Mighty Nice, one of Phillip Dutton’s Rolex Kentucky CCI**** mounts, will undergo surgery on Monday, May 4, to remove a bone chip in his stifle. The gelding finished cross-country at Rolex with 3.2 time penalties, but Dutton didn’t present him at the second horse inspection due to his stifle soreness. An x-ray this week revealed the cause.
“The prognosis is very good, and this is a routine procedure,” said Dutton, West Grove, Pa., on his Facebook page. “ ‘Happy’ will have 6 weeks off to recover and then can start back to work. If all goes well, we expect him to be back out competing in the fall.
“While he waits for his surgery, Happy is resting comfortably at the farm, and he thinks he won the whole event,” he continued. “This horse loves going cross country, and we’re relieved this injury is a relatively minor one with what should be a very straightforward recovery.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Update May 4: Phillip Dutton stated another veterinary examination revealed Happy’s bone chip was located outside of the stifle joint, and surgery won’t be necessary to correct the issue.
“Happy came right back home to the farm and has been upgraded to a three week period of rest,” Dutton posted. “The prognosis remains extremely good. We are so grateful to everyone for sending your well-wishes and good thoughts to Happy. They definitely worked.”
Happy is an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Ard Ohio—Sarazen) owned by Caroline Moran, Annie Jones, Michael Bombar, Kevin Keane and Evie Dutton. He finished 10th at the 2012 Rolex Kentucky.
