'Barney' Williams

Our Horse of the Month for November is the very handsome Barney….better known to his friends, at his yard, as HRH! Barney (or HRH) turned 30 this year, and up until lockdown he was still a very active lively boy being ridden 5 days a week all year round. Due to lockdown restrictions his long hacks with his owner Samantha had to be cut back, so when Samantha started to notice his muscle wastage she initially thought it was due to lack of his usual exercise. Unfortunately Barney then started to show some behavioural changes – he was more lethargic, slept a lot, and became a very grumpy boy which was very out of character for him. Samantha decided to cover all bases covered and investigate all the possible causes of these changes, so she booked appointments for him with their physio, vet & equine dental technician (EDT). The physio gave Barney a clean bill of health with no pain or issues, the EDT took out a loose tooth, and then the vet diagnosed Equine Cushing’s disease based on a blood sample result. Although Barney’s blood test result was in the grey zone (the range of blood results which are neither completely positive nor completely negative for Cushing’s) it was decided to start medication. Four weeks on and Samantha reports that Barney’s sparkle pants are returning which is such a relief! Thank you for the gorgeous photo and for sharing Barney’s story Samantha – we’re so pleased he is back to his normal HRH self!