*Edit* sadly, Shakira had to be put to sleep today after a sudden and severe decline. Unfortunately, this has not only left me heartbroken, but also with the cost of putting her to sleep. Thank you for everyone's support throughout this, whether you can donate or not ❤️

Hi, my name is Rowan and my horse Shakira unfortunately suffered from colic last week.

I was given multiple options, including the option to put her to sleep. She is 23 and has worked hard all her life. She is a fantastic, fun-loving horse who came into my life at a very difficult time. She brought my spark back and I desperately wanted to give her a chance, even knowing that I still may lose her with treatment. She owes me nothing, but I felt I owed it to her to give her a chance.

I prepared myself for the worst, but I opted to treat her, and I'm glad I did. The first night, I stayed awake on the yard checking on her every 15 minutes, wondering if I was doing the right thing. After days of constant worry, she has thankfully bounced back and beaten it.

However, as this happened out of hours (on a Saturday night) even though I only opted for conservative treatment, the initial vet bill for her is £316, and I still ideally need to get another course of the gut binder from the vet. It also seems to have been sand colic, and I need to do a course of sand-out as soon as possible to prevent this from happening again. My vet has been absolutely fantastic and has done everything she can to keep the cost down but, being out of hours, it isn't cheap.

If she colics again, I'm not sure the outcome would be positive given her age, cushings and the fact I don't think she would tolerate more extensive treatment as she does not even tolerate being stabled - so I want to do everything I can to help her.

Some may think that a 23 year old horse might not be worth this, but she is worth her weight in gold to me.

Unfortunately, my health and circumstances have meant that I have been largely out of work for quite a long time, meaning that this vet bill - though absolutely worth it to save her - is a lot of money that I just don't have.

I don't expect this goal to be met, or for anyone to feel pressured to donate, but it would be amazing if it could be cleared quickly to help us move on from the stress and worry of our situation and to prevent it from reoccuring.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for the support people have given us online through quite a lonely and difficult journey ❤️

Love Rowan & Shakira