Kingston, the World Cup mount and Olympic alternate for U.S. dressage rider Leslie Morse, underwent colic surgery last week due to a displacement of the large colon. He is expected to fully recover.

According to Morse, the 18-year-old Dutch-bred stallion was dehydrated due to the extreme Los Angeles, Calif., heat, which brought about the colic.

“We were lucky that we caught it late that night,” said Morse. “We got to the clinic around 2 a.m., and he was in surgery by 4:30 a.m. It was a very long day.”

Since the surgery, Kingston has been recovering in California while Morse is in Gladstone, N.J., preparing for the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions.

“He’s doing really, really well. He had a really good night and a good morning. He’s happy,” Morse said.

“I had always thought twice about doing surgery on him because he’s so big,” she continued. “I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get up, but he got up beautifully.”

In March, Morse’s other mount, Tip Top 962, underwent emergency colic surgery after suffering an acute attack while competing in Del Mar, Calif. Like Kingston, the 16-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding recovered from surgery extremely well.

“Until Tip Top, I had gone for 35 years with no colic surgeries,” recounted Morse. “It’s so hard to see your horse in pain. Seeing them go into surgery is not what anybody wants to see.”

Another U.S. dressage rider, Melissa Taylor, also had to put her top mount through colic surgery this week according to Eurodressage.com.

Taylor’s 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, Schumacker Solyst, also underwent surgery due to a small intestine impaction. He is expected to make a full recovery.