Delilah is a beautiful grey Thoroughbred who was adopted out several years ago by an incredible woman with a heart of gold! Shortly after she adopted her, Delilah became very sick and was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of cancer. Almost every grey horse has some sort of melanoma, but they do not affect the lifespan of the horse. In Delilah’s case, however, she had a rare case of lymphoma, as well as lesions in her jaw and was even diagnosed with Equine Herpes Virus. When faced with these issues compounded with the potential cost, most people would have just put their horse down. Most people would not have researched cancer in horses and looked for a cure. Most people would not have even bothered with trying to contact veterinarians from across the world. Most people, however, were not Delilah’s owner. Because of her love, tenacity, and faith in Delilah, they were able to overcome the cancer and save Delilah.
As Delilah continued to get better, however, she started to develop a bit of an attitude, and when she was finally healthy enough to be ridden, she would bolt and spook and do very naughty things, especially out on trail. Her owner became hesitant to ride her, and became depressed that somehow it was her fault that Delilah was acting out. After many conversations with her trainer, and reassurance from us that, yes- Thoroughbreds can be insane, especially after a long layup, she continued to ride her, even on trail, although she was still very hesitant to canter her outside of the arena.
We received this lovely video from her owner a few weeks ago. It shows Delilah and her owner trotting and cantering out on trail like champs! We are so happy for them both, and look forward to many happy videos in the years to come!