Fellow Standardbred lovers, I'm reaching out for your help. I adopted Monty (DINNER GUEST) from Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program in 2020. He raced until the mandatory retirement at age 14 and won over $700,000. But to me, he is just my trail riding buddy and best friend. My love and admiration for him is immeasurable.

On Monday, April 6th, he suffered a severe colic. Luckily, thanks to my barn's owner, we caught it early, and my vet urged me to rush him up to New Bolton Animal Hospital. He was immediately taken to emergency surgery. The medical team found that 70% of his small intestine had made its way through an 8 cm hole in his diaphragm. He is healing well and being monitored as he recovers by his care team (picture below). Unfortunately, his surgeon was unable to reach his diaphragm to repair the hole during the first surgery, so he is scheduled for a second surgery tomorrow morning.

The surgeries and stay at New Bolton amount to at least $12,000. If you are able to contribute a small amount towards these expenses, Monty and I would be eternally grateful.