About the Kookaburra
27 January 2026
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We are asking for your healing thoughts, prayers, and support for our gentle giant, Pippa.
Pippa has only been with us for a couple of months, but she has already captured the hearts of everyone at the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre. She is one of the sweetest, most affectionate souls you could ever meet.
Recently, Pippa has been on box rest for a leg infection, receiving antibiotics and pain relief. Sadly, her condition took a serious turn. On Tuesday, our vets visited to give stronger pain medication, carry out blood tests, and treat her via a nasal tube. We had hoped she wouldn’t need hospital care — but by the next morning her health had declined, and we made the two-hour journey to Oakham Equine Hospital.
Pippa has a history of stomach ulcers, and a combination of her current medication and other complications has left her stomach severely upset. She is now hooked up to fluids, with the dedicated Oakham team doing all they can to help her pull through.
The cost of her treatment is expected to be between £3,000 and £7,000 — and we’ve already been told to prepare for the higher end of that estimate.
The Northcote Heavy Horse Centre is run entirely by unpaid volunteers — from the trustees and management to the daily animal care team. We rely solely on donations to care for our animals, and this unexpected bill is a huge strain on our already stretched finances.
Every donation, no matter the size, will go directly towards Pippa’s care. If you’d like to help, you can:
Please help us spread the word about Pippa by sharing her story with friends, family, and on social media. The more people who know, the more support we can gather for her care.
Unfortunately, the nature of running an animal sanctuary means many of the animals in our care require extra attention and ongoing treatment for lifelong conditions. Just last year, our much-loved Nutty had to spend a week at the hospital — a stay that cost thousands. These unexpected emergencies are part of our commitment to giving every animal the best possible life, but they also place a huge strain on our limited funds.
We need your support now, more than ever.
From all of us, and from Pippa — thank you for caring. ❤️
The Northcote Heavy Horse Centre is a small, registered charity (113734) and animal sanctuary in rural Lincolnshire, near Skegness. We provide a forever home to a wide range of animals — from magnificent heavy horses and gentle ponies to goats, llamas, pigs, ferrets, birds of prey, and more.
Our sanctuary survives solely on the kindness and generosity of people like you. Run entirely by unpaid volunteers, we work tirelessly every day to ensure every animal here lives a peaceful, safe, and much-loved life.
You can visit our website to learn more about us or make a direct donation. We also encourage you to follow our Facebook page to keep up to date with Pippa’s progress and see the other work we do.
____ UPDATE 11TH AUGUST 2025 _____
🐴 Pippa Update 🐴
We’re cautiously optimistic… Pippa seems to be turning a corner! 💛
She’s been showing small signs of improvement each day. On Saturday night (or the early hours of Sunday), she decided to pull out her own catheter — naughty girl! But maybe that was her way of saying she’s feeling a little stronger.
The brilliant team at Oakham Equine Hospital agreed, and they’ve left it out. She’s now drinking more on her own and no longer needs fluids through an IV.
She’s not out of the woods just yet — she still has diarrhoea, but it’s slowly beginning to improve.
We’re so grateful for all your support, kind words, and healing thoughts — please keep them coming.
If you’ve just discovered Pippa’s story, she was rushed to Oakham for emergency treatment last week and is currently racking up a vet bill of up to £7,000. We urgently need help to cover the cost of her care.
📌 You can read her full story and donate here:
GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/778bb9b6
Or donate directly: www.northcotehorses.com/donate
Thank you for standing with us — and with Pippa. 🐎💖
Go Pippa! x
