During the early hours of August 11th, Cider suffered some form of freak-accident while in his pasture resulting in a severed saphenous artery that was damaged beyond repair. For 10 hours (+/-) it was a battle of trying to get him stable, control the bleeding, & determine whether or not he could withstand a trailer ride to an equine hospital - all the way in Rochester NH. Once stable, we loaded him on the trailer and off we went to Myhre Equine Clinic for emergent vascular surgery. They quoted $3,500 for the surgery alone - not factoring in the hundreds of dollars spent earlier in the day on fluids, supplies, and vet care to get him stable, or the aftercare. He will also be staying at the equine hospital for a couple days to monitor the swelling & vitals before being released back home. Cider is a very well loved gentleman with a huge fan club, and I am hoping that through this Go Fund Me, we can pull together to help offset some of the costs of his surgery & rehab. Melissa has been incredibly generous in sharing Cider with so many of us over the years that I am hopeful his fan club will rally together and help support him & his family during this stressful time. Regardless, he will receive the very best care possible.

Cider is a 20 year old home bred, well loved, athletic chestnut gelding with tons of personality. Cider taught me the ins & outs of eventing - I went from never having a jump lesson to competing at novice level and schooling training level all in one year. (Thanks to his incredible human-mom Melissa for giving me those opportunities.) I’ve competed in hunter paces, competitive trail, and eventing on this dude. He has brought multiple people along in the horse world - whether his little legs be soaring over fences that are taller than he can see over, or his athleticism helping him float through a dressage test, this dude steps up to the plate and gives it his all. He also successfully competed at Prelim level in Area 1 with our good friend, Kate.

Lately, Cider has transitioned to being Jason’s buddy. Jason is Melissa’s 10 year old horse crazy son, who is wise beyond his years and very passionate about Cider. A couple weeks ago, Cider took Jason through his first ever schooling trial at Hitchingpost Farm after a week of eventing camp, and they won their division! Jason has also competed in multiple Competitive Trail Rides on Cider this year, alongside his grandmother Connie Walker.

We all thank you in advance for your generosity and kind words.