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Twenty-one polo ponies, each worth $10,000 to $200,000, dropped dead as they were unloaded from horse trailers in Wellington, Florida. They had arrived for a polo match at the U.S. Open on April 19, but in a matter of hours, about half of the Lechuza Polo string was dead. Some were transported to local veterinary hospitals where they died of heart failure. How can this happen?
What is a Polo Pony?
The polo pony is not a specific breed of horse; it is often a mixture of breeds including the thoroughbred, quarter horse, Arabian, and others. The horse needs to be quick, intelligent, and agile. The sport is popular in Europe, Latin America, and the United States.
Deadly Error
Venezuelan businessman Victor Vargas owns the team of nearly 60 ponies. Although many of his horses are from Argentina, they spend most of their time traveling to polo matches.
Veterinarians believe that the horses ingested a toxin that caused pulmonary edema and hemorrhaging of the lungs – leading to their deaths. Some of the horses died quickly – falling as they stepped off the horse trailer. Others held on longer, acting disoriented as they were treated with water, fans, and intravenous lines; they were transported to veterinary hospitals near Wellington.
What Happened?
All of the horses that showed symptoms died. The results of the toxicology reports have yet to come back and could take weeks. Members of the polo team do know that all of the horses that died had been injected with a vitamin supplement – none of the other horses received it.
Biodyl, the French-made supplement that contains vitamin B-12, selenium, potassium, and magnesium, is banned from commercial sale in the U.S. Occasionally, the government will grant permission for a veterinarian to write a prescription to compound the ingredients, which can be dangerous. Selenium, for example, can be toxic to horses at high doses. Or, the particular supplement batch could have been infected with bacteria during manufacturing.
How Toxins Work
State investigators examined the horse trailers, barns, and other horses at the Wellington facility. No problems could be found. If the horses were affected by a toxin, why and how did that happen? Let's use selenium toxicity as an example.
More than 5 mg of selenium per day can cause toxicity in a horse. More than 50 mg in a day constitutes acute selenium poisoning, which can be fatal. Horses get most of the selenium they need from the plants (or grain) they eat. However, supplementation can be necessary in areas with selenium-deficient soil - this is often when overdosing occurs. Horses can also overdose by eating selenium-rich plants like asters and gumweed.
Too much selenium commonly causes hair loss, horizontal cracks in the hooves, and sometimes sloughing off of the hoof wall. Severe symptoms include abnormal gait, difficulty breathing, muscle tremors, and garlic breath. Horses that are not treated can become blind, permanently lame, and suffer from abdominal pain and excessive salivation. Eventually, chronic selenium poisoning can lead to paralysis, respiratory failure, and death.
At this point, it's unknown whether selenium poisoning is specifically what affected the polo ponies. It is likely that a toxin attacked them since their bodies ignored the treatment of veterinarians. We can only hope it was not a malicious attack and that we can learn from whatever problem caused their deaths.
Resources:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-horses-dead-polo-wellington-palm-beach-042309,0,7796201.story
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Polo_players.jpg
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