Having a Paddy

Paddy went home this weekend  - it sounds so easy, but in fact nearly everything about his trip home was to give owner Emma a serious headache.  

First off, no sooner had she set out for Devon (all the way from Cambridge) than her lorry decided to break down. It had to be recovered, then she had to find a replacement vehicle and then the journey began again...

Secondly, our so-called summer had given way to gale force southwesterly winds overnight and Paddy came in on Sunday morning with a sore RH foot, which I would guess he had bruised during overnight shenanigans - the last thing you want when a horse is going home. 

And then, as of course things always happen in threes, Paddy (who is apparently a normally good traveller) took extreme exception to the substitute lorry - with some justification - and had a complete paddy when loading was suggested to him. 

Some time later (as they would say in the films) we nevertheless managed to persuade him that the ramp, though alien, was not going to give way under his feet, and he was finally on the lorry and on his way home. He's going off for spinal surgery next week, but thats a whole other story...

Despite all this drama, and the fact that his bad back has made ridden work impossible, Paddy has made good progress growing new feet. The first photo is on day one and the lower is yesterday, when he went home after 13 weeks.

A much better heel and palmar hoof and a funky new angle of hoof growth which will take some explaining when he goes for surgery :-)

Still a way to go, of course, but lots better and will be even smarter once his new hoof capsule has grown in.