VIOLET 2019 – 2023
In August 2022 we were called out on many occasions to help catch 3 donkeys wandering the country lanes. It’s amazing they didn’t cause an accident or get hurt. They were shy, scared of people, and just ran off whenever we approached them. The mayors of two communes were involved in trying to safeguard the donkeys but the owner just wasn’t interested and refused to mend his fences. After many failed attempts we caught them and moved them to a place of safety.
Violet’s mum and sister Harley were already with us and we felt that bringing her here would be better for her. She needed to gain weight and if she wasn’t already in foal, staying where she was increased the chances of this. So in November, we brought Violet here. She settled in straight away and so began her feeding regime. It was unclear for some time whether she was in foal or not but in March 23 she suddenly became very poorly. She stopped eating and drinking and got dangerously ill. The tests were all inconclusive but we think she had pneumonia and then hyperlipaemia, a life-threatening condition caused by not eating and brought on by all sorts of things. She had extensive tests which necessitated 9 vet visits. These included 2 ultrasounds. The vet is almost certain she saw the placenta, confirming that she is indeed in foal. It really was touch and go for a week but after a lot of hard work and round-the-clock care, Violet rallied and remarkably and thankfully, pulled through 
Sadly, on 15th May 2023 Violet started to foal. We knew something was wrong and called the vet. Violets baby was stillborn. A huge beautiful filly foal. Violet knew and dealt with it all very well. she was given antibiotics and closely monitored for the next 24 hours. She ate and drank normally but 48 hours later we were devastated to find she had had a prolapse. Nothing could be done to save her. Our beautiful gentle giant went to join her baby. We were all heartbroken – again.
