Gone too soon. Found dead in his paddock this morning; necropsy pending.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/219944/horse-of-the-year-charismatic-dies
I had just planned my trip to finally go see him next month, can’t believe he’s already gone!
This is a bummer of epic proportions, I don’t even know what to say. Godspeed, beautiful boy. Gone way too soon.
Awwww, bummer. But it’s been unusually warm and beautiful around here and it sounds like he didn’t linger or suffer. 21? Jeesh, I feel old, has it really been that long?
IIRC, in a phone interview TVG did with Michael Blowen this afternoon, it sounded like Charismatic was found dead in his stall early this morning (not in turnout).
My condolences to Michael and the entire Old Friends staff as well as all of Charismatic’s connections from racing through to his return to the US.
RIP Charismatic.
@Where’sMyWhite My apologies, thank you for the correction.
I am so sad. Now Charismatic is back with Chris. Gallop on you two!
So sad. Just a few months ago Haskin welcomed Charismatic home.
I would be very surprised if they don’t find a ruptured aorta. Nothing anyone did or didn’t do, it was just his time. Godspeed.
I was shocked to read this…Godspeed, Charismatic. Please say ‘hello’ to my Charisma girl for me!
Gone too soon. RIP beautiful boy.
Fractured pelvis. Didn’t see that coming, must have gotten cast badly or something.
I love this photo of him:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/77/78/f9/7778f9e39a125ccbfc3112d088c6dfd4.jpg
Wonder if being cast would still result in “no signs of distress”. Does show that even with the best of care, stuff happens sometimes. Sounds like it happened fast. Happy he didn’t suffer and was “home” when it did happen.
He broke his pelvis and hemorrhaged. Very, very sad but it sounds like he was gone before he hit the ground. I wonder if there were some underlying issues that caused a bone to break that easily 
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/219958/broken-pelvis-cause-of-charismatics-death
They can and do get cast and can cause severe injury with no one the wiser and no signs of struggle even with close supervision, seen that in the show barns Ive been in a few times. Other times the stall looks like a bomb went off but the horse is fine, not a mark on them. At 21, the bones on any horse are not what they were and it does sound like he went went quick, he led a good life, probably outlived many in his class. Godspeed.
Charismatic’s obituary from Michael Blowen of Old Friends
Update From Michael…
Sometimes the gods are just plain cruel. After more than a decade of working with the Japanese Bloodstock Breeders Association planning for the day when Charismatic could return to his fans in America, the dream finally came true. Last October, when Kaori Matsuda emailed me that Charismatic could retire to Old Friends, it was one of the greatest moments of my life. Then, when he arrived in December, he was as kind and beautiful and majestic as you could ever imagine. When D. Wayne Lukas arrived the next morning, he concurred. Life just never gets better than those infrequent moments when fantasies become reality.
And, then, it all ended with a pre-dawn knock on the door and Tammy screaming, “Charismatic’s dead.” It ended as quickly as the snap of Charismatic’s pelvis. We are left, of course, with memories that only he could have so generously left us. His proud brown eyes. His flashy chestnut coat and four white socks, and a self-assurance that only comes with winning the biggest races on the biggest stages. As Lukas has often said, “You’d better dwell on the positives or the negatives will eat you alive.” I’m sure he gave the same advice to Charismatic.
A friend of mine has a gelding (Power Bluff, coincidentally born just 8 days after Charismatic in '96) who had a similar injury when he was about 10. Apparently sustained a very minor fracture falling (not even lame), then started hemorrhaging into his abdomen a week later when it displaced with no additional trauma. UGA vets were 90% sure he was going to bleed out internally, but he somehow survived and is still ridden now at 21. Total freak thing, but it happens
How does a fractured pelvis cause a horse to hemorrhage? Do they bleed from the broken bone or can the break cut an artery or vein?
The fracture damages an artery
As I understand it, pelvic fractures in people are also very risky due to the same potential problem… pelvic bones shifting and damaging arteries. Some fairly large blood vessels run through the pelvis…
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