Lodge stable after knee operation

Grand Lodge is reported to in a stable condition after undergoing surgery on a smashed knee.

The 12-year-old stallion had a five hour operation on his left knee after damaging it in a paddock accident at Woodlands Stud in New South Wales on Thursday.

Woodlands Stud general manager Trevor Lobb said that Grand Lodge’s vets report his vital organs to be functioning normally and that he was eating and drinking.

“So far all the signs are good, although Grand Lodge is by no means out of danger, and no long term prognosis can yet be made,” Lobb told www.thoroughbredtimes.com.

“He is under sedation for pain and to give him every chance of recovery. So much can go wrong in a situation such as his, laminitis for instance, and even infection.

“He will have to learn that he can put his weight evenly on all hooves, and not try to take all his weight on to the other leg.

“But he has such a wonderful temperament; he has done everything to help himself so far, so we can only give him the best possible care and hope from day to day.

“Even after he passes the critical period in the next few days, he still has much to overcome,” he added.

Grand Lodge won the Group One Dewhurst Stakes for trainer William Jarvis in 1993 and the 1994 St James’s Palace Stakes.

During his stud career Grand Lodge has sired top-class runners such as the 2000 dual Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sinndar and the multiple Group One winner Grandera.