Lionheart, a member of the 2012 British Olympic silver medal eventing team and recently purchased mount for U.S. eventer Allison Springer, has died. The 12-year-old Westphalian gelding was euthanized Jan. 18 in Florida following two colic surgeries.

The initial surgery, performed on Jan. 14 at Palm Beach Equine in Wellington, Fla., appeared at first successful, a statement on Springer’s Facebook page stated. “The doctors were able to quickly find and resolve an impaction in his small intestine,” the post read. “We were incredibly fortunate to have caught things very early, and as a result his surgery was minor in comparison to most colic surgeries that take place. Lion woke up from surgery very well, and all of the vets involved are optimistic that he will have a quick, non-complicated recovery.”

However, the colic did not resolve, and on Jan. 18, the second surgery was performed and euthanasia advised, said Robert Brusie, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, who, along with Kathleen A. Timmins, DVM, and a team of external experts, cared for Lionheart during his illness. That surgery confirmed that vascular damage to the horse’s intestines had occurred, Springer’s statement said.

“The horse had excellent care, and there was nothing in the history that would explain the vascular accident or infarct (emboli or clot that blocks blood flow) that compromised the cecum and large colon,” Brusie told The Horse. “This sort of vascular accident, similar to a stroke, is very unusual in my experience