The much awaited first competition appearance of Totilas with Matthias Rath has been postponed because the black wonder stallion has sustained an abcess in his hoof, Matthias Rath announced via his website.
Health and welfare comes first
"We very much regret not being able to compete in Hagen, but the health and welfare of our horses is always the top priority," explained the 26-year-old World Championship bronze medallist, heavy-heartedly.
Medical treatment needed
The hoof abscess needs veterinary treatment for a longer period of time, which means that although the treatment has been successful, it is impossible for the horse to compete in Hagen due to the detection times that have to be observed.
"We are very careful when handling all of our horses, but unfortunately one can never rule out a hoof abscess," explained their trainer, Klaus-Martin Rath.
Training recommences
Over Easter the pair were able to recommence with light training in the form of walk and trot work. Totilas has since been making good progress and the injury has healed completely.
"We had a great feeling before the injury and the preparations and joint development were going much better than expected," stated Matthias Rath.
Hagen would have been a good touchstone to see how Rath and Totilas fare up under competition conditions. Together with his father, Matthias Rath will now replan their competition schedule and will announce the debut event in due course.
