A DISTRESSED County Durham couple are trying to boost research into the deadly illness which killed their four-year-old champion Welsh Cob.

Mandy and George Mitchell, of Deanbank, Ferryhill, are still trying to come to terms with the death of Avon Valley Tidy from grass sickness at the beginning of June.

They have organised a horse show at Hill Crest Arena, Sunniside, near Gateshead, on August 18 to raise both awareness and the cash to help find a cure for the mysterious disease, which attacks the nervous and digestive system.

Mrs Mitchell told the D&S Times: "I never thought for a minute any of my animals could get grass sickness and I have had horses since I was three.

"It is a big shock and I hope it will make other people think twice. It is a worry to me now.

"You can't protect horses against it, vets can't tell you what causes it and it doesn't necessarily have to be grass, despite the name."

They were at a North Yorkshire show when Tidy became ill and a local vet suspected she had been poisoned. They rushed the mare home but their own vet gave her blood the all-clear.

"Tidy sounded as though she had something stuck in her throat and I thought she would just have to have an operation."

Then came the bad news that it could be grass sickness - along with the offer to send Tidy up to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary hospital which specialises in research. You pay for drugs, but treatment is free.

"We wanted to give Tidy the best chance we could. For a few days she was in a grey area as vets tried to save her life, but then she took a turn for the worse."

The Mitchells went up on June 7 to say goodbye to their much loved mare before she was put down.

"She was in a great deal of pain, had lost a lot of weight and also the will to live," said Mrs Mitchell.

Her husband said: "Some horses get grass sickness and are dead the next day. That is why we are trying to organise this show.

"We have never experienced anything like this in all the years we have had horses. It is very emotional."

The Sunniside fun show starts at 10am and classes will include riding, hunter, mountain and moorland, youngstock, brood mare and foal, colour classes, etc.

No papers are needed and there will be rosettes for children. Entry is £5 pre-booked or £7.50 on the day.

l Grass sickness is a devastating disease first seen in horses in Scotland around 1907.

It remains one of the great unsolved mysteries, and consequently one of the most feared by horse owners.

The Moredun Foundation relies entirely on donations targeted towards finding the cause. It has helped the development of a special nursing regime, pioneered by the team at the "Dick" Vet, and it subsidises the treatment.

Anyone who would like to make a donation should send it to the Equine Grass Sickness Fund, The Moredun Foundation, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Midlothian, EH26 0PZ.

There is also a website www.grasssickness.org.uk.