I hate sharing this news. I hate it so much... Part of me just wants to drop off the face of social media altogether and not share it at all. But you all have followed my journey with Elroy and we need your support now more than ever.  

Elroy had emergency colic surgery on Tuesday March 9th.

Some of you may recall that last week my other horse, Bindi, had a minor gas colic episode that resolved with medical treatment almost instantly... to my great relief. Well, exactly a week later, Elroy turned up with the same symptoms, but unfortunately his outcome was not as great. I was beside myself trying to pinpoint the cause. How could both of my horses colic 7 days apart??? Bad batch of hay? Did they both get into toxic weeds in their pasture? Did the weather change upset them both? Is it a stroke of seriously terrible bad luck and just a coincidence??? 

The vet came out for Elroy and after a rectal exam, quickly suggested we get him to the hospital as he suspected something was twisted. It took an hour and a half to get to the hospital... Within 30 minutes of arriving and after a quick exam and some tests, they told me he needed surgery.. and the vet didn't sound optimistic. My worst nightmare was coming true. The thought of losing this horse had me completely falling apart. I knew I had to give him this chance. Not for one second did I even consider other options. I asked if I could see him one more time, not knowing if I'd ever see him again. I hugged his head and cried all over him. I'll never forget that moment.

It turned out that Elroy had some existing scar tissue in his abdomen, which is what his intestine got wrapped around. The vet suspects he possibly could have had complications when he was castrated, as he hasn't had any other surgeries that I am aware of.  He said it was a ticking time bomb and could have been twisted up for some time. So it was completely unrelated to Bindi's minor gas colic last week. In a way, this was a relief.  Elroy had to have 6 feet of small intestine removed, right up to the edge of his stomach. As a result, they had to basically transplant a healthy piece of intestine to the stomach, to be able to connect the two, making his surgery more complex and longer than usual. Elroy woke up from surgery and I was told he was surprisingly alert this morning.

Now we have to just take everything day by day, and hope that he will stay strong and be able to come home soon.

Please keep Elroy in your thoughts as we get through this recovery. He is one of the most special horses I have ever met.

The hospital gave me an estimate of $11k-$14k. I am fully prepared (thank you CareCredit!) to take on this cost myself, and I know this was a very expensive decision that I made... but any small amount to help offset this debt, I will be forever grateful for. 

I will post updates about Elroy on Instagram (@bindithemustang) as much as I can to let you guys know how he is doing. 

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Chelsea