We are so incredibly grateful for all the love, support, and encouragement everyone has shown for Gambit over the past few weeks. For anyone new to his story, Gambit suffered a serious injury of his C2-3 vertebra, resulting in a severe malalignment and narrowing of his spinal canal — a condition that can cause compression on the spinal cord, pain, and potential nerve damage.
Our goal is to get Gambit to New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania, where he’ll undergo advanced imaging (CT and myelogram) to determine the full extent of his injury and whether he is a surgical candidate for correction. Unfortunately, the level of diagnostics and surgical expertise required for his case isn’t available here in Canada.
✨ Thanks to the incredible generosity of Northern Horse Transport, Gambit’s entire trip from Nova Scotia to New Bolton is fully sponsored! This takes a huge financial weight off and brings us one step closer to answers. We have roughly 2.5 weeks to fundraise the rest needed for Gambit’s diagnostics and potential surgery before he is picked up and makes his trip across the border.
Here’s where we currently stand:
📄 Pre-travel Requirements:
✅ 100% funded through private donations
* Includes Coggins testing, International Health Papers & Inspection, and CFIA export approval
🚛 Hauling to New Bolton:
✅ 100% covered – Sponsored by @Northern Horse Transport
💉 Advanced Imaging & Surgery (if eligible):
💰 58% funded through donations to @Horse First Initiative
* Estimated total cost: $17,000–$21,000 USD
* Current funds raised: $12,200 USD
Every dollar, message, and share has made a difference — not just for Gambit, but for future horses who may face similar spinal injuries. By helping Gambit, you’re helping us gather the knowledge and experience to make more informed, compassionate decisions for horses everywhere.
From the bottom of our hearts — thank you. 💙
Your support gives Gambit hope, and it gives all of us the strength to keep fighting for him.
We have some incredible news to share — Northern Horse Transport has so generously offered to sponsor Gambit’s trip down to the Penn Vet New Bolton Center! 🐴💙 Their kindness and support mean the world to us, and truly make this next step feel within reach. What once felt so daunting is now starting to look possible — and that’s all thanks to the amazing community that has come together for this special colt.
Thanks to the incredible outpouring of support, we now have between 38–48% of the funds needed in place to cover Gambit’s diagnostics and potential surgery — depending on how complex the procedure may be and, most importantly, if he is even determined to be a surgical candidate.
For those just joining us, Gambit suffers from a complete collapse of his C2–C3 vertebra, resulting in restricted mobility in his neck and likely spinal cord compression. Despite this, he continues to show us every day that he’s a fighter — curious, bright-eyed, and full of heart.
Our next step is to get him to New Bolton Center for advanced imaging and a surgical consultation — tests that simply aren’t available in Canada. This will allow the specialists to fully understand the extent of his injury and evaluate his chances for a pain-free, functional life.
Every decision we make moving forward will be with Gambit’s best interest at heart. 💔 As much as we love him and want to do everything possible, we also owe it to him to make choices that are humane, fair, and made for him — not for us.
If there’s a chance he can live a comfortable, pain-free life, we will give him that opportunity with everything we have. But if his prognosis is guarded and a life of pain or limited mobility is all that awaits him, we will have that hard, honest conversation — because we owe it to Gambit to put his needs first.
This journey isn’t just about one horse — it’s about every horse who might face something like this in the future. Gambit’s case will help shed light on spinal injuries, prognosis, treatment success rates, future research and compassionate decision-making, so other owners can make informed choices grounded in knowledge and empathy.
💙 Sharing His Story — Every like, comment, and share helps spread awareness. The more people who hear about Gambit, the more we can educate others about cervical spine injuries and how to better support horses who face them.
From the bottom of our hearts — thank you. 💕
Your compassion, generosity, and words of encouragement have made an impossible situation feel hopeful. Every share, donation, and kind message brings us one step closer to giving this special boy the chance he deserves.
As many of you know, our sweet Gambit has been diagnosed with a significant misalignment of his C2–C3 vertebrae. This is a serious and rare condition that has already begun to affect his comfort and mobility.
The next step in his journey will be traveling to New Bolton Center, where he’ll undergo advanced imaging to give us a clear picture of the injury. From there, the surgical team will determine whether corrective surgery is possible to give him the future he deserves.
We are so grateful to Horse First Initiative who are dedicated to educating and empowering people to prioritize the well-being of horses in every interaction and decision. Thanks to their generosity, we now have a donation platform in place—and in just 24 hours, 46 donations have already come in. 💙
To everyone who has contributed so far: THANK YOU. Your support means the world to us and to Gambit. We still have a long way to go on this journey, but what an incredible start—it gives us so much hope.
We’ll continue to share updates, as well as educational content, so Gambit’s story can help other horses facing similar challenges. Together, we’re making a difference. And together we will put the horse first - always.
#GambitStrong #HorseFirstInitiative #ThankYou #thankyouforyoursupport #ATruRiskeyGambit #horse #horsefirst