By Joe McCann
A YOUNG Bangor girl is pulling out all of the stops to ensure her beloved horse and best friend, Alan, is able to get an operation to help alleviate a disease which causes blindness.
Thirteen year-old Olivia Parsons is raising money to help the six year-old Irish cob undergo treatment for Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU), a condition which can lead to gradual blindness.
The condition can be managed, but horses with ERU must wear protective goggles and UV fly masks to shield their eyes from sunlight, dust, insects and debris and also have to be stabled separately from other horses.
Olivia’s mother, Danielle Parsons, said her daughter had been caring for Alan since he was four years-old.
After previously riding a horse with a difficult temperament, Olivia quickly formed a bond with Alan because of his gentle nature.
“He’s just so lovely, he’s just a big pet,” Danielle said.
Alan is currently stabled at Pony Tales NI in Portaferry and has been training with Olivia for cross-country competitions. Danielle said her daughter had followed his training ‘by the book’ to make sure he was as fit and well prepared as possible for a future of cross-country and show jumping.
However, those plans changed after Olivia suffered a broken foot when she was hit by a car in January before later injuring a toe this summer, forcing her to take a break from riding while Alan was temporarily stabled elsewhere.
When he returned, the family discovered he had gone blind in one eye because of a cataract and had developed the early stages of ERU in the other. It is currently not conclusively known how horses come to develop the condition.
Although Danielle explained that Alan might never be able to compete in cross-country and would now require specialist care, Olivia is determined to do everything she could to help him.
Before his diagnosis, Alan spent part of each week helping with children’s riding lessons at Pony Tales NI. However, because of his deteriorating eyesight, he can no longer be stabled alongside the other working horses.
“Alan is an outdoor horse and he would usually be outdoors all year round but now with his eye, he will have to be stabled and kept inside and we will have to build separate stabling for him at the other end of the yard,” Danielle said.
After receiving permission to launch a GoFundMe page, Olivia wasted no time sharing it across social media after learning Alan could no longer work and Danielle said her daughter was determined to raise the money herself.
“As she’s 13, Olivia isn’t allowed to work,” Danielle said. “But her best friend who is a farmer gets some money for milking, so she was begging us to let her milk so she could get money to help Alan.
“For years she has been really into the TV show ‘The Rookie’, she’s watched all eight seasons about four times and we had been saving up money for her to go to Paris for the show’s convention and as soon as Alan’s condition became known, she opened her wee box of savings and said to put it all towards helping Alan.”
Danielle said the family were not looking for a handout and were covering Alan’s costs themselves, but wanted to give Olivia the opportunity to help raise money for her horse. She added that Alan had become much more than a riding horse to her daughter and the two had become best friends.
She said: “Olivia has had a hard time over the last couple of years and horses are like her therapy. She has anxiety and she has other issues but being out with Alan, it does make her feel calm.
“The other day, I asked her if she would rather we chose a different horse, but she said, ‘No I’m going to love him for all his life, I just have to change my plans about riding him.’ He really is her best friend and he’s such a gentle creature, he’s just a big pet and Pony Tales NI in Portaferry have been so helpful with everything in looking after Alan.”
Danielle praised the staff at Pony Tales NI for the support they had given Alan and the family and said the centre was the reason their family regularly made the 42 mile round trip to Portaferry.
To donate to Olivia’s fundraiser for Alan, visit www.gofundme.com/f/alans-horse-medical-treatment.
