Westside : $4,000 Raised to Save Horse’s Life

How could anything but nice things happen to a horse named “Nifty?”

The 10-year-old quarter horse, stabled at the Equestrian Education Center at Pepperdine University in Malibu, is on the mend after surgery this month to remove a blockage from the animal’s intestine that nearly killed him. His life was saved, thanks to help from horse lovers on the Westside.

In about three hours, they raised more than $4,000 to pay for Nifty’s operation, said Cheryl Wyllie, assistant director of the center and whose father, Jim, is the director. Meanwhile, the Wyllies got Nifty into a trailer and drove nearly an hour to a veterinary surgical facility in Somis.

To prevent future incidents, Pepperdine has started an emergency fund for all the horses at the university.