Hello. I am asking for donations for medical expenses for my three lesson horses.
Two years ago I moved with two healthy horses, Charlie and Ezra, from Colorado to Florida. Since then we have have experienced a string of severe illnesses including colic, choke that required intubation, necrotic tissue development, excessive allergies, and lameness.
After moving I also acquired a lesson horse for my program, Johnny Cash, as teaching and training has been my main source of income my entire life. This past fall and into winter my horses were finally all healthy, working, and everything was looking bright.
Fast forward to the end of winter and everything fell apart. After nearly losing my beloved dog Maggie to a severe upper GI bleed, my horses became severely ill. On February 2nd Ezra was found in his field with stroke-like symptoms. He was walking in circles with extreme right side weakness and could barely get himself to the water trough. Although he has shown signs of improvement he is still dragging his back feet and is weak on his right side. Two weeks prior he was taking a lesson student through jump grids.
Several days after Ezra’s incident, Charlie starting exhibiting signs of discomfort as well. Normally a sweet, safe horse that I use to teach beginners to jump and to help riders with confidence issues, Charlie had become dangerously unwilling to work. He began tripping simply walking around in his field, and flew backwards with me on him, falling down as I emergency dismounted.
A few weeks after Charlie’s symptoms started Johnny Cash started tripping as well. That turned into him showing signs of discomfort after jumping, which quickly turned into him refusing to jump or even canter at all. The horse that took my student to a Reserve Championship jumping at a horse show on February 1st can now barely walk under saddle without stubbing his toes, tripping, and staring at his feet.
All three horses are currently hyper sensitive, stare at their feet when walking around under saddle, trip, are uncomfortable being hosed down, and are displaying extreme muscle soreness, which are just a few of the symptoms they are having. We have consulted with our veterinarian and I have a long list of potential ailments but due to COVID-19 affecting my income and the previous emergency veterinary bills that have accumulated, costs have prohibited extensive diagnostics.
My heart aches for my horses who are so clearly in pain. In addition to seeing our primary veterinarian I have had a doctor come to provide body work, checked saddle fit, changed their hay source, and done all of the things you would expect when dealing with uncomfortable horses. This is much more than that. It is not a training issue either, as this is not something they are working out of. They hurt and their normally docile behavior is starting to elevate due to their situation.
I am asking for donations to help get my horses healthy. Many of you not only know my horses but have ridden and maybe even shown them. They have touched way more lives than just mine and I am hoping that they can continue to do so in the future.
Any donations will be directly used for the care, diagnostics, medication, and mounting veterinarian bills for these three horses. My plan is to take them to the Equine Medical Center in Ocala for definitive testing. Please watch the video. Any small amount will help them. Thank you.