International show jumper and Olympic mount Wonderboy III has died, most likely from a cardiac condition leading to aortic rupture, according to his owner.

The 14-year-old gray Belgian Warmblood gelding collapsed under saddle Jan. 7, said Georgie Crumley of Crumley Equestrian Group in Alfold (Surry), U.K.

"I was cantering on the gallops with him when he suddenly felt exhausted," Crumley said. "I immediately brought him back to walk where he felt very wobbly, so I jumped off of him. As soon as my feet touched the ground, he collapsed."

The horse had had some performance issues recently, often underperforming after two days of competition, according to Crumley. "His third day was terrible, just like he was so empty," she said. "I do know that some horses have off days, but that just was not the sort of horse he was

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.