Queenie needs your help to pull through.

Queenie is our 4 year old mare and she is very poorly.

Two weeks ago, she has had a kick in the field which is not unusual for horses! She had a small wound on her right hind, on the outside of her leg a few centimetres below her hock - which was cleaned regularly and didn’t seem to be causing her too much bother. A few days later, my first day back at work after adoption leave, I got a phone call to say she was struggling to stand up in her stable and her leg had trebled in size. I got the vet out straight away and she was diagnosed with cellulitis and prescribed antibiotics.

A few days later, her leg didn’t seem to be getting better in the way it should with a straightforward infection. The vet came back out and x-rays were taken - nothing untoward could be seen so she was given stronger antibiotics and was strapped up.

After 48 hours, the swelling had decreased but she seemed to be in more pain than ever. At this point it was decided she needed to go into the vets for more tests.

I sent her off on her way at 8am the next morning and expected to have her back later that day. Whilst at work I got a phone call that I was not expecting, they had repeated the x rays and now her bone was full of infection - she had osteomyelitis.

The x-rays have been sent to specialists and no-one has seen anything like it - they can’t believe the speed in which such extensive bone infection has set in from the previous x-rays. It is new territory for everyone.

She has been in the vets for 3 days now on 4 different intravenous antibiotics and is likely to be in for over another week yet. Best case scenario is that after that she will need another 3-4 months of antibiotics at home and rehabilitation.

It is very likely that once the infection has cleared, she will need surgery. Debridement won’t work as the bone is too structurally important - they don’t usually get osteomyelitis in the leg like this! She would have to have her splint bone removed and a metal plate put in - not something that is usual or straightforward!

My insurance money has nearly run out already with the extent of the treatment she has needed so far on the last 2 weeks, and the stay in the clinic is costing approx £500 for 2 days due to all the medication she needs - with another 10 or more looking likely. This is without the next 4 months of treatment she will need and the cost of the surgery and after care needed that is likely.

It has been an emotional rollercoaster - the stress of worrying for her well-being but also the absolute stress of knowing that I cannot afford this care that she needs to survive. I have spent days crying but now I know I need to be strong for her and to do everything I can. This condition is unbelievably painful and she doesn’t deserve this, especially when she is still a baby.

Best case scenario and surgery is not needed, it will be another £5,000 on top of what my insurance covers approx, with the surgery, that would rise to more like £10,000.

Queenie was bought to be a family member forever, for my two children to learn to ride on and to love forever. We adopted my daughter in the summer and she is just settling in, so the timing of all this has added to the upset and stress too. We are all devastated at the prospect of not being able to save her - especially my 5 year old son who absolutely adores her.

Any contribution to helping us get Queenie better would be so gratefully received. Her condition and situation is so unusual so we are fighting in the dark, and we just want to get her out of pain.

A massive thank to the amazing staff at Thompson Equine Vets who are being amazing, who got to the bottom of what was wrong and who are caring for her so well.