4 Legs & Wheels Inc Creating Possibilities for All Abilities

Hi, I’m Katy Driver, founder of 4 Legs and Wheels Inc. Life has thrown me some significant challenges, but it’s also shown me the incredible power of resilience, determination, and the bond between people and animals. Through 4 Legs and Wheels, I’m on a mission to help others with disabilities, and those facing life’s challenges, find joy and possibility in a way that truly changes lives.

This fundraiser is for a horse float that can create more possibilities and opportunities. Thanks very much to EuroFloat, they have offered 4 Legs and Wheels Inc a custom designed horse float to suit wheelchair users and Miniature Horses at cost price with no profit going to them, we just need to raise the cost price!

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My Journey:

I have always loved animals and built a life around them—working as a vet nurse, zookeeper, horse trainer, and animal photographer. My life changed in December 2007 when a mustering accident left me with spinal injuries and permanent damage to my legs. Doctors told me I would never walk or ride horses again.

One week after my accident, I found hope and purpose in the unlikeliest place. A Clydesdale Cross foal was born from a pregnant rescued mare who had come into my care. Due to complications, the foal needed hand-raising and constant care—she needed me to function. I named her Caboonbah Something Special because she truly was. She became my reason to fight and inspired me to learn how to live again, even if it meant finding new ways to do things from a manual wheelchair.

Life hasn’t been easy, and like many other people, I’ve had my share of accidents and injuries. A couple of bad car accidents resulted in numerous broken bones and years of musculoskeletal strain and my body compensating for injuries have taken their toll—compounded by medical complications that now can’t be addressed surgically due to the high risk as a result of previous injuries.

Since my mustering accident in 2007, I have faced a series of major health challenges:

• 2011: Sustained a traumatic brain injury, resulting in years of recovery at Brisbane Brain Injury Unit. I still experience daily complications and seizures.

• 2014: Bitten by a Brown snake, narrowly surviving after antivenom treatment and weeks of recovery.

• 2020: Bitten by a Tiger snake, spending five days in ICU due to a severe reaction to the venom and antivenom. This led to lifelong complications, including Chronic Kidney Disease.

• 2023: Diagnosed with massive blood clots in my legs and lungs after experiencing heart attacks, leaving me with permanent heart and lung damage.

Despite it all, I’m still here, doing what I love—caring for animals, helping others, and finding new ways to make a difference. As I always say, “Life is about doing what we love but sometimes just having to find a different way to do it.”

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What 4 Legs and Wheels Inc. does:

4 Legs and Wheels Inc is a not-for-profit organisation that connects people and animals, creating moments of joy, learning, and inspiration. 

We:

• Inspire Joy: Visiting hospitals, nursing homes, and community events with our rescue miniature horses and other animals, bringing smiles to those who need them most.

• Educate All Abilities: Teaching horse care, handling, and training to people with and without disabilities, showcasing what’s possible from a wheelchair.

• Rescue and Rehabilitate: Providing love and care to miniature horses, ponies and other animals in need, preparing them for new homes or community roles.

Our work isn’t just about animals; it’s about people and the connection with each other and the animals. It’s about showing that even when life takes an unexpected turn, there’s always a way forward.

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Why We Need Your Help:

Currently, we rely on an open-top stock trailer and a smaller modified cage trailer we call the “Mini Mover” to transport our animals. While they serve us well, they aren’t ideal as:

• The stock trailer is unsafe in wet conditions, with a slippery floor and no protection from the elements, it limits when we can take the animals out.

• The Mini Mover can only carry one wheelchair and two miniature horses—or three miniature horses without a wheelchair—limiting what we can do.

With a custom-built EuroFloat horse float, we can continue and expand the 4LW mission.

This float will:

• Safely transport up to 7 Miniature Horses.

• Provide more opportunities for others to be able to show and interact with horses.

• Accommodate wheelchair access up the ramp, allowing independence for those wanting to load and unload their own horses.

• Include overnight accommodation for myself and a support worker, enabling us to attend events and reach more remote communities.

EuroFloat has generously offered to sponsor the float to 4 Legs and Wheels Inc by providing it at cost price, but we still need to raise $60,000 to make it a reality.

Any additional funds raised will go towards:

• Providing team shirts and helmets for 4 Legs and Wheels club day participants, fostering a sense of community.

• Covering care and rehabilitation costs for rescue animals in 4 Legs and Wheels Inc care..

• Expanding the opportunities to bring hope, joy, and connection to people with disabilities and those in need.

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Your Impact:

This horse float isn’t just for me—it’s for everyone touched by 4 Legs and Wheels. It’s for the child in the hospital who dreams of meeting a pony, the person with a disability who wants to experience the joy of showing a horse, the elderly in nursing homes missing their old lives and would love to touch and see a horse again and the animals who deserve a second chance.

By supporting this campaign, you’re helping us create life-changing moments and proving that no matter what challenges life throws at us, we can always find a different way to move forward.

Thank you for believing in our mission. Together, we can make a difference for people and animals alike.

Katy Driver

Founder

4 Legs and Wheels Inc.