08/10/2026
UPDATE:
Friends, we truly need your prayers for Luna.
Luna had blood work today, and afterward, the family got a call in the middle of their 4-year-olds birthday party. The vet said Luna needed to go back to OSU immediately.
Luna's blood levels are back to 10. Her body is not making its own blood cells, so she needs another transfusion. We are told she looks good clinically and is spunky, but has a high heart rate.
Now at OSU, the vet sees that she looks good. They are going to check a lactate level. If it’s low, they may send Luna home. They said she may just be taking a while to regenerate cells. 🙏
Prayers and donations are truly appreciated!
Original Post:
Friends, the Feather Fund is holding a special fundraiser and we hope you can help.
Some of you may remember Eva and Anna, the two sisters who received a foal from us last year. They took home Skylark’s beautiful filly by Ajax and named her Luna. By Christmas, they realized Luna needed a friend, so they arranged to buy a beautiful nearly three-year-old Chincoteague Pony named Skylark. They were busy training both ponies and loving their life before things went horribly wrong.
While at Pony Penning last week, the person caring for the horses called to say a very large limb had fallen in their pasture during a storm. He and some 4-H friends had cleaned it all up. Then, the next day they received a call that was even worse. Skylark was colicking. They were told it was severe, and while on Facetime with the vet, Skylark passed. But it was only the start…
The entire family is devastated. Eva and Anna and their younger sister could not stop crying. The family debated going home, but then the neighbor sent them a video of Luna running the fence whinnying her heart out. Not only were their three daughters devasted, now they realized their yearling was devastated, too. The girls couldn’t stop crying. After seeing Luna also in grief, their parents decided to bite the bullet, stay one more day, and spend money on another foal at auction - so Luna would not be alone.
Still fighting grief, and with their girls begging to see Luna, they cut their vacation short by three days and headed home. Within four hours of being home they knew they needed emergency vet care for Luna, too! She was not eating her feed and had a 104 temp.
After the vet came and after talking to herd veterinarian, Allison Dotzel, they transported Luna to Ohio State University’s equine ICU. Dr. Dotzel had asked to see the tree that fell. It was a red maple. She suspected Red Maple Toxicity… and she was right.
Inside the OSU equine ICU, Luna was treated for a hemolytic anemic reaction to maple leaf poisoning. She received multiple blood transfusions and lots of meds. She was on an IV drip and Oxygen for several days. The family traveled to Columbus, Ohio – camping out for 6 days - so they could be closer to Luna and to visit her daily so she could know they were there.
Finally, a week later, Luna has been allowed to come home. She is on stall rest for a few weeks and the girls are sleeping in the barn to be near her. The new foal won’t come home until they are sure Luna didn’t pick up anything respiratory while in the hospital.
Needless to say, this young, loving family has accumulated a great bit of debt. They are grieving and worrying. In addition, they have hired a tree company to remove any Red Maple trees that are close to the fenceline, so this never happens again.
If you are inclined to help, we would be grateful for your donation. You can donate by clicking the link below.
https://carrollcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1187
Please make a note when you donating to say you are donating to support Luna’s care.
Your donation to the Feather Fund is tax deductible.
Thank you so much for any support you can give this wonderful family!
