Two vets from Liphook Equine Hospital jumped to the rescue, making a 7,500-mile journey to perform groundbreaking neck surgery on a competition horse in South Africa.

Matthew Sinovich and Rachel Tucker flew 12 hours to Pretoria to operate on Callaho Con Cero, an 11-year-old Warmblood gelding, in the first procedure of its kind in the country. Cero had been intermittently lame in his foreleg, and after months of investigations, a CT scan at the University of Pretoria’s veterinary hospital identified a bone fragment in his neck.

But when local vets lacked the expertise for the keyhole surgery needed to remove it, Cero’s owner contacted Matthew who has perfumed similar procedure before. Matthew, originally from South Africa, said that “loose bodies” like Cero’s can grow and inflame joints, ultimately pinching spinal nerves and causing pain.

He added: “The procedure to remove the chip was challenging because of the small size of the joint and its close proximity to the spinal cord.”

Cero is now recovering at home with his owners, Leigh and Stephen Watson, and their son Luca, a rising star in South African junior showjumping.

Leigh said: “We desperately wanted to give Cero a chance of a full recovery because he is a much-loved and talented showjumper with a heart of gold, but also because our animals are like family. We will always do whatever it takes to ensure they are happy, healthy, and comfortable, even if that means flying surgeons in from halfway across the world.”