14 horses die just before polo match

CNN.com ^ | 04/19/09 | uncredited

[Big_Monkey]

(CNN) -- Fourteen thoroughbred horses dropped dead in a mysterious scene Sunday before a polo match near West Palm Beach, Florida, officials said.

State and local veterinary teams are trying to figure out what happened at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, as team Lechuza Caracas prepared to compete in a U.S. Open match.

Two horses initially collapsed, and as vets and team officials scrambled to revive them, five others became dizzy, said Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the polo club.

"A total of seven died on our property," O'Connor told CNN. Seven other horses died en route to a Wellington horse farm and a veterinary hospital.

The cause of the deaths has not been determined, and necropsies and blood tests were underway, he said.

[Big_Monkey]

Very, very strange. 14 dead and so close together. It has to be some kind of poisoning, accidental or intentional.

[Beowulf9]

I imagine they’re checking the feed. Awful.

[pepperhead]

Wonder if PETA had anything to do with this.

[Squantos]

Wow...... ping for updates if ya will.

[Big_Monkey]

"Wonder if PETA had anything to do with this.

That is the very first thing that went through my head. The story is incredibly vague and short on details. It doesn't mention it, but I hope the local authorities are treating this as a crime scene.

[TheBattman]

Wouldn’t put it past some enviro-wack-jobs or other nefarious group.

[Big_Monkey]

"Wow...... ping for updates if ya will.

I would if I knew how. The pinging thing is lost on me :(...still somewhat new.

[JennysCool]

Any weird stuff involving Venezuela needs looked into.

[Squantos]

Basically ya post to me and others that ask (if you have time and are willing of course to any more news you find regarding this post. In the to as stated use semi colons between names

... like “Big_Monkey;Squantos;etc;etc;etc;”.......

if ya have time of course.

Thanks , stay safe !

[Big_Monkey]

Here's more info...Looks like steroids tainted with a cleaning solution injected by an unlicensed Argentinian doctor...shameful. Horses valued at over $1M.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view.bg?articleid=1166794&srvc=rss

[Karma Police]

No, the racist, horse-killing, right-wing militias have struck again!

[JoeProBono]

[GOP Poet]

Heartbreaking. Very sad.

[TheCipher]

Talking about PETA, National Lampoon had a funny satirical article concerning a racehorse and PETA :

Article

[Big_Monkey]

Horse Deaths Ping...

Here's more info...Looks like steroids tainted with a cleaning solution injected by an unlicensed Argentinian doctor...shameful. Horses valued at over $1M.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view.bg?articleid=1166794&srvc=rss

[AlexW]

“I imagine they’re checking the feed. Awful.”

That would be my guess.
I dabbled in polo when in my 20s but was never good at it.

[ToKillaMockingbird]

“five others became dizzy”

How can you tell if a horse is dizzy?

[AlexW]

“Horse Deaths Ping...”

Thanks for that info...It makes more sense.

[GeronL]

did some of the feed ingrediants come from China?

[Arthur McGowan]

Impossible. I’ve never heard PETA advocate observance of the Tenth Amendment.

[Squantos]

Weird........ what horse owner would allow any vet to inject anything into their animal before a competition. Especially a unlicensed , unknown hack ? More to this gonna come out.

Dang !

Thanks for the update !!.....:o)

[VeniVidiVici]

How can you tell if a horse is dizzy?

If he starts mumbling about pink donkeys.

[this_ol_patriot]

The horses were on the Venezuelan-based Lechuza Caracas team, the vet worked for the team but was not licensed in the US. Don't know if the injected steroids are allowed in Polo but apparently it was bad stuff and killed the horses.

[mountn man]

I dabbled in polo when in my 20s but was never good at it.

I dabbed on polo when in my 20s but was never good at it. :)

[Lockbar]

Remember what Tony did to Ralphie after he figured out that Ralph killed Pie-Oh-My for insurance money.

[hosepipe]

WHOever was doping the horses grabbed the wrong chemical vial..

[Cloverfarm]

My first thought would be a mix-up with fly repellants since they all collapsed right before the match. If someone applied a concentrate instead of a diluted product, for instance.

[Cloverfarm]

(Note to self ... read the rest before replying)

Yup, doping the horses would do it, too.

[Hot Tabasco]

I dabbled in polo

My cousing use to run a polo and equestrian center in Ft. Myers FL a number of years ago.......

[JRios1968]

They’re just pining for the fjords...

[lastchance]

The death toll is now at 21. How sad for everyone who cares for these horses.

[Squantos]

Thanks for the info.

[soozla]

You can buy needles at any Tractor Supply and most horse owners prefer to give their own injections, just for the sake of time, in the event of an emergency, etc. Most GOOD, RESPONSIBLE horse owners know how to vet their own horses - you have to be able to do the basics, sometimes, in rural settings, it is a matter of life and death for the animal until the “real” vet comes, or, if you can get the horse onto a trailer, get them to an equine clinic. Remember, they are not cats or dogs, you can’t just stuff them in a carrier, pick it up and away you go in your Jetta!