About two weeks after my last post I went to do morning check and found Rodney lying down in the field. He didn't get up when I walked over and when I made him stand up his back legs were splayed and not right.
I called the vet and blood tests confirmed he had atypical myopathy. There is a sycamore tree in the field but as the fields weren't over-grazed and I was feeding him, I thought this would be ok.
Rodney was put to sleep a few hours later as he rapidly went downhill. My vet did her best and put him on fluids and rang the Animal Health Trust and Liphook to discuss prognosis but because of the severity showing in his blood tests there was no hope.
I will miss him more than I can say, and have many happy memories, none of which take away the sting of letting him down so badly.
If you do read this and realise your horse is grazing near a sycamore, please take action and avoid this nightmare. There's a lot of good information readily available on the internet and there have been a record number of cases in the UK this year so it is something to be aware of.
I know that standing on this side of it, I feel haunted by what's happened and completely responsible. I won't be getting another horse and so this blog must come to an end.
Thank you for reading, take care, and enjoy every minute with your horses.
Happy horsing x
