I WAS DRIVEN BY A DESPERATION TO HELP MY OWN HORSE…..TO SAVE HIS PRECIOUS LIFE WHICH WAS IN SERIOUS DANGER, THEN, WHEN IT WORKED, I WAS DRIVEN BY THE DESIRE TO HELP OTHER DESPERATE OWNERS, AND OTHER TROUBLED HORSES

Well, initially what troubled my horse Shaun was a serious bout of colic, resulting in a twisted large intestine (bowel). This happened some years ago and he had to undergo emergency surgery.

I think that was one of the worst nights of my life as I sat with family members watching the clock. Each minute felt like an eternity as I waited for the call from the vet. The call came after midnight - it was good news. Shaun had survived and had not had to have any gut removed. But he wasn't out of the woods yet.

Post-surgery problems can set in at any time and without warning. It was a nail-biting time as I waited impatiently on "visiting hours" so that I could go in to see him. I felt nauseous with nerves as I approached the veterinary hospital, but was so relieved to see him standing. He was fitted with a drip and I can't remember what all else, but he was standing nevertheless.

Luckily Shaun survived and gained strength each day and exactly a week later he was back home. But things would never be quite the same again. Unfortunately, my lovely gentle horse was left prone to the terribly debilitating problem of spasmodic colic - usually brought on by consumption of his favourite food - grass. The vet had warned me that Shaun could be susceptible to this, and he was exactly right.

Why I Had To Take It Upon Myself To Find Something To Help Him

Because nobody else seemed to be able to, and I had to do something.

To watch one's horse suffer, sometimes on a daily basis is terrifying. With Shaun, it was predominantly during grass growth season, and the spring and autumn flushes were desperately dangerous for him. However, he could occasionally suffer during the winter months too - so we couldn't relax even then.

I often had to restrict his grazing and bring him into the stable during the afternoon when the grass is at its sweetest and turn him out later when there is less sugar in the grass.

This is a good time to point out that there is more sugar in the grass during daylight hours than during night time hours, so night time is the safest time to turn out a horse that may be susceptible to gas build-up due to grass.