Overcoming the odds
“Best day of my life”
I HAVE owned my “horse of a lifetime”, Huggy Bear, for nearly 17 years. He is a wonderful 25-year-old with a cheerful outlook on life. He loves nothing more than to jump, but will also nanny a nervous companion in the scariest of situations.
He has happily competed all his life, has helped people prepare for their exams and often turned out at the last minute for a friend when their horse has gone lame. Even if they have never ridden him before, he has looked after them. He is a diamond and is loved by countless people whose paths he has crossed.
One morning in September, I received the phone call that every horse owner dreads: “There’s been an incident and Huggy’s been injured… it’s bad.” He had been attacked by a Rottweiler while being hacked by my friend. He sustained claw and bite marks over his body and a horrendous injury to his knee that needed emergency surgery. There was a possibility that the injury was irreparable. If so, my beautiful boy would not be brought round from the anaesthetic.
He was operated on immediately at Liphook Equine Hospital and due to the amazing vets there and Sadie Penn and Jade Deter who dealt with the emergency, he came through. However, post-operatively, he
