at last. Baby Timothy was as healthy as could be and Mary has
made such a wonderful recovery that you can now meet her at
our Caldecott Visitor Centre near Great Yarmouth where she
lives with Martha,
Jemima and Esther
from the same group…
with our other horses, or castrate the colts and
stallions, which was incredibly challenging for our
staff. Legal restrictions also meant that we could not
talk about the case in much detail, or share the
horses’ progress with you, the people who helped us
rescue them in the first place! Until now!
At last, here are just a few examples of ‘Where they
are now’!
Tinkerbell was tiny
when she was born!
Tinkerbell was born a few weeks
after the rescue to mum Elsie, who
was quite a nervous girl when she
arrived. However, when Tinkerbell
(affectionately known as Bathmat!)
was born she was absolutely tiny and had a few problems
with her antibodies, which meant she spent a lot of time being
cared for by our vet team. The upshot of this is that she has
absolutely no fear of humans and will merrily roll on her back
to have her tummy tickled like a dog! You can visit Tinkerbell
at our Ada Cole Rescue Centre near Harlow where she is
currently causing havoc!
Leah the donkey travelled back from Spindle Farm with
Mary, and was a good friend to her and a great auntie to
young Timothy when he was born. Leah was in a shocking
state on arrival – her ribs were protruding and her hip bones
stuck out; she was so hungry when she arrived she even
nibbled a member of staff’s finger thinking it was a carrot!
She made a wonderful recovery and although we didn’t know
she was pregnant when she arrived, it soon became clear she
was carrying a present of her own. She gave birth to
handsome Cain several weeks later, and while both boys are
a bit too boisterous to be ready
for life in the spotlight just yet,
Leah and her friends Deborah
and Carmel are now settling into
life at our Oxhill Rescue Centre
in Warwickshire.
Leah, left, no longer thinks
fingers are carrots!
Norris is still
undergoing
intensive handling
training
Rumpel and friends Stiltskin, Aladdin and Ali Baba are
having handling training and we hope to be able to re-home
them soon… Thumbelina, who was
incredibly nervous when she arrived,
is now the friendliest pony ever, and
the naughtiest!... Tom Thumb is now
living with Caleb, Timothy’s dad and
is much braver... handsome Cookie is
no longer a stallion (ahem!) and has
begun to calm down a bit… Yogi and
Marley who came for handling training are a delight and we
hope to re-home them once they are ready… Meanwhile
Norris, Morris and Archie are still in the early stages of their
rehabilitation and remain very nervous boys… and Pinocchio
still loves to play football and is unrecognisable from the little
bag of bones who first arrived on that cold
Winter’s day…
And last but by no means least, Esther
the donkey! Turn the page to find out
what Esther is up to now…!
Rumpel
may be
ready to
find a
home
soon
Mary, left, and Martha
wearing their sun visors
Please Don’t Forget...
Our three visitor centres are open every day from
March until the end of October. For more details,
or Winter opening hours, visit
www.redwings.co.uk or telephone 0870 040 0033.
Cookie is a
beautiful spotted
gelding
Pinocchio
keeps fit with a
quick kick
around
Chocolate
Egg, Bramble and
Alice settled
into Redwings
quickly