Ruby’s Herd

Ruby is a beautiful lady who we refer to as “posh”, she now knows who she is, what she likes and what she doesn’t. Sadly, this was not the case when we first rescued her. Ruby came from a competition yard where her life consisted of either being in a stable, being exercised on a horse-walker, travelling on a lorry to competitions or competing.
When she arrived at the sanctuary and we popped her in a field she was frightened of the horses in the field next door. She didn’t want to explore the field, run or play and she didn’t realise that she could eat the grass. We had not observed this behaviour in any of our rescued horses before. We knew we had to treat her very gently and teach her how to be a horse. Who better for the job than our elderly 30-year-old gentle pony called Cottie? We introduced Cottie to Ruby and magically Cottie took on the role of Ruby’s grandmother and started teaching her that the grass was for eating, the field was a safe place, the horses next door could be approached without fear and that us humans were kind.
Years later even though Cottie has now transitioned over Rainbow Bridge her teachings live on as Ruby is a very happy, confident lady who now manages Illyanne’s herd with her and they are the best of friends.

CHARLIE
Charlie is a handsome gentle 15-year-old boy who found that his human Mom (who he has been with since a baby ) could no longer care for him due to her health issues so he needed a safe place to live his life.
We agreed to take him and give him a happy peaceful life with us where he won’t be ridden (as he can’t be).
We have welcomed him into our sanctuary in 2021 and he has already fitted in beautifully AND as he is so gentle he is a natural therapy horse! And LOVES doing Equine therapy sessions with people!
We have slowly integrated him with one of our herds and he is now a full member of Ruby’s herd! He is good friends with Louie and Dodger too. However, he is so very polite and respectful and always waits at the end of the queue for his breakfast.
Charlie would love some lovely people to sponsor him to help financially to care for him with things such as food, hay, carrots, supplements, farrier and dentist visits.
In exchange, Charlie will send you regular emails of what he has been up to and you are welcome to come visit him too.

Dodger
Dodger was the only boy of the group from France and we believe that he is delighted that in his new herd he has several other horse friends that he plays, confides and eats with. These include Louie, Michael and Max.
Dodger is a soft, gentle, sensitive boy and he can also be very kind and protective to those he loves, humans or horses.
A few years ago, Dodger had a nasty accident, cutting his face open and blood pouring everywhere. We supported him, spoke to him gently and gave him reiki healing until the vet arrived. Dodger was so brave during this experience and allowed us to care for him. His face healed perfectly, and he is still a very handsome boy.
That experience has made him even more loving towards us humans as he knows he can trust us to always take care of him. He really is an exceptional boy.

Max
We received a request to help a lady who sadly had terminal cancer. She had two beloved horses Max and Ringo who she loved dearly. It was her wish that they both could go to a loving sanctuary together where they could live their lives in peace and love. At the time this request came, financially it didn’t make sense to agree to take on two more horses, but our hearts knew we had to help this lovely lady and her family.
Max is a very large boy. However, he is such a sensitive soul and fits the description of gentle giant perfectly. He loves his horse brother Ringo and has grown in confidence since he had become part of Illyanne’s. He regularly plays and has fun with Louie, Michael and Dodger. We are so happy to have helped as we have now developed a great friendship with the lady’s husband who visits Max and Ringo regularly and kindly supports us with what we do.

Ringo
We received a request to help a lady who sadly had terminal cancer. She had two beloved horses Max and Ringo who she loved dearly. It was her wish that they both could go to a loving sanctuary together where they could live their lives in peace and love. At the time this request came in financially it didn’t make sense to agree to take on two more horses, but our hearts knew we had to help this lovely lady and her family.
Ringo is a beautiful spotty pony with distinctive markings. He is gentle and stubborn at the same time. He has a strong will and likes to keep himself to himself a lot of the time and will choose when he interacts with the herd. He has recently had some health issues including challenges with his feet. We have popped him into a separate paddock next to his herd so his feet can be bandaged regularly and be kept of the mud and have his regular medicines, supplements and reiki healing. However hilariously he decided to break into our next-door neighbours’ field and strike up a friendship with her elderly horse. We are so happy to have helped as we have now developed a great friendship with the lady’s husband who visits Max and Ringo regularly and kindly supports us with what we do.

Dune

Faith

Michael
