Tragedy struck the Lechuza Caracas polo team today when 14 of their Thoroughbred polo ponies died from a mystery illness. Seventeen horses started having trouble breathing before a match at the U.S. Open Polo Championship at the International Polo Club today, April 19, in Wellington, Fla. Lechuza Caracas was scheduled to play Blackwatch.
Horses began dropping to the ground, and veterinarians rushed to hook up intravenous tubes and tried to help them breathe reported the Palm Beach Post.Most spectators weren’t aware anything was happening as the horses were surrounded by tarps and misted down to lower their temperatures.
A few of the horses died almost immediately, while others struggled for 45 minutes. Only three of the sick horses are still alive, and one is gravely ill and being treated at the Lechuza facility.
According to a veterinarian on the scene, the horses began breathing heavily and were having trouble standing before they left the Lechuza equestrian facility for the match.
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Autopsies will be performed on the dead horses at a state clinic in Kissimmee, Fla., and results could come as early as Tuesday.
“It could be the water, hay, bedding, we just don’t know. When we find out what it is, we will take all the necessary actions,” said John Wash, president of Polo Club operations.
All of the horses were between 10 and 11 years old. A polo team normally brings about 24 horses to a match.
