Save Sham: Army reservist raising money for beloved horse's life-saving surgery

A soldier in the Army Reserve is attempting to raise enough money to pay for a life-saving operation for his beloved pet horse.

Lance Corporal Daniel Petho, who serves with B Squadron, The Queen's Own Yeomanry, got retired racehorse Shamadaan a year ago.

But LCpl Petho is facing the prospect of losing his horse after Shamadaan got caught in a fence, causing a major injury to his hind leg.

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The injury required immediate treatment, with Shamadaan being sent to a veterinary hospital for emergency surgery rather than face the alternative of being put down.

LCpl Petho explained on his GoFundMe page that he was "heartbroken at the thought of having to let [his] best friend go".

"I quickly made the choice to send him [for the operation], however, I am now faced with the reality that my fund have ran out," he said.

"I may end up loosing him anyway if I cannot raise the fund to pay the bill (which is expected to be paid in full) upon collection of him this week."

He is now appealing to the kindness of strangers to help save Shamadaan.

Since ending his racing career, Shamadaan was retrained as a riding horse, but had previously sustained an injury which resulted in a large vet's bill which LCpl Petho has only just managed to pay off.

Healing quickly, the pair attended this year's Retraining of Racehorses National Championships at Aintree, where they placed second.

You can donate to LCpl Petho's fundraiser to save Shamadaan here.