Shocking news from Stallion Station Meyer in Dorum, Germany. It is with great sadness that Jens and Susanne Meyer reported that Doug and Louise Leatherdale's phenomenal black licensed stallion His Highness had to be put down following a leg fracture.
Despite intensive veterinary efforts, the fracture was too complicated and His Highness has to be humanely put down.
His Highness sustained the fracture in an accident at the station. The right hind hock got severely damaged. Jens and Susanne Meyer transported the stallion immediately to the equine clinic in Telgte where they diagnosed total dislocation of the hock.
"The surgeons called us after seeing all the radiographs and the news was not good total: luxation to the hind hock. There was no way of saving him, even after frantic calls to our surgeon here in the US who confirmed it also," a heart-broken Louise Leatherdale told Eurodressage. "We agreed that the only humane thing to do was to put him down. How do you make such a decision when you love him so? You just do what is right for him. Susanne [Meyer] who has loved him from the start held his head at the end."
His Highness (by Hohenstein x Donnerhall) was the 2002 Hanoverian Licensing Champion and sold for the record price of 515,000 euro to the American couple Doug and Louise Leatherdale from Minnesota. The black stallion became the Stallion Performance Test winner in Prussendorf and was licensing champion at the Danish Warmblood Licensing.
Trained under Klaus Balkenhol's supervision, His Highness won many riding horse and dressage horse tests under Stefan Wolff and Inga von Helldorf. He placed in the finals of the 2005 and 2006 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf.
From his first crop of foals, already 10 sons were licensed, including the premium stallions Hochfein and Hendrix. The black Hanoverian licensed stallion Hoftanz sold for 120,000 euro to Lone Boegh Henriksen in Denmark. His Highness bred only for five years but will leave an indelible influence on Hanoverian breeding behind him.
Photos copyrighted: Astrid Appels/ Eurodressage
Related Links
Hohenstein x Donnerhall Licensing Champion sold to the United States
His Highness In Training with Carola Koppelmann
His Highness at the 2006 Danish Warmblood Stallion Licensing