'I had one owner who was homophobic - he moved five horses but I won't grovel'

Should Mick Appleby ever choose to write his autobiography, the book will provide a rollercoaster ride. He has not yet lived a long life but a huge amount has happened in it.

As with most lives, there has been good and there has been bad. The present is filled with good. The future looks equally promising. The past, at times, has been pretty torrid.

One might expect the past would be much harder to talk about than the present, yet that proves not to be the case. There is no question that Appleby will not answer, nor a subject he will not discuss. Inside his memory must be one particularly dark room, but he is perfectly prepared to reopen the door, perhaps influenced by the chance to shine a light on mental health.