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TOP HORSE VET TO HELP COOKIE

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Press Release / 2010-07-30 15:44:38

Cookie, the miniature horse rescued by Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre (EHCRC) after being abandoned to die on wasteground in Benijofar at Easter, is in Barcelona awaiting treatment from Spain’s top horse vet.

The vet, Gaspar Castelijns, who recently tried to save another of the centre’s miniatures, Princess, will operate soon to repair Cookie’s damaged legs.

Said Sue Weeding of EHCRC, “Cookie has been finding it harder and harder to walk and this surgery is her only chance. Without surgery, her condition will worsen until eventually the blood flow to her legs will be cut off and she will not be able to survive, as tragically happened to Princess.”

Cookie has laminitis, a painful inflammatory disease that affects the membranes in the hooves, leaving horses lame. It is likely that the disease was caused by neglect and poor diet. Once crippled with the disease her owners simply abandoned her.

Princess, too, had laminitis. Sadly, in her case, it was too late by the time the centre learned of the ground-breaking work being done by Gaspar Castelijns.

Gaspar, who is often visited by vets from around the world, regularly performs surgery other vets believe impossible. He has been able to remove hooves, take away the damaged area, rebuild bone and re-attach hooves.

The laminitis has deformed Cookie’s feet so that she is effectively walking on her toes. Gaspar will need to cut the tendons at the back of her legs and reposition the bones in her feet so that she can walk normally again. He has successfully performed this operation a number of times and is very hopeful it will help Cookie.

Because he supports the work being done by EHCRC, Gaspar is charging only the cost price of the surgery, and making no charge for Cookie’s hospital stay. Sue says EHCRC feels very lucky to have such a high profile vet supporting its work.

“Many vets would simply say the horse should be put down, but Gaspar has found that advanced laminitis does not need to be a death sentence for horses. The more he is able to treat horses like Cookie, the more likely it is that in the future such treatment will become commonplace.”

However, even at cost, the surgery is not cheap and is an extra expense that needs to be met by the charity’s limited funds. EHCRC receives no official funding and relies totally on donations for all its rescue and horse care work.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to help pay for Cookie’s surgery can do so at the centre in Rojales or at Looking Good Boutique, La Zenia.

Donations can also be made directly into the charity’s CAM bank account, ‘Asoc Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre’, account number 2090 7400 13 0200609667. Paypal donations can be made at www.easyhorsecare.net
 
EHCRC holds open days every Wednesday and Sunday 1 – 4 pm. More details of the work of the centre can be found at www.easyhorsecare.net To contact the centre call Sue Weeding on 652021980 or email info@easyhorsecare.net

Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre Music Night

The next Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre summer music night takes place on August 5th at the centre in Rojales, and features the ever popular Luke Wilder.
Luke has a fabulous voice and sings everything from Rat Pack to Robbie Williams. There is a suggested donation of five euros per person. All proceeds will go toward caring for the rescue horses at the centre and ongoing rescue work.
Starts 8pm. For directions see www.easyhorsecare.net or phone Sue on 652021980.