Cannon Hall Farm: ‘Fan favourite’ shire horse nearly dies after being rushed to equine hospital with colic
A ‘fan favourite’ shire horse from Cannon Hall Farm nearly died after being rushed to an equine hospital with colic.
Ruby is a shire horse, a rare and endangered breed who gave birth to a foal on Monday morning, May 4, 2026.
While the birth itself was successful, the next day Ruby was rushed to Rainbow Equine Hospital in Malton with colic, a general term referring to abdominal pain.
Farmer Rob Nicholson thought she was going to die during emergency surgery.
“We went the following day and I said goodbye to her,” Rob said.
“For the last week, I’ve been receiving daily updates and it has been a rollercoaster because sometimes there was no mortality.
“It didn’t look like the operation worked, we thought she was going to have to be put to sleep and then she took a real step forward, she started passing faeces and eating properly.
“We’re at the point now where if we get a positive response from the hospital then she will be able to come home.”
Ruby’s condition was colic and during the surgery, she contracted mastitis, the inflammation of the breast gland which is nearly always caused by a bacterial infection.
Mr Nicholson said that he has been ‘inundated’ with phone calls from concerned Cannon Hall Farm supporters.
“Colic was the main problem but she also had mastitis, the two things combined made her really poorly,” he said.
“Thanks to the team at Rainbow, they’ve saved a horse that wouldn’t have survived without their intervention.
“Even with their intervention the odds were against it. They’ve done a great job.
“I’ve been posting daily updates on social media and some posts have had a million views, so everyone has taken it to heart.
“They are rallying behind her and all the Cannon Hall supporters are literally praying. We’ve been inundated with phone calls.
“She’s very much a fan favourite.”
While Ruby gave birth conventionally, naturally and successfully, the next day she couldn’t get up and was in obvious discomfort.
The Yorkshire Vet’s Shona Searson, who works at Donaldson’s, came to the rescue with painkillers to help transport Ruby to the hospital.
“Luckily our vet Marco sent one of his colleagues straight down, Shona, who appears on the Yorkshire Vet, a very experienced high quality vet,” Mr Nicholson said.
“She was able to give Ruby some painkillers and some Buscopan which helps with colic and get her back to a point where she could stand because at that point she couldn’t get up.
“We couldn’t have got her back up [without] intravenous pain relief, intravenous antibiotics, because they are around 800 kilos.
“It’s a precarious job at the best of times but when you’ve got a horse that’s literally been laid prone for several hours, you know you’ve only got a certain window for the horse to be able to stand and survive the journey, so it was all very dramatic.”
The farmers at Cannon Hall Farm have been trying to raise awareness of the precarious shire breed.
“She is an endangered breed and they are on the at-risk register in the Rare Breed Survivor Trust,” Rob said.
“We’ve had five foals born this year, which is the most we’ve ever had and we’re very proud of that.
“We’re trying to do our bit to raise awareness. They are a breed that powered our agricultural and industrial revolutions.
“They helped win the world wars and all of a sudden in a decade thanks to tractors, they are not needed and in a generation they could be lost forever if we’re not careful.”