A Hampshire-based horse owner has won the top prize of an Ifor Williams trailer in an online fundraising raffle which raised £15,000 in aid of Equine Grass Sickness (EGS).
Carol Cheshire from North Baddesley entered the raffle after hearing about it through a friend who has a horse which suffered from EGS.
“I’m thrilled to have won and totally shocked, I don’t think I have won anything in my life, so this might be the first,” said Carol.
“I bought the raffle tickets because I knew the money would be going towards research into EGS.
“I know a lot about EGS because one of my friends who lives in Scotland has a horse which got sick with EGS and thankfully survived it, and she encouraged everyone to buy the raffle tickets.
“I’m really pleased to have supported research into EGS and in fact made a donation separately from the raffle to support the research work because it’s really important and I am really grateful to have received the horsebox.”
Devastating disease
EGS was first recognised in eastern Scotland in 1907. It is highly complex and involves damage to the horse’s autonomic nervous system, which functions unconsciously and regulates internal body functions such as gut peristalsis.
The latter moves the food along the gut during the digestive process. It is this gut function that is damaged in equine grass sickness, with a whole or partial gut paralysis resulting.
A major breakthrough occurred in 2024, when researchers found a probable cause for equine grass sickness: a neurotoxin produced by pasture microbes.
Experts have been searching for the cause of EGS for over 100 years and it is hoped that this discovery will enable scientists to develop new treatments and improve diagnostics for those horses suffering from the illness.
Joining forces
Carol and her husband Richard received the horsebox from Sean Cooper, general manager at Stirling Trailer Centre, who travelled from Scotland to deliver the prize.
Stirling Trailer Centre heard about the raffle when their managing director, Robin Gray, attended a Rural Education Trust meeting where he met Anne Logan, chair of the Moredun Foundation Equine Grass Sickness Fund (EGSF) – the only registered UK charity dedicated solely to tackling the disease.
The company decided to donate an Ifor Williams HBX506 horsebox as a prize and when Ifor Williams Trailers themselves heard about the raffle, they offered to cover half the cost of the trailer.
“We were thrilled to get Ifor Williams Trailers’ backing and it was great to partner with them as always. We have been an official Ifor Williams Trailers distributor for 10 years now so it has been a nice way to mark a decade of working together,” said Sean.
“We are happy to have supported the drive to try to find a cure for this disease and to stop the suffering of animals.
“We always try to help the local community and those involved in local agriculture and farming in particular.”
Image © Mark Ferguson.
