Grass sickness is a scourge which causes devastation and heartbreak when it strikes. Despite 100 years of research the cause remains elusive, and is frequently fatal. Some horses get a milder, chronic form of the disease, and with careful nursing can survive. The Equine Grass Sickness Fund is dedicated to discovering the cause, a means of prevention and improving the treatment of chronic cases

My 7 year old Highland Pony (Hamish) was diagnosed with Equine Grass Sickness (EGS) in October 2020. We have been through an emotional and stressful journey and there were a couple of points along the way when both I and the vets did not think he would make it. The dedicated care, intensive nursing and support from three individuals has given him the best chance of pulling through. He is now putting on weight and starting to enjoy life again.

The cause of the disease is still unknown. We were bashing our heads together to understand how he could have developed it where he was kept as all the risk factors were low/non-existent. Little is known about the disease, how to treat it (this was the first case my vets had seen) and what the long term prognosis is. The Equine Grass Sickness Fund is working hard to raise money to fund more research to find the cause of the disease. One of the challenges they have set is a 30 day fitness challenge during the time of year when grass sickness is most prevalent. I am taking part in this challenge from 27th March to the 25th April. I will aim to exercise more and include some gentle, longer in hand walks with Hamish a couple of times a week to start to build up his strength. I will keep a log of our progress  and take some piccies along the way. He loves his walks and we have been doing this from day 1 into his recovery (even if it was 10 steps up the road and back which would often take 20 mins!).  Anything you can donate will go to the EGS fund to help with the research in finding a cause and hopefully a vaccine for this disease. The disease is truly horrible and devastating and I would not wish for any other horse or horse owner to go through what we have.