And the Verdict Is...

Still no definitive answer.

Miss Belle Express' (Mocha Express - Tonya Belle - Best of Both) blood work came back nice and clean. One glaring exception was her enzyme level which was through the roof. This confirms what Bernell has suspected all along: she's not burning through her lactic acid and she's tying up. I guess there were a few rays of good news:

- She's only been tying up every fifth day or so, so it's not a daily thing;

- When she's on the track, she's aggressive, tries to beat other horses, has an easy way of going and clearly wants to be a racehorse.

The down side is obvious: she's tying up once a week. Bernell related an anecdote that occurred yesterday. On her sixth day free from incident, she went out and galloped nicely and they were hand walking her around the barn. Three turns around and she was fine, Cindy and Bernell said that "we may have this thing figured out" and starting planning a four furlong work for her the next day. Sure enough the fourth time around her stride started shortening up and that thought went right out the window.

Another curious thing - it only seems to affect her hind end. She's had no issues whatsoever on the front end. It's all very curious. Her feed has been adjusted considerably and maybe the lengthening time between issues is a sign that it is working. We will see. There are still some other possible treatments, though some may keep her off the track for a bit longer than we had hoped. Bernell is getting second and third opinions on her as well, so there is certainly no lack of attention to the issue.

I guess you could say her prognosis is guarded and her potential is high. A friend forwarded me a link to an article that appeared in the Thoroughbred Times a few years back and many horses with this condition can put it past them and go on to nice careers. Here's hoping that Missy will be one of them.