Alfie's vetting today!

I am an absolute bundle of nerves!

Alfie is FINALLY being vetted at 9am today and I am terrified.

I have only had a horse vetted once in my life, and he failed.

I had had Squirrel on loan for a year when his owner asked us if we wanted to buy him. So we organised a 5 stage vetting. Firstly the vet almost failed him for having 1 eye as the purpose was to event (wonderful, to pay for a vetting to be told he is going to fail for having 1 eye, like we didn't know, ha!) but as we obviously knew this he carried on.

We only got as far as the flexion tests when he failed. We decided to have x-rays done to find out what was going on, and discovered the warning signs of arthritus.

I have never been so devastated. It was just when the slow version of Wherever you will go was released, which is my absolute favourate song anyway, let alone in a slow version! I almost drove my car off the road several times in the weeks that followed as I would go into hysterical sobs.

Was I going to lose my wonder horse?

We had had so many problems with horses, and finally it was going right, but could I risk buying a horse that we knew wasn't 100%? After a lot of soul searching, we bought him. We decided, arthrtitus at 14 in a horse who had led a very busy life was not unusual, and there are ways and means to manage it.

It did come to a head this time last year. Exactly this time last year. We were entered for our first Novice, and things went terribly wrong. It was a combination of bad preparation, nerves and pain. I couldn't ride for the week leading up to Nunney (and Nunney was not my first choice of first Novice, the first 3 I entered were cancelled!) as Squirrel fell over and I had to wait for physio, I hadn't jumped over 1m for months and I was terrified.

I finally rode him the day before, put the jumps huge to get my eye in, rode terribly and Squirrel stopped twice. He never ever stops. On the day, I fell off at the first fence SJ, had 3 down and another stop later. That was the end of our novice dreams.

The stopping didn't go - it was only one or two stops per session. My mum and my boss told me to man up when I broke down in floods of tears, but I knew something was wrong. Squirrel just does not stop. He's stopped twice this year. Once when we were only just jumping again and I dropped him into a cross pole (still a lose of confidence back then perhaps?) and once when I was jumping angles at home - I tried to jump a very difficult combination, coming in from his blind side and I couldn't see a stride and dropped him. The second time when I rode him, he was fine.

So Squirrel stopping at 2 foot 6 fences on a good stride with my leg on - something was wrong. So I quickly had x-rays done, and he was treated for arthritus in his hocks. The vets told me this was to be expected, and it was rare for a 15yo schoolmaster NOT to need a bit of help.

It took a few months to get things back together. We dropped back to BE100, and in the end started this season at BE90 as my confidence was pits. But we are back as a team now. We've never been so in tune.

When I questioned buying him after the failed vetting, someone said to me "If this horse could give me the best few years of my life, I'd grab both our hearts and run away with them. Vetting Smetting." Never a truer word spoken.


HOWEVER it is a different cup of tea buying a 14yo with a touch of arthritus who had already proved himself time again over to be the most geniune, kind, lovely horse, and a 3 year old.

If Alfie fails, he won't be coming home. So I am rather scared!