One of Canada’s top dressage horses Orion has died at the age of 18 after undergoing colic surgery. The Dutch Warmblood by Jazz x Consul died on January 19th. Together with Pia Fortmuller they were the sole Canadian dressage athletes competing at the elite level (CDI4* and 5*) in Europe over the last year.
On January 18 Orion showed symptoms of colic and was taken to a vet clinic. He was stabilised with medication, but during the night Orion suffered from another episode of colic and by the next morning his conditioned had worsened to the point that surgery was required.
During surgery the veterinarian discovered that the colic was caused by a tumor the size of two fists that had cut off the circulation of Orion’s intestines. “When this happens the intestines start digesting themselves and Orion was past the point of saving... Orion was still in top form right up to his last day and it is a shock to absolutely everyone how suddenly he has left us,” Fortmuller said.
Fortmuller called competing at Aachen “… a dream come true,” and commented that, “It was an honour to be able to dance down the centerline with Orion in Aachen.”
