Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
X-ray images of St Nicholas Abbey’s fractured leg have been released by owners, Coolmore.
The images show how vets reconstructed the 6-year-old’s leg following his career ending injury sustained on the gallops last month (23 July).
The triple Coronation Cup winner was rushed to Fethard Equine Hospital after the accident. X-rays revealed that he had fractures in his pastern and fetlock bones of his right fore leg (see slides 1 and 2).
Due to the multiple fractures in his leg, St Nicholas Abbey had to be operated on to reconstruct the bone with screws and plates.
During the surgery it was discovered that some of the smaller bone fragments had lost blood supply and had to be removed. The damaged bone was replaced by taking a bone graft from the 6-year-old stallion’s hip.
The veterinary team then used 20 screws and 2 bone plates to help to stabilise the limb (see slide 3).
Vets also inserted a large steel pin through the lower end of the cannon bone, which was then incorporated into a fiberglass cast (see slide 4). The pin was designed to minimise the amount of weight placed on the repair during the first month after surgery.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Less than 48 hours after the initial surgery St Nicholas Abbey then suffered from a life threatening bought of colic. He was rushed back into surgery and then put on intravenous nutrition.
His food intake is now being slowly increased as he recuperates and he is enjoying small amounts of freshly cut grass.
“A major life-threatening fracture has been repaired and a major life-threatening colic complication has been corrected, but St Nicholas Abbey still has a long way to go,” said Coolmore.
“Other life-threatening complications may yet arise including laminitis, surgery site infection and failure of the implants in the repaired fracture. Each new day is a victory on his road to recovery.”
Click to watch St Nicholas Abbey – The Road to Recovery
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.