Dancer finds her feet again – at the age of 33

A 33-year-old pony who was saved from the slaughterhouse as a youngster has made an incredible recovery from a foot injury. Dancer’s owners were worried that their much-loved family pet would have to be put to sleep, but thanks to the care of vet John Gilliver and his team at Gillivervet, an equine veterinary practice in Lancashire, Dancer’s trotting around her field again.

Dancer’s owners bought the 12hh mare in 1991 from a horse sale, saving her from going to the meat man. She was ridden by their sons, and since then has enjoyed a long retirement with the family.

When she went lame before Christmas with a foot abscess, the family called on their vet to help. Unfortunately, the problem proved to be complicated and needed extensive investigations, including a CT scan. Dancer then had an operation to remove dead tissue from her hoof that had been causing her loads of pain, and she spent two months as an in-patient.

Since recovering from her ordeal, Dancer’s been enjoying a new lease of life!

“Even though Dancer’s an old pony, she has a tremendous zest for life and I felt we should give her every chance,” said vet John. “She was worth all the effort and hard work and she’s been happy and blossoming since we got to the bottom of the problem.”