Whether two or four, feathered or furry, webbed or not, most of us have them and they hold us up! I am talking of course about our feet. Here at Ferne most animals have two or four legs but we do occasionally have ones with three. What do they all have in common? Well whether they are feet, hooves or trotters they need to be kept in good condition.

Keeping feet fit and healthy is an important part of our animal care work. Poor foot care can cause infections and ultimately result in an animal being euthanised.

So we are asking all our supporters to put their best foot forward and help us by donating to our appeal. We are aiming to raise £8,000 to pay for some new flooring in the barn and to help foot the bill for all our footcare across the sanctuary.

The cattle need a regular pedicure could you donate £15 so Bamboo can have tidy toes?

From time to time animals can develop a foot abscess. £10 buys a 5kg bag of Epsom salt soak and a medicated dressing. Severe cases will require veterinary or farrier help to get it draining.

Our horses have their feet trimmed every 7 weeks by our farrier, more often if necessary. This costs £25 per horse even when it is just a straight-forward trim.

The sheep and goats have their feet checked (and trimmed only if necessary), every 8 weeks. A donation of £50 buys a foot dip to prevent foot rot.

The goats need disinfectant mats to prevent infections . £110 pays for one round of preventative treatment for our herd.

For all our hoofstock drainage is important and regular care is essential to keep infections at bay. Having some dry hardstanding for them to take some time out from the mud in Winter is essential. In our barn we urgently need to upgrade the flooring as years of hooves have eroded the surface. To reinstate the flooring will cost £5,000.

So as you can see footcare is an expensive business. Your donation will help to keep our animals feet healthy. Please help us to foot our bills!