A new campaign has been launched in order to raise money and awareness for the Equine Grass Sickness fund.
The ‘Clip for a Cure’ campaign is the brainchild of friends Natalie Young and Rachel Mangto, following the loss of three horses Jasper, Storm and Spencer, to Equine Grass Sickness (EGS), from one field.
Rachel Mangto says, “Our family friends lost two Clydesdale’s, Storm, in April followed by Spencer in May 2014. Then our Jasper was diagnosed with EGS on 14 August 2014. He went to sleep after a brave fight on 27 August 2014.
“We can’t bring our lads back but we can raise funds and awareness. This is our way of fighting back – one day at a time.”
The campaign has grown legs following the involvement of vets, Loch Leven Equine Practice who treated the horses and have been actively promoting the campaign, Liz Burton, a Director from Loch Leven Equine Practice says, “This is such a fantastic way of promoting awareness for EGS and the idea of clipping a triangle is such a simple one. Our clients are showing their support and we have already been asked to clip a few triangles at the clinic. The disease itself is devastating and as a practice we feel very strongly about supporting the fund to find a vaccination.”
Kate Thomson, Equine Grass Sickness Administrator Kate Thomson says, “We’re very grateful to Rachel and friends for their ‘Clip for a Cure’ brainwave, which seems to have really caught the imagination of clippers everywhere, raising a staggering £847 already! These donations are being made in memory of Jasper, Storm and Spencer who lost their lives to EGS earlier this year and will help us carry out the research so badly needed to prevent more heart-breaking deaths from this deadly disease.”
To show your support simply clip a triangle onto your horse’s quarters and donate £3 by texting JSSF60 £3 to 70070. To date the campaign has already raised £847 of their £3,000 target. To see how much has been raised go to www.justgiving.com/JasperStormandSpencer.