Eventing horse euthanised after injury complications at WEG
Swedish eventing horse Box Qutie has been euthanised after sustaining injuries on the cross-country at the World Equestrian Games in the US.
Box Qutie is the second horse to be euthanised following competition at WEG, after New Zealand endurance horse Barack Obama succumbed to kidney issues after the cancelled event last week.
Ridden by Anna Freskgård, the 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare pulled up lame in her off foreleg after the finish of the cross-country on Saturday (September 15). Box Qutie was transferred by horse ambulance to Tryon Equine Hospital, the official referral clinic for the Games, near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line. They had completed the course with 20 jumping penalties and 18 time penalties.
Soft tissue injuries were diagnosed and initially, the mare was improving and plans were made to fly her home with the Swedish horses on September 24.
Veterinarian Lisa Lidbeck said Box Qutie’s injury looked good for the first few days, “but then this complication came with extensive blood clots in the leg”.
As a result, the horse’s owner/breeder Therese Örup, together with Freskgård, her groom and veterinarians, elected for euthanasia on September 19.
Freskgård said she was “broken” following the loss of Box Qutie. “She has been my everything, you only get such a horse once in a lifetime.”
In line with the FEI Veterinary Regulations, a necropsy will be conducted. Samples had already been taken from the horse on cross-country day after the injury occurred.
Box Qutie (Quite Easy X Lady Like LKT, by Little Boy 756) had been competing at international level since 2013 and had 34 FEI starts, including a win at the CIC3* in Strzegom, Poland, in April of this year, one of 11 top 10 finishes in her career. Freskgård rode the mare as an individual for Sweden at the FEI European Eventing Championships 2017 in Strzegom.
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