Hey Honeychoppers I hope you are alll keeping safe and well.

I am seriously wondering if the mention in my last blog about getting back out competing has meant I have jinxed myself, as no sooner did I say that Mikey has gone lame on me!

Rewind almost 3 and 1/2 weeks and I went to get him in from the field and he was HOPPING lame. So much so I was seriously panicking about how I would get him from the field to his stable. The vet came out as an emergency visit that evening and has also been back out since the original visit but to be honest, we are not 100% sure what we are dealing with. It could be laminitis, and we have aired on the side of caution and treated as though it is that, but there are several inconsistencies around symptoms which is making the vet question if it is laminitis or not. The good news is we did X-rays of his hind feet (as that is where the symptoms were presenting) and there is nothing nasty going on, no pedal bone rotation, arthritis, navicular etc but we still don’t know exactly what we are dealing with. Mikey is on a very strict diet, 7.5KG of hay in any given 24 hour period, and a handful of his Honeychop Topline and Shine, so I can give him his supplements, it is a hard battle trying to keep the calorie intake down but also be mindful of his ulcers. Of course the Honeychop Topline and Shine is suitable for both horses and ponies with laminitis and also ulcers, the lower sugars and starch make it a perfect choice for us just now. Moral of the story? Don’t mention shows, it is a curse!

I was due to go on a horse riding holiday this month, in Dartmoor, which I was super excited about, unfortunately Mikey went lame just a few days before so I cancelled that holiday and hope to reschedule sometime soon.

I did get to London for the first since the pandemic, it was a little surreal after all this time but my friend and I met up in central London and went to see Six The Musical, it was fab and I would definitely recommend it!

So what next?

I am due to speak to the vet again this week to see where we go next, and what the plan is for Mikey’s rehab – so we will keep you posted on that, I really hope we can start to think about some limited turn out for him, as being locked up in his stable 24/7 isn’t good for him – fingers crossed next month I can bring you some better news.

Until next time

Laura and Mikey