"Was it hay, feed, bedding, water? There are a lot of unanswered questions," said Mark Fagan, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. "Horses may be big, but they are delicate animals."

Six of the horses from the Lechuza Caracaus polo team have been delivered to the department's Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab in Kissimmee and 15 others arrived at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville this morning.

Fagan said necropsies will be performed on all 21, but UF spokeswoman Sarah Carey said UF would perform necropsies only on eight of the 15 there because only eight have insurance.

In any case, it could take days, even weeks, before officials have answers, Carey said.

"These things can take time," Fagan said. "We have absolutely no idea exactly what we're looking for, so we have to perform a series of tests."

In the meantime, the Florida Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Polo Association have launched investigations into the deaths, as has the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department.

"As we find out more, we'll talk to more people, but right now we don't anticipate this being anything other than these animals accidentally ingested something or were accidentally poisoned," said Capt. Greg Richter, the commander of the Wellington district.

At the Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab In Kissimmee, pathologist Teri Johnson said it's too early to determine if the toxins were deliberately inserted into the horses, but considering how quickly the horses died, she likely ruled out any sort of virus or contagious disease.

"I don't know if we would be able to identify whether it was deliberate vs. non-deliberate when looking for a toxin or poison," Johnson said.

Fagan said if the toxins came from the horses' feed, "it would have to be significant levels of toxin. A horse will consume 10-to-12 gallons of water alone a day. So you can imagine how much food they consume as well."

This afternoon, the Lechuza Caracas Polo team withdrew from the U.S. Open Polo Championship, a 105-year-old tournament that bills itself as the oldest such event in the United States, is considered to be the most prestigious in the nation. There's a whole air of sadness for a team the caliber of Lechuza to lose all of their best horses," Tim O'Connor, spokesperson for the International Polo club Palm Beach.

He added that plans are already underway in memorializing the horses. Teams that are continuing might wear black arm bands in or perhaps put black ribbons on the tails of horses, he said.

The horses, all from the same team, died one by one, "almost certainly of an intoxication of some sort that they consumed," said Lechuza Caracas team veterinarian James Belden, a local vet who was among those pumping intravenous fluids into the horses, trying to save them. Belden doesn't travel with the team but said he does not believe the horses were given anabolic steroids because the team competes in England, where such drugs are prohibited.

"Almost certainly they don't use anabolic steroids," Belden said.

He also said tainted medication - a concern raised late Sunday - was not likely because the horses are cared for diligently.

"I've been in practice 50 years," Belden said. "I've never seen anything like this."

The U.S. Polo Association does not require drug testing of horses. "There is no drug testing required because polo has always been a gentlemen's game. Polo has always been about the glory of the game, and not the money," said Scott Swerdlin, a member of the Palm Beach Equine Clinic.

Belden said as the horses died, the Lechuza staff - including the grooms - were inconsolable.

"They're crestfallen. The grooms were crying the other day," Belden said. "They live with these horses."

Lechuza's team owner, Venezuelan multimillionaire Victor Vargas, was in the club when the horses fell ill.

"There were tears in his eyes," Swerdlin said as he described the scene as Vargas watched the ponies die.

"He's a very hands-on owner. He's one of the players. He was devastated when the horses fell sick. He was holding them in his hands," added John A. Wash, president of operations for the International Polo Club.

After the horses collapsed, all matches were cancelled.

The Lechuza Caracas team was scheduled to play Sunday in a match as part of the U.S. Open Polo Championship at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on 120th Avenue South. Each polo team at this level of play typically brings about 24 horses to a match.

Lechuza's horses began breathing heavily and stumbling at the Lechuza equestrian facility even before they were brought to the polo club, said Swerdlin.

The horses became wobbly, their lungs filled with fluid and they eventually succumbed to cardiac arrest, Belden said.

Swerdlin wouldn't speculate on what happened to the horses.

"I don't guess," he said. "I wait for evidence."

"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," Wash said.

At the highly competitive level of the Wellington tournament, distributing "cocktails" to horses prior to matches to enhance their performance is a common practice, said several polo experts. The steroid-like chemicals are given to horses mixed with their water or can be administered by needle, the sources said.

The horses were noticeably sick about 2:15 p.m. Sunday.

"They started getting dizzy," O'Connor said . "They dropped down right onto the grass."

The horses, sprawled by the field, were obscured by blue tarps as teams of veterinarians worked feverishly to revive them. Most of the spectators were unaware of the horse's illness.

A few onlookers ringed the tense little makeshift camp, weeping as they caught sight of the stricken horses.

"When they keeled over, the veterinarians ran cold water on them. We got fans out that shoot a fine mist of water to try to get their temperature down, just like you would with a person if they overheated," said Jimmy Newman, polo club manager.

As the veterinarians worked, officials at the polo club told spectators that the scheduled match, between Lechuza Caracas and Black Watch, had been canceled. A short time later, officials announced an exhibition match would be held instead.

By Sunday night, 14 horses were confirmed dead and seven others were sick. Despite efforts to save them, every horse that had fallen ill was dead by this morning.

Several horses met a similar fate in Ocala last year, said Dean Turney, executive director of the Wellington Equestrian Alliance. In that case, Turney said, the sickness was linked to contaminated feed.

"They were able to identify the source very quickly, within 24 hours," Turney said. "Another day or two after that, they got the lab results and they confirmed what the problem was."

But the Ocala case and Sunday's case here are very different, Turney said. In Sunday's case, Turney does not believe feed is the culprit. Lab results will determine the cause.

Each of the dead polo ponies, which were all between 10 and 11 years old, was valued at about $100,000, O'Connor said.

"This is an especially sad day for polo," said Donald Dufresne, who sits on the U.S. Polo Association's Equine Protection and Welfare Committee. "We've never experienced anything like this before."

Peter Rizzo, executive director of the U.S. Polo Association, who was in the club when the horses fell ill, could not be reached.

The polo community is still waiting for answers.

"Wellington is fortunate that we have several top-notch equine veterinarians, and they will be all over this," Turney said. "It will be tracked down."

Source: www.palmbeachpost.com