How will Zara be taking the news?

She will be absolutely devastated, but that’s bloody horses. And that’s exactly what she will be saying.

They go lame, it’s just what happens and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It’s like a Formula One car, you wouldn’t do the school run in it, because it would keep breaking down. Just like high-performance athletes or cars, injury is part of every horse's make-up.

If you work with horses you are constantly thrown from peak to trough and you just have to get on with it.

I have had horses go lame before competitions, at a relatively derisory level of course, but don't be in horses if you can't take a joke.

Would she have been a realistic medal chance in Beijing?

As world champion, she was going to be there or thereabouts for the individual gold medal. That will be difficult to overcome and it's a rotten thing for her especially given that she missed the Athens Olympics for the very same reason.

But she will get on with it, as all horsey people do. There is always another horse to ride and another event to ride in and that's how she will see it. She will be extremely annoyed, but she will get on with it.

How will Zara and Toytown come back from this?

I think Toytown is 15, so he will not be back in four years. But no one can have any complaints with him. He owes nothing, meaning that over the years he has given everything.

For Zara, the World and European Championships are next, where I am sure she will put this setback behind her. She won't dwell on this, you can be sure of that.