Sad news from the Dominican Republic. 2010 World Equestrian Games qualified individual Grand Prix rider Yvonne Losos de Muniz lost her WEG mount Optimus Prime last Friday 6 August 2010 due to laminitis.
While Losos de Muniz for the Dominican Republic was away competing Dondolo Las Marismas to two individual silver medals at the 2010 Central American Games in Puerto Rico, her 16-year old Austrian bred Optimus Prime (by Lux) developed a hoof inflammation at home in Florida, where he was being hacked and rested before Yvonne would pick up his training again for the WEG in Kentucky at the end of September.
"The inflammation in his front hooves eventually deteriorated into laminitis," Yvonne's husband Eduardo Muniz told Eurodressage. "Despite all the care we provided, which included flying in our vet Dr. Jack Snyder from UC Davis to assist Dr. Ben Schachter, the rotation got worse and at the end there was nothing humane to do but to let him rest. We tried to have him improve enough so we could retire him to Canada, but that was not to be."
The chestnut gelding was aquired by the Muniz family in December 2009 in California and proved to be much more than what they initially thought they had bought. "Yvonne saw something in him and with the time and dedication it all came out," Eduardo explained. "The worse part is he was working so well for her right before she went to the Centrals, the piaffe and passage were so easy, he was so relaxed and happy."
"Yvonne had developed an incredible bond with him over the show season," Eduardo said. "She was very very proud of what he turned into. The horse was quite a character, honest and with a lovely personality. He will be very sorely missed by all of us."
Photo © Ken Braddick
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