Huge stone is cause of pony's pain

For when pony Billy was in the operating room at Fyrnwy Equine Clinic, in Baschurch, Shrewsbury, they discovered he had a bladder stone the size of a satsuma.

The five-year-old New Forest pony, who belongs to Sally-Anne Craig, of Westwood Farm, Much Wenlock, had great difficulty passing water. His owner called out vet Kate Maxwell, of Bind Equine Veterinary Practice, who diagnosed a stone in his bladder, which led to him undergoing an operation.

Vet Jim Tipp said: "Billy came to us and we operated on Tuesday. It is an unusual complaint and can be best described as symptoms like cystitis – where you want to wee, but can't, and when Billy did it was very little. A bladder stone is uncomfortable, rather than hugely painful."

Mt Tipp said that the stone they removed from Billy was the biggest he had ever seen. "It is rare to find a stone this big, it was the size of a satsuma, seven centimetres by three centimetres.

"It is a difficult operation because in a gelding the bladder is a long way back under the pelvis, so we had to go in through the middle of his abdomen and then physically lift the bladder out to retrieve the stone, which is rather like a volcanic rock and this one weighed 200gms," said Jim, whose clinic is to hold an open day this Thursday from 4pm to 8pm.

Collecting Billy 48 hours after the operation, Sally-Anne said: "They have done a fantastic job sorting Billy and he is now on the road to recovery."

Sally-Anne bought Billy last October. "We broke him in and have produced him for my 11-year-old niece Emma Johnson, who is now riding him and taking part in activities with the Wheatland Pony Club."