A horse who lost his long-term companion in the run up to Christmas has found a new fieldmate after two charities teamed up.
Equine rescue charity Redwings were approached by Wood Green animals charity, who were searching for a new companion for black cob Bilbo following the death of his friend of 10 years, Cherokee.
Redwing’s rehoming team were able to find the “perfect match” for Bilbo in near-identical black cob Fleetwood, who was living at their headquarters in Hapton, Norfolk.
Five-year-old Fleetwood was one of 23 horses rescued by Redwings from a site in South Wales in 2012 after suffering neglect.
He joined Bilbo at Wood Green’s centre in Godmanchester, Cambridge last month, where the pair quickly struck up a bond.
“After meeting Fleetwood I was amazed at how similar he looked to Bilbo – they look like twins! His demeanour and character is very similar to Bilbo too, and although Fleetwood is a lot younger, Bilbo is very much young at heart and needed someone to play with,” said Charlotte Ford, Wood Green’s section manager for field rehoming.
“Seeing Bilbo’s face when Fleetwood turned up was priceless and I can happily say that they have bonded very quickly. Bilbo’s spirit has lifted and Fleetwood has been very accepting of his new home and family.”
Rachel Angell, Redwings operations and rehoming manager, added: “It can be incredibly heart-breaking for a horse when they lose a long-term companion so we were more than happy to help Wood Green find a new friend to lift Bilbo’s spirits.”
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Bilbo and Fleetwood will now be used to help educate visitors to the Wood Green centre on animal welfare.
“With his fun and friendly character, Fleetwood deserved to find a loving new forever home and we’re thrilled that he has found that with Wood Green, especially as he and Bilbo will be teaming up to help spread the word about the importance of horse welfare, which is central to everything we do here at Redwings,” Rachel added.
