Gamer pledges to eat horse food during 24-hour charity stream from stables

A Maltese gaming streamer has pledged to eat horse food while facing his fear of horses during a charity stream on Wednesday.

Nataneal Aquilina, better known by his Twitch name Spooner, will be hosting a 24-hour livestream to raise money for Rehome A Horse Malta, a charity that finds new homes for horses.

“I am terrified of horses. They are so unpredictable,” Aquilina told Times of Malta ahead of the streaming marathon.

Aquilina will start the stream at 9pm on Wednesday and stay live till 9pm Thursday.

While this is not Aquilina’s first 24-hour charity rodeo, the streamer said that this year’s Christmas marathon stream is the one that he is dreading the most.

“Have you seen what a horse leg can do to your head,” Aquilina asked rhetorically, a hint of gallows humour in his voice.

During fund-raising live streams, streamers often set donation goals; monetary checkpoints that, once hit, force the streamer to do something absurd in the name of charity. The higher the goal, the crazier the task. 

This year, the goals range from Aquilina bobbing for apples at the €150 mark to eating horse feed at €600. Meanwhile, if viewers donate €2,000  – higher than any of his previous fundraisers – Aquilina will ride a horse for the first time, a task he is dreading.

When Aquilina is on the street, he steers clear of every horse he sees, recalling an instance when he had to push himself up against a wall just to let a horse walk by.

“I think the horse food will be the worst food I have eaten so far but, to be honest, I am too scared of that right now,” he said, as many goals will see the streamer interact with the hooved creatures.

In previous years, Aquilina has held day-long streams for various charities with an animal focus.

Last year, Aquilina raised €1,744 for The Island Sanctuary after wearing a shock collar and eating a boiled chicken’s foot during the stream.

“These charity streams have become a tradition for me,” Aquilina said.

While Aquialina normally streams from a studio, the charity stream will take place at Horse Riding Malta in Xgħajra where Spooner will say hello to his viewers from a stable.

The room where Aquilina will be streaming for 24 hours. Photo: Nataneal Aquilina

A strong internet connection has already been installed, he said, while two PCs will be taken to the stable to allow Aquilina to stream video games.

In previous years, guest streamers joined Aquilina at different times during the marathon but this year, viewers and members of the public will be able to join in the fun.

From 10am till 3pm on Thursday, people will be able to go to Horse Riding Malta to say hello to the streamer and watch him dress up as a horse and do other antics.

Also supporting Aquilina is Level Academy, an esports academy that often works with local streamers.

To watch Aquilina’s antics or to donate, the streamer will be live on his Twitch page from 9pm tonight till 9pm Thursday.