32 years old Gypsy has just had 5 teeth out...

We are volunteers at 'Spirit of the Herd' pony sanctuary in Frodsham.

We're home to 20 rescue ponies and horses (as at August 2023), and we need some help paying our oldest horse, Gypsy's medical bills.

THE SITUATION

Our ponies' welfare is paramount. And our superstar Gypsy, the Herd's eldest resident at 32 years old, needs extra special care.

As an older equine she tends to be a bit underweight. She also has Cushing's disease and needs daily Prascend medicine and supplements in her feeds. She lives with fellow elderly lady, May. She’s still a sprightly pony for her age, with a very determined attitude - and we want to keep her having a fabulous retirement for as long as possible!

Helping Gypsy stay healthy is obviously really important so we're constantly reviewing her diet, environment and wellbeing. Our equine dentists regularly checks our equines, and so when Andy visited us two days ago, we asked him to take a look at Gypsy because she'd lost a bit of condition.

To keep her calm, Gypsy was lightly sedated. After giving her a good check up, Andy recommended she have five teeth removed. They were wobbly and causing her pain, but weren't likely to come out on their own. He explained that horses teeth are only built to last 25 years, so Gypsy's had done really well!

Andy injected her gums with anaesthesia to numb them, and those pesky teeth were professionally and quickly removed.

Gypsy was an absolute superstar and very brave. She was given painkillers (Bute) and antibiotics. We kept a close eye and she was ready to go back to her field with her buddy May later that day. Here she is with our young volunteers:

Gypsy is now on a diet of grass (soft, short fibre) and sloppy nutritious fibre beet because she can't chew hay anymore. Bless her.

HOW YOU CAN HELP US

We rely on donations to cover our ongoing medical costs. We will always find the money from somewhere, but sometimes we do have to reach out to you, the kind public, to ask for help when our bank account is getting near empty.

The total cost of Gypsy's teeth work came to £380 including a kind discount from the dentists. If you have any spare pennies, even just £1, we'd be so grateful for a donation. Please click 'Donate now' to give us a helping hand.

"If you can donate anything, anything at all, we and the ponies would be massively grateful! We really hope you will support this fundraiser for Gypsy. We would be so grateful for whatever you can give. Thank you." AJ, Director

Please consider if you can help us and our ponies with a donation, no matter how small.

From the Spirit of the Herd volunteers, the rescue ponies & horses, and Monty the cat xxx