E.H.P.P.S.

Pitsea Hall Lane, Basildon

Essex SS16 4UH

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Meet The Horses And The Rest... Bertie Louis Springer Poppy & Cherokee Murphy EHPPS Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society Registered Charity No. 297893

LOUIS - Bay Trotter Gelding – DOB: 2008

Louis Springer is just two years old. He was found running loose and terrified on a road and, thanks to some caring horseowners in the vicinity, Louis was caught and safely held until one of our Field Officers turned up to collect him.

Louis was very underweight, had very long feet which were in dire need of farriery treatment, and he also had a chest injury which was badly infected. Given the scars on his body and legs, he had obviously been subjected to some form of abuse. We were not at all surprised when no-one came forward to claim ownership of this youngster - they would have been in serious trouble if they had. Since he has been with us, Louis has come on in leaps and bounds; he is a very loving young horse with his whole life ahead of him.

Back in mid-July, Louis went lame and our vets diagnosed a bog spavin. They also believed that Louis had OCD, which is cartilage floating in the joint. Louis was travelled up to our vet's on 13 August 2010 for a scan and further investigations. The news was not good. A scan of the hock confirmed that Louis was indeed suffering from OCD - Osteo-chrondrosis-dessicans, which is a developmental disease where the bone flakes off into the surrounding tissue, causing great discomfort, swelling and lameness. Surgery was required to remove the boney flakes and clean the joint. A scan of the fetlock shows Arthritic OCD – at that time the flakes of bone were still attached but jutted out erratically causing trauma to the internal tissue supporting the joint. Again, this causes pain, swelling and lameness. If left, the flakes would eventually break off and the condition would match that of Louis' hock. Surgery was therefore essential as soon as possible. However, due to the recent increase in our rent and the price of hay which has doubled this year, we simply didn’t have the £2,500 plus needed for the essential operation.

If Lou didn’t have the surgery, he would have been in considerable pain and we would have had no choice but to have him put to sleep. Unthinkable for a two year old who has a bright future ahead of him. In desperation, we contacted the Evening Echo who readily agreed to run Louis’ story in the daily paper and appeal for help. To say we were astounded at the response is an understatement. Cheques and letters of support poured into the Sanctuary over the next few days. Little else got done in the office other than logging all the cheques in and writing acknowledgement letters to Louis’ benefactors. Some of the messages brought tears to our eyes – one that really touched us was from a pensioner who wrote “Not a vast sum I know, but it is truly from the heart”. Louis had come from a life of hell before he found his way to EHPPS; we just wish he had an inkling of the kindness and love that poured from this people for him.

As soon as the monies came in, we booked Louis in for his operation at the specialist orthopaedic veterinary unit at Newmarket who were carrying out the procedure. Louis had his operation on 24 August and was back home with us a couple of days later. The procedure went well, although the specialist has told us that Louis has multiple orthopaedic problems and keyhole surgery may be necessary to his hocks in the future. At the moment, we are adopting a positive and practical approach to Louis’ future management and ensure that we take the very best of care of our special boy.