A rescued Shire mare’s essential dental surgery has been postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lolly arrived at Bristol-based welfare charity HorseWorld in 2017 as a two-year-old as part of a multi-agency operation to rescue 19 abandoned Shires.
A spokesman for the charity said the 17.2hh mare requires surgery on a tooth that is coming through twisted, and an appeal had been launched to raise vital funds.
“Even in the short space of time this has been happening it has created a gap that becomes packed with food, which is causing infection,” said the spokesman.
“The vet has temporarily plugged the gap with putty but the tooth needs extracting.”
The spokesman said as Lolly is “so young and big” she will have to go to a veterinary clinic to have the procedure.
“Due to her enormous size (which could cause complications with the anaesthetic) and as the tooth is young, it will have a big root so it will likely be around £3,000 for her to have this operation in the safety of the hospital,” he said.
“The public response to the appeal has raised more than a third of the target so far.”
HorseWorld yard manager Sarah Hollister said the plans for Lolly have had to change owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Lolly had been making good progress learning how to load on to our lorry ready to go to the veterinary hospital. However, with the latest government guidelines this has all had to go on hold,” she said.
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“The vet will be coming out this week to re-pack the gap the wonky tooth has caused so Lolly remains comfortable until she can have her surgery.”
Sarah said in the meantime the charity is still trying to raising funds to cover the cost of the essential surgery.
“Donations towards Lolly’s operation are very gratefully accepted. Any funds we raise that aren’t spent on her surgery will go towards the care of the other rescued horses here at HorseWorld,” added the spokesman.
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