Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Totilas and Matthias Rath Cancel Competition Debut; Hoof Abscess Resolved

Team Totilas: Owner Paul Schockemohle, Totilas, and rider Matthias Rath as they appeared on German television in early February when Rath rode Totilas in a demonstration at a stallion exhibition

Almost two weeks ago, the Hoof Blog reported that world champion dressage gold medalist Totilas is now wearing heart-bar shoes. At that time, he was unable to perform for a press conference because of a hoof abscess.

Today, rider Matthias Rath announced that the horse's planned return to competition next weekend at the "Dressage and Dreams" show in Hagen, Germany has been cancelled.

Here is Matthias Rath's statement today:

"We very much regret not being able to compete in Hagen, but the health and welfare of our horses is always the top priority. We had a great feeling before the injury and the preparations and joint development were going much better than expected, which is why we had made firm plans for our early competition debut in May and we were really looking forward to it."

(English version supplied by Matthias Rath)

According to the team, the abscess has healed completely. Rath and Totilas trained over Easter but the veterinary treatment required brings into question the withdrawal/detection times that need to be observed before a competition when a horse has been treated for a medical condition.

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