One of our therapy horses, Ricky, developed a severe medical issue with his left eye mid November 2024. With our local veterinarian, Dr. Fiesler, we treated his eye around the clock but when it became obvious we were not making headway, we took him to  Peterson-Smith Veterinary Hospital in Ocala, FL where he was treated for 7 days.  Peterson Smith determined he had a fungus in his eye and put in a lavage system to better get medications to his cornea.   When he came home to Hope Ranch, we treated him around the clock for several weeks, but on December 30^th , his eye ruptured and he had to have his eye removed.  The medical term being enucleation. 

He is home at Hope Ranch now, and doing well, but vet bills have topped $7500 and may continue to grow as he recovers.  Please consider supporting Hope Ranch’s horse program by purchasing “Carrots for Ricky”. You may make an appointment to come meet Ricky and feed him carrots in person, or you can purchase virtual carrots. If you can help, your donation will be recognized on our "Wall of Hope".

Donations can be using the form below.