Jack's progress continues to impress! 20/2/17

These last couple of weeks have seen Jack going from strength to strength as he continues to improve and his fitness return to usual levels.  He is now almost in full work and going really well both on the flat and over fences.  I was really lucky this week to be able to hire a local venues large outdoor surface complete with a full set of show jumps.  A lovely friend of mine offered to take us up there in her trailer and take care of my little boy while I jumped Jack round. 
It has been 5 months since Jack last travelled and he was none to sure about getting on the trailer at first but after a bit of persuasion and he loaded up and travelled well.  He arrived looking happy and very chilled out.  I tacked him up and walked him round to the arena while Claire and Thomas went round putting the jumps to a suitable height.  He was on his best behaviour and warmed up nicely even with other horses being turned out and running about in adjacent fields.  I took my time warming him up thoroughly as we had the arena for a full hour and having not jumped a course in 5 months either I wanted to make sure he was well warmed up and ready.  We took things slowly and built up very gradually starting over a couple of very small cross poles and progressing to small uprights then a couple of spreads.  Once he had jumped everything we then jumped the full course before putting a couple of the jumps up a bit higher.  We finished on a great note with Jack clearing a decent 90cm upright with ease and giving me a great feel over a bit of a bigger fence.  He was such a super star and I was so so pleased with him.  We both gained a lot of confidence and I am really beginning to trust him to jump now which is a huge turn around from before his surgery, back then he refused everything and our confidence was so low, we had no trust in one another and I was convinced he just didn't like jumping!  It now seems to be the thing he likes most!

I have recently taken him off Dengie Healthy tummy as he was coming out of Winter looking rather to "well" and really needing to drop a bit of weight before the Spring grass comes through.   While the Healthy tummy is great for his ulcers it is a bit too conditioning for him really as it is designed for horses that drop weight due to ulcers which Jack doesn't.  I have been feeding it at lower than the recommended levels and adding a balancer to ensure he get all the vitamins and minerals he needs, a bit of speedybeet and Gastro-Kalm.  After a lot of research and discussions with nutritionists I have removed the healthy tummy completely from his diet and replaced this with Alfa A lite.  I am also considering changing the balancer to a low calorie one but I am going to hold off of that at the moment as I'm worried he wont have enough energy for his work.  The healthy tummy had a energy content of 11.5mj/kg whereas the Alfa A Lite is only 9mj/kg.  Its a balancing act trying to get the energy he needs without him gaining weight!  At the moment he is out 24/7 and worked 5-6 days a week.  The grass is not providing much energy and he is hungry whenever he comes in so I'm making the most of a bit of a break from all the mucking out and letting him have a few weeks just out in the field and only brought in to work.  Once the Spring grass starts to come through he will be back to being in a night to keep his weight down and might even have to be turned out in his grazing muzzle while the grass is good.

While we are working most days Jack is not quite fully fit yet, I am being careful not to put his ligament under too much strain still so we have not yet galloped plus the ground is just far too wet and deep on the bridle paths and in the fields to do any fast work.  I'm hoping over the next few weeks it will dry up a bit and we can do a bit more canter at least.

His jabs are due next week and I'm going to get the vet to check the ligament and give him a once over to make sure we are on the right track.  He feels fine and is working really well but it would be nice and give me peace of mind for him to have the all clear from a vet now he is back in work.  There is still a fair lump on the back of his ligament so I would like them to have another look at that too, while its not appearing to bother him I would rather know that all is well.

I've also got a lesson booked for the weekend with a lady who taught us at the camp we attended last year, we really enjoyed our jumping lesson with her and her teaching style really suited us.  We have not had any lessons since last summer so I'm keen to see if she sees any improvement in Jack.

Poor Jack has also been having a few rug issues lately!  I'm going to have to get the needle and thread out and do some repairs.  Annoyingly the rug on the right is brand new, I purchased it last year in the sales and tried it on for size then put it away for winter but have not needed to use it until recent weeks as he wasn't clipped until recently and its not been cold enough.  As you can see the neck cover is not doing a good job of covering his neck!  I have contacted the manufacturer but they will not do anything due to the time lapsed since I brought it so I will have to make some modifications myself to stop it falling forward.  They have promised to look into the design in future but that doesn't help me and poor Jack.

Jack's making fantastic progress 7/2/17

I am incredibly pleased with Jack's progress since his Palmer Annular Ligament injury last year, he has come back into work with a much more "can do" attitude and is really working with me.  I think the enforced break has mentally done him a lot of good.  Despite not being back to his previous level of fitness he is actually working much better than before.  I am continually amazed at how much better this horse gets, it's taken a long time to regain his trust and confidence but when I can channel his energy into working with me he can produce some fantastic work and we are managing to get this more and more.  Schooling this last couple of weeks has been incredible and Jack has produced some of his best ever work which has had me grinning from ear to ear.  I've also introduced a little bit of jumping for variety and so far this has gone really well, I started with a very basic grid with ground poles 1 stride either side of a cross pole which he did really well, lots of energy and found it very easy so I quickly popped the jump in the middle up to a small upright which again he flew with ease.  This week I put 4 cross poles up, a 2 strided double then another fence each side of one part of the double so having jumped the first fence I could either go straight on for 2 strides or turn left or right so Jack was kept guessing which way we would be jumping.  Again the session went really well and while I kept the jumps nice and small it was a really good session and with both enjoyed ourselves.
I put a lot more effort into planning our rides these days, I never get on without a plan and I record each ride so I don't end up with lots of repetition.  Yesterday my plan was to work on the trot - canter - trot transitions as I felt this was an area which needed a bit of work, especially the left trot to canter transition is not quite as sharp as I know we can get it.  Having warmed up I started with the easier right canter then worked on the left and soon had it much sharper and cleaner before returning to finish on the easier right transition again.  Having achieved what I wanted and because Jack was feeling so good I decided to have a little go at some medium trot to finish, this is something that has taken a lot of work in the past but as soon as I put him on the line and pushed him on he gave me the most wonder elevated lengthened strides, he was really covering the ground without rushing and felt fantastic, he also came back to me nicely without going heavy in my hand or dropping onto his forehand.  His trot in general has improved hugely in the last 2 weeks and has much more impulsion and elevation.  Dropping on his forehand has always been our biggest issue and Jack is very clever at going crooked and avoiding using his back end correctly which makes it impossible to get him to engage the hind quarters and lighten the forehand although he keeps a nice light contact in your hand.  He falls on the left shoulder a lot and tends to ignore my left leg.  We have had a real break through in recent weeks and I think this is down to the fact I have been focusing a lot on stretches and ground work before I mount.  In addition to the usual carrot stretches I do before every ride I have also been turning Jack both ways on a tight circle and backing him up a few strides, I have also been getting him to flex towards me and move his body away.  Now when I ride he is much more responsive at bending through his body when I put my leg on especially to the left, this has had the effect of lifting his left shoulder and freeing his whole body up enabling him to work correctly pushing more from behind, lightening his front end and being much straighter too.
This has been getting better and better in the last few weeks and the difference feels fantastic!
I am so pleased with him, I am even planning on entering some Dressage Anywhere tests during February if I can get someone to help me mark out the ménage and film me!
Jack should be fully fit in the next couple of weeks and with the nights drawing out we should be able to hack more often so things should continue to improve as he gets stronger WOOHOO!!!!! 
      

Feeling thankful 23/1/17

It's all to easy to focus on the negatives isn't it?  To think about all the bad luck you have had and feel very sorry for yourself.  With social media you see all your friends and people you follow having success with their horses and doing things you want to do, it's easy to feel jealous or that life just isn't fair!  I'm as guilty as anyone of feeling sorry for myself when things have not been going well with Jack but you know what it's time to stop because I am blessed.  I have a lovely little horse who might come with a bit of baggage and have his issues but he is a lovely character,  he isn't the most talented but he tries his hardest for me, we have reached an understanding, I know how to get the best out of him and while he isn't going to win any gold medals he's mine and I love him!  People have told me I should get rid of Jack before he has any more health issues, that they wouldn't bother with him anymore and cut their losses before anything else goes wrong, but the thought has never crossed my mind.  For several reasons I don't think it would be the right thing to do for him or me.  I actually think his health issues are a reason to keep him, I understand what is needed to keep him happy and am prepared to manage these conditions.  I know what is normal for him and know when something is wrong.  I would never be able to trust that someone else would do the best by him no matter what and can't bare the though of him being passed from home to home as a problem horse.  He is mine, he is my responsibility and I will do right by him because he deserves it, he didn't ask to have kissing spines, arthritis, ulcers or strain his ligament.  Yes it's bad luck but that's all it is.  I have stopped beating myself up about him having all these issues, they are not my fault, there is nothing I could have done differently to prevent them but I have done my very best to treat them and manage them to make him as happy and comfortable as possible.
It's taken a little while but he is looking better and better as his work increases and his weight drops!
Although obviously I would rather my horse had not had all these problems is has meant I have learnt so much about the process of rehabilitation, injury management, different types of therapy, nutrition, diet, supplements and more.  I have also made lots of friends through support groups and blogging about our experiences so there are always positives to be found in any situation!

On to this week and we are progressing well, we have been able to have our first canter after 2 weeks of building up the amount of trot work.  I took him out for a nice hack last the weekend and at the end of the bridle path is an open bit of grassed land which you can have a canter on so I picked up trot and as he felt keen allowed him to pop up into canter.  It felt fantastic, a real step forward!  He was a little too keen and I had to keep him from going too fast too soon but it was great to have him feeling so well and wanting to take me.  We also got a lovely hack in with a friend with lost of lovely forward trot work and a play up and down some slopes to get him moving and using his back end!
It's always hard to hack out Monday to Thursday in Winter as I don't get finished at work in time to get out in the day light but this week I was able to get round the block for 20mins which is real progress and wont be long till the light is good enough to hack after work, while I still went in the school after our little hack as well to make sure he got enough exercise it was nice as a change.  I had a fab schooling session this week and a lunge over poles too, I even got to pop a little jump this week! Exciting!  More hacking was done this weekend with some really pleasing trot work especially.  We are building up with a few little canters thrown in where we can and I'm particularly pleased with Jack's attitude which is keen and enthusiastic in his work, something that has been lacking a bit in the past but had improved considerably before his ligament injury.  It's pleasing that this has not been affected by the injury and time off and that he has not reverted to being lazy!
I've given in and clipped him again too, while we were doing walk and trot work it wasn't needed but now we are increasing the work load and cantering Jack is sweating up a bit and it will only get worse so it had to be done.  I did think I might get away with not clipping as I really don't like it but I either needed to hold off on increasing his workload or clip!
I've gone for a version of combination of a trace and blanket clip, it keeps his back and quarters warm but all the main sweaty areas are now nicely clipped and non sweaty.  I don't like taking the hair off his back and quarters as I don't want them to get cold and stiff and him not work so well.

 

I also managed to get this lovely snap of the horses just after I had turned out yesterday morning, it was a beautiful crisp, frosty morning with the sun just coming up, something caught the horses eye and they were all stood fixated on something in the distance!

 

A positive start to the New year 1/1/17

Happy New Year!!

It's been a while since my last blog, I got rather bogged down with Christmas preparations, computer issues and work!
I also didn't have a whole lot to write about as Jack continued to be intermittently lame from mid
Oct.  We had a frustrating few weeks and 2 vet visits had failed to identify the problem therefore it was impossible to formulate an effective plan to get him better.  After rest and pain relief failed to have any effect I eventually managed to get the senior vet out to him on 7th December.  I have not seen Matthew in a few years so I filled him in on what we have been doing, Jack's kissing spine surgery, rehab and recovery etc and went over the latest issues we have been having.  He was so down to earth and easy to deal with and having looked at Jack trotting up and inspecting the lame leg he quickly identified a swelling just above the fetlock.  When he clipped the leg I was horrified at the size of the swelling at the back of his tendons and felt awful, worried and extremely silly to have missed it although he assured me it probably had not been that bad before as one of his vets had also missed it twice! 
I didn't feel so bad after that, we also think that as Jack had been messing about in the field the day before and galloping around he probably made it much worse so it was easy for Matthew to find. 

Next Matthew performed a scan on the Palmer Annular ligament which runs down the back of the leg and found damage. It was a huge relief to finally have a diagnosis and be able to effectively treat him rather than guessing and hoping!  Matthew assured me that of all the things he could have done this was the least serious, easiest to treat and highest chance of a full recovery.  He gave Jack a sedative then a steroid injection into the damaged area of ligament and was hopeful this would provide the pain relief and anti inflammatory response needed to start healing.  Jack was to have a couple of weeks off and then Matthew would return to assess how well he was doing and if work could begin.  Ideally we would have box rested him for at least the first week but knowing how badly Jack copes with it we agreed that he could have some turn out each day to keep him from going nuts when he went out and doing himself any more damage!  We had to be careful as Jack is carrying a few extra pounds due to not being in work for so long and the steroids could cause a laminitis risk so turn out was kept to a minimum, enough to keep him sane but not enough to cause any additional problems!  The 2 weeks passed and Jack seemed sound and the swelling reduced so Matthew returned to reassess the injury and I was confident of good news.  After seeing him trotted up and performing flexion tests Matthew was happy with his response to the injection and agreed the best thing now was for Jack to get back into work. 

Since this all began he has become quite stiff behind and is not using his back end as well as we would like but we are hoping this is just because of the lack of work recently and that getting him back to fill fitness will see this ease off without needing further intervention.  For now Jack is having a bute a day in the mornings to make him comfortable and able to work properly and is then being worked in the afternoon.  We started with 10 days of walking beginning at just 15mins and building up by 5 mins a day to an hour then introducing a small amount of trot.  We had our first trot on New Years day and he felt brilliant, what a great start to the new year :)
We will continue to build him up slowly and carefully over the coming weeks and hopefully have him back to full fitness and normal work in another 8-10 weeks.  Just doing walk work has been pretty tedious and cold so I'm glad we can now start to introduce some trot too to break up the monotony and get some blood moving to warm me up a bit.  I also find it quite hard work to get Jack working well in just walk, especially in the ménage.  When he is in full work I usually give him a good walk, trot and canter on a long rein to get him moving before asking him to pick up the bridle and work into the contact so not being able to do this has meant having to use a lot of leg!  I'm starting to introduce ground poles too now which does help get his back end moving a bit.  I cant wait to have the lighter evenings so I can get out the ménage more as he works much better out in the open.

Coming back into work 23/11/16

The last few weeks have been frustrating and worrying to say the least as since the middle of October Jack has been suffering with a mystery lameness. 
Despite 2 vet visits and the farrier we still don't know what was causing the lameness and so effectively managing and treating it has been pretty much guess work.  The vet after her first visit had prescribed bute and rest in a small paddock which at first seemed to have had the desired effect and when I brought him back into work he was sound for a couple of days.  He then went and had a hooley in the field and came in very lame again. 
The vet returned 2days later and by then he was almost sound again and once again she was unable to pin point any cause.  He was also exhibiting signs of ulcers, ears flat back, head tossing, biting etc.  At this point she prescribed a further 2 weeks bute and rest however as the bute had already had an adverse effect on his ulcers and I was reluctant to continue knowing how unhappy it was making him.  As the lameness was fairly minor we decided instead to just rest him without bute and I brought some protexin equine premium quick fix and increased his equus health gastro kalm to a loading dose. 
Luckily this seems to have done the trick and he is now much happier. 
I tried my very best to keep him in his stable sized paddock for the 2 weeks recommended by the vet but in the first few days he got out 3 times!  I had to reinforce the fence with another string of electric and was moving the paddock daily onto fresh grass, giving plenty of hay day and night, providing a treat ball etc.  It was a bit labour intensive but would be worth it if it worked which it did for about a week and he stayed put getting the rest he needed but towards the end of the 2nd week he was escaping twice everyday, even jumping the fence from a stand still, so I figured he couldn't be feeling too bad and I was wasting my time!  The next day he was more lame again so I decided that he was more of a danger to himself jumping out of the paddock than just being in a larger field so I opened the fence up and let him have a little more freedom, still on his own but with about half an acre so he didn't feel so claustrophobic. 
He was also due the farrier at the end of the 2nd week and I had already decided he would be having his shoes off for the Winter this time.  I was also still holding on to the slim hope that despite already checking his feet that taking the shoe off might reveal something.  Sadly it didn't and the foot was completely normal and healthy under the shoe so no quick fix there.  I trotted him up and lunged him to see how he was without shoes, sound in a straight line but slightly lame on the near fore on the tight circle on hard ground.  He was turned back out for another few days to see how he went without the shoes and a plan to call to the vet after the weekend and have the senior vet come out to him if there was still no improvement.  He should have been seeing our physio Tamsyn on the Monday but with him out of work and still lame we decided to postpone her visit.  I'm pleased to say that he is now much sounder so I've not had the vet back yet and I will be trying him under saddle tonight to see how he feels with my extra weight.
We had dreadful Weather over night Sunday and when I arrived Monday morning to bring him in for a rest from the rain I found the horses from the field next to him in his field with him and the fence broken.  I checked them all for injury and found them all ok so brought Jack in for the day as I had planned to anyway.  The heavy rain never stopped Monday and by the time I returned in the afternoon the fields were under water and the fence still broken.  The other horses had all been moved onto our Winter grazing which is a 20 acre field which they all go out together in a heard of 8.  I was reluctant to put Jack over there with them because I was concerned that with all that space and the other horses that he's not been with since last Winter he would mess about and do himself more damage putting back his recovery again.   The rain was still bad and I didn't want to keep him in for 24hours either as he would have really gone nuts when he finally got turned out so I reluctantly put is turn out on and lead him out to the field with lots of treats in my pocket.  The others were all near the gate and Jack was really good standing quietly while I took his headcollar off and then just walking off and eating not even bothering with the other horses or the fact he could run for miles!  I was down before Dawn the next morning to make sure he was ok and they were all together by the gate ready to come back in to dry off!  He stayed in for the day and I lunged him last night and pleased to report he was still sound so he went back out with the others last night too. 
I am a bit apprehensive to assume he is now going to stay sound and crack on as normal so I will be bringing him back onto work very slowly and carefully and with a bit of good luck for once we might be back to normal in the New Year.

Jacks problems continue! 7/11/16

Last week I blogged that Jack was lame again and the vet was booked to come back and have another look at him.  :0( When I had booked the appointment I had been pretty worried as he seemed very lame however 2 days later when the vet arrived he was actually hardly lame at all - typical! We talked through what had been happening and I trotted him up for her, it was very hard to tell at first if he was lame or not as everytime I asked him to trot he was putting his ears flat back, throwing his head around, trying to bite and generally not being helpful.  As I had feared it looks like putting him on bute has cause his ulcers to flair up, the vet thought so too as he had not behaved like this a few weeks ago when he had been far more lame.  We gave him a little feed of healthy tummy to help with the acid and then tried again to trot him up.  She also performed flexion tests on both front legs and checked his back and pelvis thoroughly for any pain.  The good news was that his back was fine and his Pelvis much, much better than when she had seen him a couple of weeks ago.  I also lunged him for her and while he was slightly lame it now seems to be his off fore rather than the near fore which it had been the last time she came!  As ever Jack likes to complicate things!  So Based on all the info and his current level of lameness the vet concluded that the check ligament is the problem, but that as it seems to respond well to rest, that it isn't too serious and a longer period of rest should see him right.   So she prescribed another 2 weeks of bute plus rest in a tiny, stable sized paddock where he cannot run around and keep undoing all the healing that is going on while he is resting!  I raised my concerns about more bute because of his ulcers and also showed her what I feed him and the ulcer supplement which says it cannot be given with bute.  She felt that it was more important to give him pain relief for the ligament and deal with the ulcers after.  I feel quite differently as my poor horse is miserably unhappy and I feel dreadful feeding him something I know is only going to make him worse.  I joined a facebook group for people with horses with ulcers as I find the kissing spines group is so helpful and full of great people who really support each other.  I put up a post about the situation to see if anyone had suggestions for alternatives to bute or a supplement I can feed along side to help him.  There were a few suggestions but everyone agreed the bute is not a good idea.  So I spoke to the vet and although she wasn't keen to stop the bute already she has agreed to try it and see how he goes.  I've also ordered some Protexin quick fix and hopefully this will help settle his tummy back down.  Will have to see how it goes over the next few days but hopefully we can get his ulcers back under control quickly.
For the first couple of days after the vet visit Jack did stay put in his little field which is next to his mates but the morning after bonfire night I found him in the big field having pulled half the electric fence posts out!  He wasn't injured or distressed so I don't know what happened, I put all the posts back and popped him back in with a bucket of feed while I went to get him some hay, by the time I returned he was out the field again!  Little monkey!  So I set about adding another wire of electric fencing to try to contain him.  It worked that day and he stayed put hurrah!  I move his paddock every night onto a bit of fresh grass as he soon eats it and that night is was pouring with rain and getting dark and windy so maybe I rushed the job but the next morning he was out again!  This is not going to be doing the leg much good :0(
Luckily since then he has stayed put so hopefully he stays that way now and properly rests the leg.  When I brought him in last night he was looking pretty lame again so I really want him to rest it properly and not go running about!
I'm feeding masses of hay so he's not hungry so hopefully that helps keep him put and he gets the rest he needs to heal his leg.  Being off the bute might help keep him a bit more quiet too as if he's feeling it he hopefully wont want to run around. 
I have to admit as it's going on I'm getting more and more concerned that the lameness does not seem to be improving.  All I can do at this stage is give it more time and if we are still not seeing an improvement at the end of the 2 weeks of rest the vet will come back again with her boss for a second opinion.  I really just want my boy to feel better.

Just when I thought we were getting back to normal 2/11/16

It's been a pretty quiet few weeks with Jack, he first went lame nearly 3 weeks ago, he had the week off on bute as prescribed by the vet and seemed to be feeling better.  After the bute finished I discussed with the vet and due to being on my own decided to lunge him gently in the ménage to assess whether the lameness was gone.  I lunged him quietly in walk and trot and was very pleased to see that he appeared to be sound so after a further discussion with the vet was given the go ahead to slowly bring him back into work.  I was to ride him in walk only in the ménage to start with and build up gradually over a week to 10 days if all was going well and any problems to let them know.  Feeling excited about getting back on board I brought him in on Tuesday popped his magnetic back pad on and left him in for the day so he was ready to ride that night.  Later that day I got to the yard a bit later than usual and found Jack unusually unsettled, its not like him to be jumpy and agitated but there was something definitely up with him.  I got on with mucking out and grooming him and by the time I'd finished he seemed to have relax a bit.  Before I got on board I did all the usual stretches I do with him before every ride - carrot stretches 2 each side, between his knees and to his chest, pelvis tilts and tail pulls then tacked up and he seemed to be back to normal.  I was planning to get straight on and just do 20minutes in walk in a long and low outline and some lateral steps.  As soon as I took him in the ménage he was very alert and on his toes.  I always do some tight turns each way and back him up a few steps before I get on and he was rushing and over reacting to everything I was asking him to do.  He was also wide eyed and snorting at something across the dark fields!  I took him to the mounting block but he wouldn't stand still and I could tell getting on would not be a clever move.  I considered if I should just turn him out and forget trying to ride but decided not as he was clearly in a mood and was likely to go charging around the field and do himself harm again if I did. Instead I grabbed a lunge line.  This too was a bad move.  He still went nuts belting round the circle, bucking, kicking, leaping and generally pratting about!  This is really not like him.  By the time he settled down for me to be able to assess how he was moving he was lame again.  I have no way of knowing if he was lame before that or if it was the loony antics on the lunge that caused him to go lame again, either way I felt incredibly frustrated.  I've no idea what caused him to behave like that but something had really got him wound up.  I turned him out and decided to give him another day off and reassess again Thursday.  When I went to check on him the next day there were fireworks going off and he was clearly bothered by them so maybe there had been some before I go there the previous day and thats what had upset him, I guess we will never know!  I lunged him in tack Thursday and hallelujah he seemed sound again so I popped on board for 10 minutes just in walk and all was good.  I felt happy that we could get on a gently bring him back into full work but not wanting to push him to hard too soon I gave him Friday off again.  Saturday I lunged him again and he looked really good I even gave him a little canter and he was moving well.  I also walked him over some ground poles as this is a good indication if his pelvis is tight but he was fine doing these.  Again not wanting to push him to hard I gave him Sunday off and then took him for a little hack on Monday and he felt good I only did 20minutes in walk but he felt forward and happy and was swinging through his back.  So full of hope I took my clippers with me to the yard yesterday to give him a clip as he is still in his full Winter woollies and the last thing I wanted to do was work him and get him sweaty and then turn him out and risk him getting a chill.  I gave him a quick belly and neck clip as he is still living out and so I didn't want to take too much off then I tacked up ready to school.  As soon as I took him into the school I could tell he wasn't right, when I turned him to the left he seemed very lame and wasn't much better to the right.  There were a couple of guys from the farm still there so I grabbed one of them and asked him to trot Jack up for me already knowing he was going to be lame.  Poor Jack was really bad, worse than when the vet saw him 2 weeks ago which is pretty worrying.  One of the other liveries arrived and had a farrier coming so I asked him to take a quick look but he didn't find anything.  She mentioned that Jack and his 2 field companions had been galloping about the field earlier in the day so it is possible he has done himself an injury then but like before there seems to be no sign to indicate what he's actually done.  Another call to the vet and they are booked to come back tomorrow and have another look at him.  I'm feeling pretty stressed about the whole thing.  The vet is talking of scanning the tendons and I'm thinking of selling a kidney!!
Will update tomorrow/Friday after the vet has been, please send us positive healing vibes until then.