Last year was possibly one of the hardest years I have had to face in my lifetime.
With the devestating loss of a very close family friend of decades & also was our brilliant Farrier, to cancer, then 4 weeks later, the loss of my best mate & horse for 9yrs to Colic and then my beloved cousin, also taken by cancer. These 3 tragic losses all happened within a 6 month window, all taken far too young & before their time. My world fell apart mentally & triggered anxiety & depression understandably.
My search to try & make do & mend my broken empty heart was to take on & extend my equine family.
I have no children, or partner. I live alone & fund everything myself. My horses are my world. Admittedly the grief had damaged me to the point that I gave up riding and have been searching for the trigger to set the spark alight again ever since.
I met Baby Bobbin in the springtime & she came to live with me & my herd. The second I walked in the field of Horses, she came marching over and followed me around the fields the entire time I was visiting. Amongst a field of beautiful horses, there was something about her that pulled me to her & her to me. I made the impulse decision that she was the one to come home with me.
The past 6 months have been without regret. She is the sweetest most gentle people person I think I have ever met. She just wants attention & cuddles all the time. Admittedly she is younger than originally thought but that made it even more special that we have time to grow up and bond together. For me, this is the most important part of having Horses. To be with them, not just the riding etc.
That was of course until this week, when she seemed to fall sick over night. I called the vet Monday as soon as I saw signs of sickness. Especially after my last years experiences. The vet was out within the hour.
They delivered the bad news very quickly that in fact Bobbin was potentially in a life threatening condition & had been consealing her illness before now. She had to be rushed to the Equine Hospital immediately in order to have any chance of surviving. After all that happened last year I didn’t even dream that, like perhaps others may have been forced into thinking, that having her put down was the only option. For me it wasn’t an option.
So here we are. Currently battling for her life & yet still making people laugh, smile & make hearts beat faster as she stuffs her face full of food, demanding cuddles & pulling heart strings with her sheer determination to fight.
I am a care worker, on a working wage as most of us are, yet I cannot turn my back on the crippling costs of the hospital fees. I swallow my pride, which is far from easy, but feel comfort from the encouragement of friends and family to set up this page & ask for assistance of any amount to help provide the critical care that this little horse needs in order to survive. God knows if I had a friend in the same position, I’d do anything possible in a heart beat, if only a tenner.
At 2yrs old, Bobbin deserves a chance to beat this Colitis, endotoxemia that is threatening to take her life away & therefore I hold a hand out & ask for your support to get her through this horrendous time.
I would be forever greatful for any support & wish to say a massive Thankyou to everyone for all the kind messages, phone calls and offers for support, encouragement & kindness.
My love to every single one of you
Love Linnie xxxx