Horse Deaths Tied To Mystery Toxin

((HT: Miami Herald/Beasley, Vasquez, Gunson))

The horrific public deaths of 21 horses before a polo match likely were caused by a toxin that could have been in tainted food, vitamins or supplements, a veterinarian who treated one of the horses said Monday.

''Something that was given to these horses caused this toxic reaction,'' Dr. Scott Swerdlin, who treated one of the sick horses at Palm Beach Equine Clinic near the Wellington polo grounds, told reporters.

Another veterinarian at the scene said something triggered heart failure among the horses.
''Well clearly, it's an intoxication, clearly there's some sort of a poison,'' Dr. James Belden told NBC's Today show.

Authorities have opened an investigation into the deaths but said there is no evidence of intentional criminal wrongdoing. The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office and the Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement are working together to determine what killed the competitive equines at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Much of that inquiry will depend on the results of the necropsies, which are being overseen by The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The mass examinations, conducted at both an animal diagnostic clinic in Kissimmee and the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine, could take weeks.

''It's probably going to be an accident, but we need to wait and see what the results say,'' said PBSO Capt. Gregory Richter. ``We don't think it's intentional, but it might be negligence.''

Speculation over the horses' deaths has been widespread among veterinarians since the horses fell ill and died in front of thousands of horrified spectators at the U.S. Open Polo Championship. The horses never made it to the playing field, but instead collapsed in a staging area visible to the crowd.

The animals were part of the Venezuelan-owned team Lechuza Caracas ((stable pictured, thanks Scott Fisher/Sun-Sentinel)) and were all from South America.

Monday, Lechuza Caracas withdrew from the U.S. Open, considered the ''Super Bowl of polo,'' according to Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the International Polo Club.

The gates to Lechuza Caracas' Wellington horse ranch were locked Monday afternoon. Dozens of flowers were placed in front of the property, forming a makeshift memorial for the fallen equines.

''Deaths are very uncommon. Something of this magnitude has never happened, from what I've heard, in the history of polo,'' said John Wash, the International Polo Club's president of club operations. ``It was a horrific scene and it will be embedded in my mind forever.''

Wash told reporters Monday that doctors had ruled out any sort of airborne infection. ''This was an isolated incident involving that one team,'' Wash said.

''This was devastating,'' he said. ``It was heartbreaking to see that many horses get sick all at once.''

Veterinarians already at the event quickly tried treating the horses, inserting intravenous lines and trying to cool them down with fans and water. Observers hung blue tarps to shield some of the horses from the crowd's view.

The team is owned by Venezuelan businessman Victor Vargas, but most of the horses and players are from Argentina, Swerdlin said. The team travels most of the year.

Lechuza Caracas has participated in the U.S. Open since 1999, reaching the finals six years ago, according to the North American Polo League's website. Swerdlin said the team has up to 60 horses. All of those who fell sick have died, he added.

Rene Marsh leads the coverage from WSVN-TV Night Team...