Back from colic surgery, one step at a time

The facts

Result

Boyd Martin and Luke 140 won the CCI4*-S at The Fork at Tryon, North Carolina, on 40.3

Cross-country

13.6 time penalties added over Clayton Fredericks' track on Sunday 13 September 2026

Surgery

Luke 140 had colic surgery in the offseason

Route back

Two lighter runs earlier in the summer, at Modified and at Intermediate, before this four-star

Podium

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Double Sixteen second on 40.4; Waylon Roberts and Chevalier third on 44.2

Luke 140, a five-star horse owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate, had colic surgery in the offseason. On Sunday 13 September 2026 he led a CCI4*-S at Tryon from start to finish, adding 13.6 time penalties across country to win on 40.3. Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Double Sixteen were second on 40.4, with Canada's Waylon Roberts third aboard Chevalier on 44.2.

The detail that matters to the rest of us is not the score. It is what came before it. The horse ran twice earlier in the summer, once at Modified and once at Intermediate, before anyone asked him for a four-star. That is a deliberate, unhurried ladder, on a horse with a top-level record and a rider under pressure to produce results.

Most owners rehabbing after abdominal surgery are working on a smaller scale, but the principle transfers. The first outings back are information-gathering, not a test. They tell you how the horse recovers in the two days afterwards, how he holds his weight, how he feels on the third canter. A yard full of good intentions still drifts if nobody writes down what the next step is and when it will be reviewed.

Nobody from HL Media was at Tryon and nobody here treated this horse. What the result shows is a comeback built in stages rather than one leap, and that is a plan any owner can borrow and take to their own vet.

What this means for you

Owners whose horse has had colic surgery

A staged return through lower levels is normal practice at the top of the sport, not an admission of defeat. Expect months, not weeks.

Anyone bringing a horse back from a long layoff

Plan the first outings as fact-finding runs at a level well within the horse's ability, and judge them on how the horse feels afterwards.

Pony Club and grassroots families

The same ladder works at unaffiliated level: a quiet clear round or dressage outing before the thing you actually want to do.

Riders under season pressure

A calendar built backwards from a target date often skips the review points. Put the vet checks in the diary first, then the entries.

What to do

1. If your horse is coming back from colic surgery or any long layoff, ask your vet to set out the return to work in written stages, each with a review date

   Before the next increase in workload

2. Book one low-key outing below your usual level before you enter the thing you are aiming at, and treat it as a test run

   At least three weeks before the target competition

3. Keep a short written log after every outing: appetite, droppings, how the horse felt 48 hours later

   Ongoing

4. Check what your insurance says about colic surgery and any follow-up treatment, including exclusions applied after a claim

   At renewal, or now if a claim has been made this year

5. Agree with your vet what would make you stop and go back a step, and write that down too

   Before the first run back