Ashdale Cruise Master, a four-star gelding ridden by British eventer Oliver Townend, has been put down after complications from neurological problems.
The 12-year-old gelding, owned by Henry and Edna Harding, fell on course at the Badminton CCI**** (England) this spring and was given time off to recover. On Oct. 15, Townend and “Splash” set out on cross-country at the Oasby event but pulled up before finishing.
“I wanted to give him a quiet run before the end of the season, to see whether the treatment he had been receiving had helped him,” Townend told Horse & Hound. “But he seemed to lose his co-ordination half way around the cross-country, so I quickly pulled him up.”
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The gray gelding, who also fell on course at the 2010 Rolex Kentucky CCI****, was taken to the nearby Oakham Veterinary Centre, where diagnostics revealed untreatable internal conditions.
“He was a fantastic horse and I’m incredibly sad to lose him,” Townend told Horse & Hound. “But unfortunately his problems were only ever going to get worse, so we were left with no option but to have him put down.”
