Not Lombardo, but I had a very similar situation arise when I purchased a horse from Spain through a person who was supposed to be quite reputable, lots of US clients, etc. Horse appeared to vet ok, then went to be gelded a couple weeks later. Was slow to heal, so didn’t ship for a while. Arrived in Amsterdam with a wonky eye, vet said problem was older - maybe 6-8 weeks. When here, was shipped immediately to vet hospital. Short version of long story is he had polyneuritis equi, which has auto immune component, cranial nerve issues and hind end issues. He was put down after about 4 weeks. Seller lied to me about multiple things during all this, sent pics from vet who declared the horse ready to ship, even had pics of the wonky eye up close but still total denial. I wont ever know but I believe the problem was triggered when he was gelded, stress or the anesthesia or combination. Never again will I do this.