At the end of August we finally replaced my (dead!) car with a Ford Custom van for easy transport of The Boys and cart in 1 vehicle; no towing required! After a few covid-induced false starts, we customised it with 2 new bulkheads, a water heater, roof-rack, ladder, and the 2 compartments dry-lined. Our Pee-proofed Pony Travel Palace (PPPTP) was born! The Husband devised a ramp system for The Boys, and another for the cart, and we got stable mats for the floors to prevent tears in the plastic dry-lining on the floor.
In October I started noticing Rebel becoming very lethargic, urinating a lot, and a few other niggly little things, including a patch of hair on his back had become wavy, and started looking into Cushings. He also appeared to be tripping, particularly on his front right leg, but on lunging I noticed it was more that the leg appeared to buckle, rather than him tripping.
Blood test revealed borderline ACHT levels (37), and xrays of his front legs revealed nothing of significance. My vet assured me there seemed to be nothing to worry about, just keep an eye on him, and she would test again in a year. The beginnings of arthritis diagnosed in his hocks were not apparent anywhere else, thankfully.
I reviewed his diet, and reduced his workload. The awful rains of winter set in, the paddock became a maelstrom of wellie-sucking mud soup. I turned Rebel away until the weather improved again.
I was in contact with the manufacturer of the HyperBike, and he promised me new, customised shafts to fit the Thelwellian traditional UK bred Shetland pony. My winter was spent dreaming, scheming and planning for beach and forest park drives in our lovely new (to us!) PPPTP.
Rule 21: There’s always something to strive for …
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2021
Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity, and compassion
