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Horses get new operating table

Athena's eye operation was successful

No foaling around: this cost £35,000

A new operating table is playing its part "from simple castrations to complex eye removal" according to a Devon equine charity - although that might not be too much consolation if you're a stallion hopeful that your manhood (horse hood?) will reman intact when you nip round the vets.

The £35,000 bit of kit (that's the operating table, not the stallion's equipment) has just arrived at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary near Newton Abbot. And it's transformed the life for the charity's horses and ponies, as you might expect if you've just been castrated. But even that can be a useful operation. And let's not dwell on it. The latest complex operation was for a horse with glaucoma, as dangerous for horses as it is for people.

The operating table has a hydraulic lift, which helps if you need to get a 20-stone beast onto the slab. It was funded mostly through donations, including the largest of £20,000 from the Sir Peter O'Sullevan Trust and £10,000 from Support Adoption for Pets.

Sanctuary vet Richard Frost said: “This table is top of the range and will last for the lifetime of the operating theatre. When the savings of not having to send the Sanctuary horses away to other centres for surgery are taken into account over the next 20 to 30 years, the table actually works out quite cheaply.”

The most recent complex surgery involved the removal of an eye for the charity’s 12-year-old Gypsy Vanner Athena. The 15.2hh mare was diagnosed with glaucoma - a rare disease in horses which can be painful and often leads to blindness.  Surgeon Jim Carter carried out the operation under general anaesthetic and Athena is now recovering well, helped by her immediate return to the stables and staff she trusted.

Richard added: “Thankfully, the Sanctuary had just taken delivery of the new table so we could carry out the surgery here rather than sending Athena away to a referral centre, which is not something she would have coped well with.bThe table really is going to make a huge difference to the care and rehabilitation of all our horses and ponies.”

For more on the work of the Mare and Foal Sanctaury visit www.mareandfoal.org

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