Please say a prayer for Luckymata - Exceller Fund

[YoTambien]

Please say a prayer for Luckymata, a grandson of Exceller, and the last foal of Almata, daughter of Exceller. Almata was donated to The Exceller Fund 4 years ago, and her son was donated to The Exceller Fund earlier this year when his racing career was over.

I got a call from Lucky's foster this morning. Lucky has an infection in one of the screws in his ankle. He suffered a fracture a few years ago, screws were put in and he continued racing. This morning, he had an infection track running from the screw and has been rushed to the University of Missouri for surgery and treatment.

The surgeon is removing the screw where the infection is and will draw a culture to determine what else is going on.

We are looking at a minimum of $800 (some of the services are being donated), and if the infection is localized, he should recover. If the infection is systemic, then his prognosis is poor.

Please say a prayer for our valiant boy who set a track record at Indiana Downs, and raced despite having screws in his ankle and a fractured vertebrae in his neck. His foster mom says he is the sweetest and nicest horse, and we are hoping he will be able to enjoy his well deserved retirement. I am holding back the tears as I type this since I got to see him at the end of August and he truly is a sweetheart!

If you would like to donate to help with the surgery, you can send a paypal donation to [email protected], or go to our website: www.excellerfund.org/donate.htm




Bonnie Mizrahi, President
The Exceller Fund
www.excellerfund.org
Providing a Future Beyond the Finish Line sm
(818)429-3418

[majxmom]

Bonnie, I had a dog that was hit by a car and had a plate and five screws in his leg. One day he got an abscess, and when the vet injected it with a radio-opaque solution and took an X-Ray, the infection path went to each one of the five screws. He had surgery to take the metal out, and he never turned a hair, was fine after that. Obviously, the weight-bearing issue is more crucial with a horse than a dog, but I will think good thoughts for Lucky and hope that he has the same result as my Val. I'll send you a donation to get it started.

[YoTambien]

Thank you so much! His foster mom is very observant and great care giver, so we are hoping this was caught early and is not anything that has been festering.

Here's a link to our page on Luckymata: http://www.excellerfund.org/horses/luckymata.htm

[wilf]

Don't you have the phone number of the folks that enjoyed the fruits of this horses efforts when he competed so well while in bad shape? I would like to think that they would be more than happy to contribute to his welfare.

[YoTambien]

I have sent an inquiries to his former connections but have not heard back yet.

[majxmom]

Don't you have the phone number of the folks that enjoyed the fruits of this horses efforts when he competed so well while in bad shape? I would like to think that they would be more than happy to contribute to his welfare.

In the past when I have sent friendly inquiries to former connections, I have been met only with silence or stiff-arm hostility. These people do not want to be told that they have needy children out there. Only one time, I got a overwhelmingly positive response from a guy whose Saint Ballado colt wound up in a feedlot. He said he had been looking all over for him, was so relieved to get him back. He wrote us a check for $1000 more than our expenses in gratitude (his idea!), and took him home. The check bounced and the guy and his horse disappeared. I'm convinced that horse went to the next feedlot for another cash sale. Made me so mad (and sad), I could just kick something. I had that horse in a good place, and let him slip away.

[YoTambien]

Robin called me with an update this afternoon. Luckymata is now in recovery and doing well. The surgery went well and they removed the pin that was starting to come out. His ankle is now fused so he doesn't need the pin.

They are doing a culture to determine the bacteria in the infection to see if its treatable or not. Please keep those prayers coming that the infection is treatable. If it is, he will be on long term anti-biotics to treat it.

Robin says that the students at the University adore Luckymata. He's been so sweet and so good. This is the same place, I believe, where Time To Time (aka "Dinky") had his life saving surgery. Luckymata could not be in a better place.

We have sent inquiries to his former connections, and Sara of Friends of Ferdinand was kind enough to contact Indiana Downs (where Luckymata set a track record) to see if they can roll some coin our way to help pay for all of this!


Bonnie Mizrahi, President
The Exceller Fund
www.excellerfund.org
Providing a Future Beyond the Finish Line sm
(818)429-3418

[YoTambien]

A quick and happy update:

Luckymata is doing well, and everything seems to be treatable. The university discovered he has a heart murmur and will be keeping him a few extra days for observation and to record the murmur. This is a teaching school, so there is no charge for the extra stay!

One of his former connections contacted The Exceller Fund and pledged money to help out with expenses. This person has had a difficult year financially, but is grateful that Lucky has a chance at enjoying a well deserved retirement.

Also, Joe Hoffman of Performance Products will be sending a 5 pound container of their Equine Microbial to help out since Lucky has to be on long term antibiotics. This is the stuff that helped Eye Pea Oh with his wonderful recovery from colic surgery earlier this year. Thank you Joe!

The Exceller Fund gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the veterinarians and teaching clinics such as Hagyards and University of Missouri to help these old war horses make that sometimes difficult adjustment from track life. The Exceller Fund is also very grateful when former connections send in donations to help one of their old horses.