When I had to have my beautiful 'heart horse' Witch put to sleep in October 2016 it broke me. I vowed I would never take on another elderly horse, I would never take on another horse with issues. I went through seven horses on trial and loan, none of which I gelled with, and most were the total opposite of what they were described to be by their seller, some were downright dangerous.
Then for some reason I was browsing Preloved and there was an advert for a 21 year old Haflinger for loan literally on the same street as my current yard, a two minute walk away! A loan though, not really what I wanted, and 21! Way too old! But something in my heart just said go and see her. So I did. I agreed to loaning her, but was told a possible sale could be arranged in the future if we both were happy. She came to me on the anniversary of Witch being put to sleep. I took it as a sign that she'd been sent to me.
Since October 2017 we've enjoyed rides around the local countryside and even been to our first show where we qualified in the foriegn breed class and veteran class to go and compete at the Royal London Show in September.
Things have not been easy though. Summer suffers from moderate sweet tch, a very distressing condition that, caused by midges, makes the horse so itchy they scratch themselves until they bleed. She also is a laminitic which means her body has an inappropriate reaction to the sugars in grass. She has to be on a strict diet and exercised regularly to keep her weight down. Otherwise her hooves become inflamed making it very painful to stand or walk.
On Friday 13th July I went to bring Summer in from her paddock to go for a ride. However, she was in so much pain she barely made it back to her stable. The farrier saw her and didn't think it was a hoof abscess, a common but very painful condition. So I had the vet out again to see her. The vet was just as puzzled so told me that we should treat her as if she has laminitis again, also treat her for a brewing abscess and possibly a bruised sole.
Summers approaching 5 days of complete rest in her stable but hasn't shown much of an improvement which means the next step is xrays and nerve blocks. The xray will be £150 and each nerve block is £46 and we may need several. Plus the vets call out charge is £36. Then she needs special shoes to take the pressure off her feet, which will cost in the region of £50.
Unfortunately I just don't have the funds to pay for this at the moment. Summer cost me in the region of £600 last month when she had a bout of laminitis and had to have the vet, then her special treatment meant I had to pay out for electric fencing to keep her in a starvation paddock, she needed extra hay and bedding to keep her comfy and she needed a stable which meant her livery bill pretty much doubled.
I recently had the wonderful news that Summer has been signed over to me. So she's fully my responsibility now, and I can't walk away even if I wanted to. I have sold all my personal effects to pay for her recent veterinary bills and she has drained all my savings.
I count myself very lucky that I was blessed with Witch, she changed my life. How amazing is it that I've been blessed with a second heart horse in my lifetime!? Summer deserves everything I can give her and more. She loves and trusts me as much as I love and trust her.
Please consider donating whatever you can, every single penny counts and is so gratefully received!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Lots of love
Laura & Summer