Officials blame mineral overdose in horse deaths
WEST PALM BEACH (AP) – Florida’s top veterinarian on Tuesday blamed the deaths of 21 elite polo horses on an overdose of a common mineral that helps muscles recover from fatigue.
Florida’s state veterinarian, Dr. Thomas J. Holt, said toxicology tests on the dead horses showed significantly increased selenium levels.
The horses from the Venezuelan-owned Lechuza Caracas team began collapsing April 19 as they were unloaded from trailers at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington before a championship match. Some died at the scene, others hours later.
“Signs exhibited by the horses and their rapid deaths were consistent with toxic doses of selenium,” Holt said.
The team was preparing to play in the sport’s U.S. Open and was seen as a top contender.
A Florida pharmacy that mixed a brew of vitamins and minerals for the team on order from its Florida veterinarian said Tuesday that the strength of selenium was incorrect. Jennifer Beckett, chief operating officer for Franck’s Pharmacy in Ocala, Fla., would not say whether the incorrect amount was specified in the veterinarian order or was a pharmacy error.
“We continue to cooperate fully with the authorities as their investigations proceed,” she said. “We cannot discuss further details.”
Lechuza had no comment on the toxicology report.
The polo team had hoped to get a compound similar to a name-brand supplement known as Biodyl. The supplement is used around the world but hasn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.