Dearly Departed........

Buster was an adorable little Shetland pony, who stood just 40" high.  He was rescued from Chester and had lived by the canal.  He suffered from sweet itch which is an allergy to the midge fly.  He would rub and rub making his skin sore and tearing out his mane and tail.  Sadly as time went by and although he was stabled a lot of the time, and he has two special  Boet rugs, the condition became worse. It took a lot of care and dedication to keep him well and happy.  When he arrived at H.A.C.K. he was covered in sores and weighed three times more than he should. 

In May 2004, Buster had to be put to sleep after becoming seriously ill.  Only a few weeks earlier Buster had taken part in a sponsored ride to raise money for Bailey's operation, sadly Bailey also died.  So it has been a bad start to the Spring at H.A.C.K. 

Pamela Bluck said "Buster was a great ambassador for the charity.  He was such a sweet little pony who gave pleasure to many hundreds of adults and children alike.  He has raised a great deal of money, helping other horses in need of H.A.C.K.'s care and security.  He will be greatly missed.  He was taken ill a few days previous but deteriorated very quickly.  The vet visited him over this period but in the end, could do nothing to save him and the decision was made to put him to sleep.  We suspect that it was a cancer or a tumour that started impeding his breathing and rapidly developed".

Buster's fame stretched beyond his fame at H.A.C.K.  When he was younger he was in pantomime - Cinderella and he also appeared on HTV news.  He was truly a superstar. 

Sadly Bailey became lame and although we had the vet to him on several occasions, they could not find the cause of his problem so he was referred to the Liverpool University Large Animal Hospital and Leahurst on the Wirral.

Nerve blocks and X-rays still could not produce an answer and he had to undergo Gamma Rays which revealed a bone cyst in his shoulder joint, which is quite rare.  This is what was causing Bailey's painful lameness.  This poor little pony needed an operation to make him well and sound again.  

Very very sadly Bailey died during his operation.  It was discovered that Bailey had multiple bone cysts in his shoulder and they could not remove them because the shoulder joint is too small and it would have meant that there would be no shoulder joint left.

Unfortunately, we still had to pay over £2,200 despite having no pony at the end of this ordeal.  

Jester was a small lemon and white shetland/welsh pony, who was just slightly bigger in height than Buster.  He had a smashing little character and was very friendly, but had a trick or two up his sleeve.  Jester came to H.A.C.K.  when he became ill and his owner could no longer look after him, due to severe illness himself, so it was decided that the sanctuary would take the little pony under its care.  Jester lived with Buster in the bare little paddocks and were both fed on special diets, as both ponies suffered from laminitis a condition that affects the feet and is potentially fatal.  So great care always had to be taken over what these ponies were fed.  Buster too came to H.A.C.K. with this disease and he was been managed well over the nine years he has been with us.  

Sadly after a long fight against Laminitis our poor little Jester had to be destroyed as there was nothing more we could do for him. He is a great loss to the sanctuary and will be very much missed. Someone had let Jester out of his bare little paddock and put him in a field of lush grass, perhaps they thought this a kindness, but in fact he lost his life through such an act. Who ever it was had entered the sanctuary uninvited. There are now security gates in place.