https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/241528/juddmontes-champion-arrogate-dies-at-7
He was down for 4 days? That is surprising. Of course he developed serious secondary issues. I hope insurance was not a factor in the decision to let him go for that long.
He has some lovely looking foals. https://www.juddmonte.com/us/stallions/Arrogate/foals.aspx
I’m so sorry for his connections. It must have been a terrible shock.
I was just getting ready to post this.
So sad to read this and how very difficult for everyone involved with how quickly Arrogate went downhill from a stiff neck to going down in his stall to having to be euthanized due to secondary health related issues.
I did see that one of the veterinarians who was with Arrogate at Hagyard (IIRC) did represent the insurance co. I agree I hope the insurance company didn’t really prolong any decision past when it should have been made.
Does sound neurological but I can’t figure what would it be from onset to death.
Sad to loose him before his first babies hit the track 
I’m still stunned at the news, even three days after the fact.
Khalid Abdullah isn’t hurting for money; surely he wouldn’t euth just based on insurance recommendations. I wonder if there was a paddock accident that no one saw, and maybe an initial injury that gradually worsened before becoming visible to his handlers.
I was more concerned that the insurance company would perhaps try to prolong his life, not end it prematurely. I have no idea if this could have been the case or not.
4 days just seems an awfully long time for a horse to be down. I’m sure he had the best medical care, but insurance companies can be difficult.
Not my horse, not my call.
The edit function doesn’t seem to be working for me. I wanted to add that his connections may well have insisted on waiting.
Has anyone here ever known a horse that was down that long before euthanization?
What I took from the article was that he was unable to get to his feet and remain standing without significant assistance. Surely they didn’t leave him down for four days; there are mechanical means of support available like the slings rescues use to help starved horses stay upright. Not full suspension, just enough to provide stability.
I’m just guessing, obviously. The article didn’t get into a lot of detail but I’m confident Hagyard did whatever they could to mitigate risks of long term recumbency.
I’m sure they did :yes: , but obviously there is only so much anyone can do when a very large horse is unable to rise on his own. A Sling brings its own issues and he was a big boy.
It seems he was transported recumbent. Of course they don’t have an obligation to say anything publicly, but they did say “Arrogate was still unable to stand after four exhausting days”.
It’s so sad. What a terrible thing to happen to such a young horse and awful for the Vets that were trying to diagnose and treat him.
I would suspect the decisions to keep going were “group” decisions with input from owners and veterinarians. Ultimately the decision, as I would understand it, to euthanize has to be at least approved by the insurance company if the policy is to be paid out. Different for many of us where we are the sole owner and, depending on the situation, may not care if mortality is paid or not; Arrogate was valuable and had many people who most likely were party to any decisions to keep going and then stop.
We may never know details of his care. Yes, implied he was transported recumbent but not explicitly stated. Unknown once he arrived at Hagyard if he was placed in a sling or not. Slings, as we’ve seen, produce their own set of problems but may have been an option during his 4 days at Hagyard; sling side effects can take a few days to manifest themselves.
I choose to believe that he was given the best of care possible from start to finish. When his quality of life became untenable, the appropriate decision was made.
I do know that my mental images were not pleasant ones in reading the article
I would imagine he was put in a sling, but still couldn’t stand. A horse in a sling still needs to be able to support some of their body weight for long term use of a sling. If after four days, that wasn’t the case, they would have started to run into the issues that horses have their circulation and digestion from long term recumbency. Just my guess. Four days seems a reasonable length of time, regardless of insurance companies, to determine if whatever the problem, presumably some sort of insult to the nervous system, would get better or not. Obviously, four days in a vet hospital with full care, not four days just lying in a field somewhere.
Poor horse.
Very sad to read this. Several days of tests/scans didn’t produce some diagnosis - wonder if its some weird viral thing. Limited experience in this area but know that some tests can take a fair amount of time to get results. The secondary health issues could be a number of things, but I’m with Mara above in believing that the horse was probably in a sling. The following quote from the press release raises the question of whether Arrogate somehow hurt himself while being treated : His will to fight, so valuable to him on the racetrack, became a challenge in his care. When serious secondary health issues set in, the decision was made to put him to sleep.”
I wonder if he would have been let go sooner if AI was allowed in TBs ?
This begs the question was he fighting the sling, IMHO.
Back in the mid-2000s, I worked for a major university large animal hospital. During that time, I cared for many neuro and “down” horses.
When a horse is ataxic to the point they can not stand under their own power, the prognosis is bleak. They can’t eat, they can’t hydrate themselves, their guts can’t function correctly, and worst of all, their bodies just aren’t meant to support 1000lb+ laying on its side for any extended amount of time. Everything ultimately stops working. The larger the animal, the more difficult it is for them to recover.
There is no reason to speculate anything nefarious was happening in short of a very sick horse.
The four day time period is not suspicious at all, as these things are often touch and go with positive responses to treatment in a race against developing complications.
Arrogate was undoubtedly receiving very labor intensive, around the clock supportive care with the hopes of recovery. Downed horses need to be turned onto their other side every few hours, which is one of the most difficult and dangerous things you will ever do with an animal. They may have been using a sling, but slinging a horse is an arduous process with limited applications- the movies make it seem so easy when the reality of slinging a sick or injured horse is quite complicated. For a horse who has lost all coordination, a sling won’t help except to possibly aid in the turning process. A horse has to be able to safely control their body parts to use a sling for an extended period of time.
It’s always unbearably sad when we lose these great athletes so young. My heart goes out to his connections.
So sad.
My first thought when I read “stiff neck” was tetanus.
One of our COTH members just recently wrote about her horse, the extent of whose neuro issues weren’t apparent until necropsy.
Her horse’s spinal issues were what came to my mind.
Khalid Abdullah was the sole owner of Arrogate, so there was no group of owners to consult.
I agree, the article produced some unpleasant mental imagery for me as well.
It seems the quote and edit functions are working. 
I have no knowledge of Arrowgate’s situation, but I had a horse that started with a sore neck and then developed neurological symptoms. Vets couldn’t figure out what was the matter with him. Eventually, he went down and couldn’t stand so was transported to Tufts lying down. He was put in a sling but died within 24 hours. Again, there were no obvious causes for his symptoms. The vets said his bloodwork was normal. Since he died at Tufts they did a necropsy and eventually found a blood clot near his poll. Could be something like that.
I will confess as to being to lazy to see who owned Arrogate. My mistake but I suspect in the future, there may be future laziness detected :lol:
We’ve all been (I suspect) in a similar place of knowing when to throw in the towel for a beloved animal. For each of us and for every case, that line is different and once the line is crossed and the animal is gone, no reversing the decision. We say better a week too soon than a day to late but sometimes you don’t know that day until you’re there. Many will hold on in the hopes that a diagnosis and treatment plan will be found…
The decision process may have taken longer given the value of Arrogate (not just financial but offspring) but it sounds like when it became obvious, the decision was also.
Thank you for the information. I had a feeling that a sling would be of limited use in this of instance (large breeding stallion unable to stand).
I’m not familiar with Arrogate’s temperament but apparently he liked to be busy, which in this instance must have been an unhelpful personality trait. His temperament was discussed in this article written about his first crop; https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/so-whats-verdict-arrogates-first-foals/
So awful. My heart goes out to his connections - he was something else.
I’d be curious to see what the necropsy says. I have zero doubts he had the best care known to horses and possibly man; whatever it was, I doubt he had any chance of recovering if the final answer was euthanasia.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
