Meet Joey
Meet Joey, one of the newest members of our Heart family. Joey has been with us for a few months now and has faced some medical challenges that we’ve been working through with the wonderful veterinary team at Galley Hill.
Joey has been diagnosed with colitis and will remain under veterinary care for some time. Despite this, he is the most placid pony you could ever meet—full of love and kisses, and happiest when enjoying a cuddle with his Heart mummy, Danielle.
At the start of December, Joey became unwell with diarrhoea and a high temperature, and an emergency vet was called. Blood tests were taken and medication was started, confirming a diagnosis of colitis. We honestly feared the worst as the vets gave him a 50/50 chance.
Over the past few weeks, Joey has been on a special diet alongside his medications, with regular vet visits, and we’re so pleased to say he is starting to show signs of improvement. Although he still has a long road ahead, he is doing much better.
We are incredibly proud of Joey. He has taken every vet visit like a champion and has trusted us completely as we try to help him heal. Joey is truly beautiful inside and out, and we at Heart are immensely proud to have him as part of our family. We will do everything possible to ensure he continues to recover well.
If you would like to support Joey on his recovery journey, any donation—no matter how small—would help us continue providing his ongoing veterinary care, special diet, and treatment. Thank you for supporting Joey and the Heart family.
**Update on Joey **
Joey has now been transferred into the care of the Queens Cambridge University Equine Hospital, as his condition was not improving and we were beginning to fear the worst. The team there ran further tests to get to the root cause of his illness. While these tests were costly, we knew we had to find answers.
Joey’s protein levels had been dropping and his bowels were not improving, which was deeply concerning. Thankfully, the tests proved worthwhile and Joey has tested positive for Lawsonia. Now that we finally know what we are dealing with, the real fight to get him better begins.
Joey is fighting because Joey wants to live.
After just three days, he showed us a small but hopeful sign today, enjoying his 20 minutes of hand grazing and even giving us a little trot. He is currently on a strict feeding regime and medication plan.
The vets have been absolutely outstanding in their care. We cannot thank them enough for the kindness, compassion, and dedication they have shown Joey and us during this incredibly difficult time.
Joey is not in the clear yet, and his weight loss remains a huge concern. However, he is eating well and resting. Volunteers are with Joey most of the day, as he needs feeding four times daily along with his hand-grazing sessions.
He fights. We fight.
With mounting vet bills, specialist feed costs, and land rental fees, we truly need your help. If you are able to donate towards Joey’s care, please follow the links below. Every contribution, share, and kind thought means the world to us and to Joey.
Thank you for standing with us.
Update on Joey. 27/1/26
Well what can we say. He is nothing but a miracle pony. We cannot believe the transformation in the last 2 weeks. Going from a pony who was struggling to stand being so weak to a menace who kicks his feed bucket over his stable and stamps his hoofs in protest to get what he wants. We know with Joeys condition he has a long road ahead but we have hope. Arriving to him each day and him putting his head on our shoulders for a cuddle means everything to us. He will be on medications for a while yet but we know this boy is fighting to win this battle.