Known by his thousands of followers at "Benny," the popular Standardbred foal born this past spring with a wry nose in Brackley, P.E.I. has undergone successful corrective surgery to help improve his longterm quality of life and reduce significant risk of related health issues.

Born in mid-April at Living the Dream Stables, the resilient foal's health journey was first documented and shared on the farm's social media page by trainer Morgan Sheppard, with nearly 20,000 followers rooting for the youngster, more than $10,000 in donations contributed for his care and multiple media reports on his rare congential condition. 

The Somewhere Fancy-Lady Willa colt recently underwent corrective surgery, which lasted seven to eight hours, at Atlantic Veterinary College. 

"Benny’s surgery involved correcting the bones of his nose and upper jaw to help improve his facial alignment and airway," explained Morgan in a social media update following his operation. "Two plates were placed in his nose to help provide support, and a bone graft was taken from his rib to help reinforce the weaker side of his nose. With the complexity of the procedure, careful monitoring of his breathing and anaesthesia throughout surgery was especially important."

Morgan reported that Benny was eating within two hours post-surgery and was back home after a week and a half of post-op care and recovery. Back home and continuing to rest, he has returned to his normal eating habits and is expected to start turnout in the coming days.

"We can’t thank the incredible team at AVC enough for everything they’ve done for our boy, and we’re so grateful to finally have him back where he belongs," said Morgan in a social media update following his homecoming six days ago.

“For our small family-run farm, it’s so out of this world, incredible to have so much support,” Morgan told CBC News, sharing that the hope is for Benny to eventually make it to the races. “If you take nothing else from Benny's story, it's that being different doesn't really mean anything. You can still do what you want to do in life, and I think that's just a really good testament to who Benny is.”

(Standardbred Canada with files from Living The Dream Stables & CBC News)