The 2009 Oldenburg Licensing Champion Fairbanks will not be appearing at the Jens Meyer stallion show in Vechta on Sunday 19 February 2012. The American owned stallion suffered from a congestion in his esophagus and is recovering at home.
The grey stallion (by Flemmingh x Inselfurst x Argentinus) was at Dr. Jahn's equine clinic in Bargteheide for a check-up when he suddenly lost motility in his esophagus.
"It was a horrible situation. He could no longer eat," owner Louise Leatherdale told Eurodressage. "After many phone calls with the vet in Germany we decided to do one last try at feeding him a special mash. If this did not go down we would then decide to put him down. It was like a miracle the vet said. He was able to get the food down. Veterinarians do NOT talk miracles very often, as you can imagine, but this was one of those!"
Fairbanks is on the road to recovery and was able to return home at Meyer's station in Dorum, Germany.
"We are feeding him carefully and following the rehab instructions of the vet very thoroughly," Leatherdale added. "Fairbanks is doing very well and is doing light work and playing with his ball in his stall again with vigor! We are so very lucky to have such an amazing veterinarian to have handled this."
Bred by Alois Schmidt and owned by Doug and Louise Leatherdale, Fairbanks presented his first crop of foals in 2011. Based on the quality of his foals and his own stallion performance test scores, Fairbanks was invited for the Haupt premium ring at the 2011 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing and received the I-c premium status.
"The foals from his first crop are sensational," said Leatherdale. Doug and Louise are expecting two foals this year, one ouf of retired Grand Prix show jumping mare Samara (competed by Olympian Anne Kursinki), the other out of elite dressage mare Pia Colada.
Photo © Jens Meyer
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Destano, 2011 Oldenburg Hauptpremium Winner
Grey Flemmingh x Inselfurst Colt, Champion of the 2009 Oldenburg Licensing