THE HISTORY OF REMUS AND ITS WORK NOW

It costs a startling amount of money to keep the Sanctuary operating. We employ five staff, and then rely on volunteers to help make up the extra manpower. We don’t need to tell you that so many charities are all looking for the same money, from the same people, and we are sure that many of the public feel hounded sometimes. We at REMUS like to think we are a bit different, in as much as whilst we are an animal sanctuary and working with and for animals, we are also pro active in encouraging, helping and working with people – including children, the disabled, and the elderly. As we will hopefully show you in the next few pages, we are a very rounded Organisation looking out for, and interacting with animals, people and conservation.

Remus Horse Sanctuary was formed in 1983 following the plight of  the horses on Rainham Marshes, where over 100 horses were left on the bleak marshland, as the water inlets flooded, they became cut off resulting in 13 horses dying in the most awful conditions. This was then followed by the single case of REMUS, a poor horse stolen and starved for three months in a feud between two people, over the paltry sum of £50. REMUS was eventually left tied to a lamp post in the most horrific body condition, and despite all possible help, his suffering was so bad that he eventually had to be put to sleep.

Horse welfare in Essex at this time was dire. There were many Traveller Encampments in Rainham, Rush Green and Tilbury, to name but a few problem areas – all producing huge horse welfare problems. We dealt with so many tragic cases, but liaised with local Authorities and gradually with pressure being bought to bear on them, the problems were addressed, and many of these areas that were once such huge problems are now Country Parks. Over the years much has been done to improve the welfare standards in the County and beyond.

Here at Buttsbury we have 40 acres in a most beautiful setting. We have stabling/shelter for 50+ horses on the site of a post war dairy farm. It was a huge challenge to transform this site from derelict farm to a working, horse rescue centre.

So what does the Sanctuary do?

We care for the 100 plus animals at the Sanctuary.. We regard our work as being very much along the same lines as a hospice – giving these animals, most of which are survivors of the most horrendous cruelty, at the hands of mankind, the very best of care allowing them to spend their twilight years doing as they wish. Nothing is asked of them. They are fed, watered, cared for and loved. They receive regular veterinary and farrier attention as required, and despite being very much an older population of horses, with many being over 30 and BUTTONS being over 50, they all look well and are in excellent condition. It takes a lot of hard work ,money and effort to keep old and sick ponies in such good condition.
So long as an animal can be kept free of pain, is happy eating, willing to go out into the fields to play or graze, can get up and down without assistance and maintains a quality of life then we are happy to do all in our power to allow that animal to enjoy its life. Obviously always working closely with our Vet, to ensure that the line is never crossed where the animal is allowed to suffer.

We are always aware of the importance of education. This generation of children is the next generation of parents and animal owners, and to our mind it is vital that they are educated in the importance of giving, sharing and loving  - for no other reward than that of seeing the animals able to enjoy their lives, free from fear,  pain or distress.

To this end we have a Volunteer programme in place, where anyone wishing to get involved can do so. We usually have a lot of children up at the weekends, and it’s a joy to see them grow and develop into such well-rounded young men and women. We are always hearing from their parents just what a difference being involved, and having responsibility makes to these young people, and how their parents are so pleased with the way their child has changed. We have lost count of the amount of parents who ask us what the secret is, as the weekends are the only days the children get out of bed without any prising from the parents. Having said this, our Volunteers range from all ages and all backgrounds, all coming together and working together, with one common aim.

We have various groups who visit us including groups of disabled people – and how rewarding that is for us to see the sheer joy on the faces of these people, who just love being able to interact with our animals. We also have girl guides, scouts etc and are happy to help encourage their understanding of the welfare problems, and what they can do to help the wider Community and those less fortunate than themselves. We also have many youngsters doing their Duke of Edinburgh awards, college students observing our animals for their research and college dissertations, and youngsters doing work experience placements.

Last year we launched our PONIES IN THE COMMUNITY SCHEME. This is a scheme that we are immensely proud of. We liaise with local Elderly Residential Homes or Institutions for those less fortunate than ourselves, and take our ponies out into the Community to meet these people. We have had such good response to this scheme, and were convinced of its success when we visited one home, and were told by the people in charge, that in all the years these elderly folk have been at this Home, this was the very first time most of them had ventured into the garden.

To us these visits are a joy to do, but for those people we are going to, it is a lifeline – something to look forward to, something to be able to talk about and share with their friends and families – they are just such a total success.

We organise PONY DAYS during the school holidays, where youngsters can come along and find out about looking after and caring for a horse.

We run a WELFARE SCHEME where we respond to calls of concern regarding animals in the County and beyond. From October to March we run a WINTER ACTION LINE, where we actively encourage the public to contact us if they have any concerns about any animal. Very often people will pass an animal for days and weeks thinking ‘ I wonder if that is a problem or am I just over reacting?’ – we say if you have ANY concerns, don’t worry, just let us know and we will happily look into it. It backfires sometimes, especially on warm Spring days when we get inundated with calls about ‘dead’ foals – only to find they are just sleeping, stretched out beside their mums – but we would rather take a look than miss an animal’s distress.

We have a HOMING PROGRAMME, where once animals coming into us have been bought back to health and rehabilitated, if they are fit they can be re-homed, leaving us room to take in other less fortunate animals. These animals go out under a very strict Homing programme. We monitor them for life, and if for any reason they cannot be kept, they are returned to the Sanctuary. They cannot be sold nor passed on. This allows the animals one to one care and attention and despite all that we can do for them at the Sanctuary, we can never give them that unique one-to-one attention. We presently have approximately 50 horses out in homes, including two in Scotland, two in Dorset, and soon two in France.

We have a great Fundraising team who organise stalls, quiz nights, summer and Christmas Fayres and street collections, to name but a few things that they do.
We have regular Open Days on the first Sunday of the month from May to October – these are very busy days and great fun, and are an important part of our fundraising. We also have a successful Membership and Sponsorship Scheme. We take two of our little Shetlands – ROSIE & TEDDY out to events – where they love the chance to meet the public They are not there to be ridden, but to highlight the work of  Sanctuary.

We also established the FEDERATION of BRITISH ANIMAL SANCTUARIES – bringing together Sanctuaries to help each other and work with each other, where possible. The British Animal Sanctuary is a very unique institution, but one that is under great threat. Across the Country there is so much expertise at work on a day-to-day basis – through FoBAS we can work with each other, offer advice and share the workload .

We have two Patrons at the moment, and are highly honoured to have them on board. Andrew Rosindell MP who is renowned for his work and love for animals. Lord Petre, Lord Lieutenant of Essex and part of the Petre family, who have sat at Ingatestone Hall since the time of Queen Elizabeth I.

We were highly honoured this year, to have our role in the Community acknowledged when we were invited to one of Her Majesty, the Queen’s ,Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace. Recently we were proud to be awarded winners of the Essex Chronicle Community Champion 2005 Award  and the Heart of  the Community Medium project Award. This gives us much needed recognition for the invaluable work that we do in and around the County.

We are fortunate to be in a most beautiful part of the Essex Countryside, in Buttsbury, just outside Ingatestone. We have this year acknowledged that fact by starting a very pro-active Conservation programme on our site. We have, using an old silage sump, established a very successful pond, which houses many young frog-lets and tadpoles, skippers and other insects. We have a memorial garden, which is planted up with small fruit trees – with the fruit being able to go back to the animals once ripe. We have put in a border of shrubs that attract bees and butterflies. We are hoping to erect bat boxes for the bats in the area. The local fox comes up to the Sanctuary for nightly feeds. We have large numbers of sparrows nesting in our Dutch Barn and swallows in the stables.

Our hedgerow provides great shelter for various birds. We have green woodpeckers, yellow hammers, spotted fly catchers, flocks of starlings and field peewits. We can often see up to ten pheasants on our muckheap, and we play host to many Homing pigeons, who stop with us for a few days or weeks to rest, before continuing their journey. We are also lucky to have the River Wid running alongside our land, and so we see ducks, herons and recently, even a king fisher. Of course though, there is always a dark side to things, and the pretty little River Wid can, after a bout of rain, show a completely different and threatening side to its character, when it bursts its banks.

Thankfully the Sanctuary is on high ground, so whilst the buildings stay dry, the whole area can be cut off, with all roads to the Sanctuary being closed off by up to 3-4ft high flood waters. Which means whilst the animals are all warm and dry, we humans are walking in up to our waists in frozen flood waters.

Over recent weeks we have been consulting with various bodies with a view to establishing the Sanctuary as a unit specialising in the care and advice on veteran horses. including all aspects of their care – feeding, worming, medical. Certainly as one of the few Sanctuaries who are prepared to keep horses to such a ripe old age, we are fairly well placed to carry out this role.